Standing proud overlooking the WACA Ground pitch block, our iconic scoreboard has seen plenty of action over the last seventy years.
The definition of ‘having strong bones’ the scoreboard has stood the test of time whilst sixes have been hit, international touring teams have visited, and Australian Football League matches have come and gone
A Western Australian family which has stood side-by-side with this towering giant is the Keogh family.
A lineage which has intricately weaved itself within the scoreboard’s and WA Cricket’s long history, Kim Keogh is a leading voice when it comes to preserving the scoreboard’s historical roots.
“My grandfather Joe Keogh was a life member at WA Cricket, his life membership badge was in the WACA Museum, number 126,” WA Cricket member Kim Keogh said.
“My father was also a life member of WA Cricket, his father brought him a life membership in 1948 when he turned 21, he was a life member for over 65 years.
“I then joined in 1984 as a member. We’ve been watching cricket as a family at this ground for generations.”
A family which has watched some of the great’s names go up on the scoreboard, Mr Keogh is one of the few people who know the complete ins and outs of its lasting legacy.
“The old WACA scoreboard from 1895 was blown over in a storm in 1948, there were moves to raise funds to procure or to build a new one, which was achieved in 1954 from the North Western Murchison Cricket Association,” Mr Keogh said.
“The pastoralists of Western Australia contributed around 70% of the funds in the form of donating bales of wool.
“There has always been a very strong connection with the WACA Ground the West Australian pastoralists.”
An imposing war memorial, the scoreboard honours those who fought and lost their lives in both the Great War and the Second World War.
“There were families from the north of Western Australia who had family members serve in the First World War and the Second World War,” he said.
“There was an intention to contribute to the to the new one to commemorate those West Australian cricketers who had served in both wars.”
One of three surviving manual scoreboards dotted around Australia and steeped in memories, the WACA Ground Memorial Scoreboard holds a star quality that is not often felt at cricket grounds around the world in today’s day and age.
“The great thing about our manual scoreboard here at the WACA Ground is that it provides you so much information,” he said.
“It has all the players on the board from each side, it has each bowler and their figures and each batsman who has been dismissed, sundries and everything else.”
As the world moves more towards the digital space than ever before, there is something special about coming to the WACA Ground and seeing a piece of old school equipment working just as well as it did in the 1950s, something Mr Keogh is keen to see stay at the ground for generations to come.
“Modern progress and development are important, but it is also important to maintain these wonderful ‘old’ items that link us through to our past,” he said.
“The scoreboard is one of those items, one of our city’s icons and my hope is that it can be retained as a traditional scoreboard and used in its traditional way.”
If you would like to donate to giving our prestigious scoreboard a well-deserved facelift, please click here. All donations will be directed to our WACA Ground Memorial Scoreboard restoration appeal.