VALE HENRY GUNSTONE – (1940 – 2024)
A CRICKET ICON PASSES
Henry Gunstone 129 centuries
Don Bradman 117 centuries
Sachin Tendulkar 100 centuries
Virat Kohli 80 centuries
Ricky Ponting 71 centuries
I am not prone to using the word ‘icon’ in stories I write but this case is an exception to the rule.
One of Australia’s greatest cricketers, in my opinion has gone to the big game at the age of 83.
Henry Gunstone was born in Ararat in 1940 and from an early age was seen as a sporting genius. A child prodigy if ever there was one. His primary school principal described him as ‘one out of the box’. No matter what sport Henry played he excelled from his boyhood.
His games were Aussie rules, cricket, table tennis, boxing and later on in years umpiring. He was ambidextrous and could throw with either hand from the outfield in cricket and often confused the batsmen if the ball went to his left side. He was a natural right handed.
When he was doing National Service in the army he beat some very talented boxers in the unit championships.
To top it all off he was the owner of champion trotters ‘Sporting Star’ and ‘Sporting Sun’.
Henry also loved to have an ale and was well known to be the last to leave many a function.
His ability at football saw him go to South Melbourne and play 13 games for them before family commitments took him back to his in-laws farm. He certainly would have played more given those circumstances but he was also third in line behind the great Bob Skilton and a very good player in Brian McGowan in the roving division at the Bloods.
I believe that he was an even better cricketer than footballer and he also played 11 games with Richmond despite travelling back and forwards from Ararat to play.
Ararat and contiguous areas were probably lucky that he returned home, or maybe not, for over the next 36 years he hammered the bowling of opponents to every part in the field.
Football opponents also found the rover-centreman very hard to counter as his fairest and best awards showed.
His ability at table tennis also saw opponents backing away to the wall when ‘Gunno’ was on the attack.
It was a remarkable sporting career and the 129 centuries he made over 36 years is testament to his outstanding ability with the bat. Just look at those figures mentioned above. They maybe a little out of whack as the other 3 on the list made centuries at other levels I am sure, but Henry was only a weekend player who sometimes would have only got a hit every third week. Heaven knows how many more centuries he would have made if he had played one-day cricket.
Many of the centuries of Tendulkar, Kohli and Ponting were one day games which makes Henry’s feat even more outstanding.
Henry, Frank Fordyce and myself heading to Old Trafford in Manchester to see Warnie bowl the ‘ball of the century in 1997. (author).
The three of us stayed at the same guest house in Manchester and spent the next couple of nights talking about ‘that ball’. It was certainly something I will never forget.
One great story told by former Country Week team mate Ron Maddox was in relation to the final of Country Week cricket in Melbourne in 1969. Gunstone had made 4 centuries on consecutive days prior to the Grand Final and a rather large crowd was present to see the ‘Bradman of the Bush’ in action. He made a duck and Ron is still very proud that he got 77 not out on that day when everyone came to see ‘Gunstone at the bat’.
I got to know ‘Gunno’ when we both worked in recreation at local government in the early 1970s and caught up with him many times. We were both recipients of Brian Dixon (Melbourne VFL) who was the then Minister for Sport and Recreation in the Victorian Government who supplied money to have people employed in Local Government to promote activities and improve sporting facilities.
Later on in life Henry was the driving force behind the Gum San Chines Heritage Centre which is still a place worth visiting in Ararat if you are ever in the area.
A sportsman larger than life and in my opinion warrants being spoken about in revered terms when ‘Bradman of the Bush’ is mentioned. He truly was the only man who deserved that title.
Vale Henry Gunstone.
More stories from Citrus Bob Utber can be read Here.
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About Bob Utber
At 84 years of age Citrus Bob is doing what he has always done since growing up on a small farm at Lang Lang. Talking, watching and writing sport and in recent years writing books. He lives in Mildura with his very considerate wife (Jenny) and a groodle named ‘Chloe on Flinders’ and can be found at Deakin 27 every day.
