Life Members

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‘Bronco’ Tynan was one of the best cricketer’s to ever play for the club.

An intelligent and softly spoken man, in his later years Kev continued to attend presentations and stay in touch with players up until his passing in 2016.

Kevin Tynan was born in the small township of Marmoor, south of Rockhampton in 1919.

His parents owned the general store.

After schooling, Kev moved to Brisbane, for Telstra Technician training and employment. In Brisbane, where he played first grade cricket with Souths Cricket Club, and in addition a limited number of first grade appearances with Brothers Rugby League club.

In Brisbane, he often recalled his fortune to see Don Bradman bat.

After a job transfer to Rockhampton, Kev continued playing cricket including representative games with the city.

In 1952, Kevin was transferred to Mackay, and commenced playing A grade with Wests cricket club in the 1952-53 season. He was now 33 years of age.

A few years after, he resigned from Telstra and started Kev Tynan’s sports store.(Which was subsequently sold to Graham Brown, another Life Member of the Club).

In this period of time, all A grade cricket  games were played at Queen’s Park, and few players had personal equipment, a bag of gear, including practice gear, supplied to each team by the club.

Kev Tynan’s sports store was very generous in issue of this equipment.

Sufficient Club funds was always an issue, and Kev introduced pub raffles to Mackay.

The club players frequented the Austral Hotel after completion of play on Saturdays, to support “Chook for 2 bob “ whispered in low tones, as the legality of the raffles was not clear.

Kev played A grade in Mackay, up to his retirement after the 1963-64 season.

He was captain for 7 of these seasons. However, after retirement, he would not allow the A grade side to be short on the field, and played a further 5 games in 1964-65, 2 games in 1965-66, and another 5 in 1966-67.

His last game was at 48 years of age. Kevin was an upper order right hand batsman, compiling 2460 runs with a top score of 116, and a useful left hand finger spinner, taking 185 wickets, with best figures of 7 for 17.

Kev Tynan played representative cricket for Mackay, including games as captain.

Kev’s wife Joyce was also a good sport’s person, with a North Queensland tennis singles title to her credit.

Their son Michael, was a builder by trade, conscripted to the armed forces, and became a Vietnam Vet.

In his typical dry humour, Kevin would recall that Michael’s first task in Vietnam was to erect a flag pole at the army base.

Kev Tynan passed away in 2016, run out for 97.

One of the club’s founders and inaugural first grade players, Merv was an outstanding cricketer and in the very select group of having over 1000 runs and 200 first grade wickets.

Jack served as President of the club during the 1960’s and 70’s and was well known for his ability to fundraise for the club through his goodwill with publicans of the Austral Hotel.

During this time our club policy was to spend money on capital work and providing equipment to junior and senior cricket (very few people had gear during this time – maybe their own bat).

Through the hard work of Jack and the club during this period the first nets at Abbott Park were constructed. (a Max Brown design)

This was not commenced till the club had sufficient funds to do the job properly, at the time costing approx. $10,000 (a lot of money in 1970’s) Jack played a huge part in our club fund raising and was instrumental in enabling Mackay Cricket to bring the West Indies cricket team to Mackay in the 1970’s. 

The annual shield played for between Mackay and Rockhampton in junior cricket is named after Hans Mark.

Hans was a very dedicated senior player over many years for the club and also as a coach in our junior ranks.

He continued as an umpire after playing but would often request to only umpire games that Wests were playing in so he could witness the progress of the many juniors he had coached including his son, ‘Jumbo’.

One of only 4 players to score more than 4000 first grade runs for the club, the others being Terry Oliver (5759), Paul Oliver (5044) and H Smith (5034).

Max played A grade from 1964-65 to 1983-84 amassing 4603 runs, 129 wickets and 90 catches.

Max was the A grade captain for the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons and played Mackay Representative cricket for many seasons, with a top score of 138 v Townsville.

Max represented Queensland Country v England 1970-71 and also represented Queensland Country v Queensland in 1971-72.

Off the field Max served as Secretary/Treasurer of Western Suburbs Cricket Club in the 1960’s and 70’s as well as a delegate to Mackay Cricket Association in the same period.  

Max held positions on the Mackay Cricket Association Grounds Committee during the 1970’s and was vice President (Grounds) from 1982 to 1988. Max also served as a selector for North Queensland for 5 years in the 1980’s.  

The Brown family is synonymous with the club, all three brothers are life members with Graham, Max and Colin having distinguished careers on and off the field whilst also being key members of the executive for many years.

Additionally, Max kept meticulous records of statistics for every A Grade player and season for many years up until the 1990’s.

Graham served as Treasurer of the club for over 30 years, during and after a decorated playing career.

In the late 1960’s Roy Andrew and Graham approached the Mackay Mayor at the time, Albert Abbott, about leasing the parcel of land which was later to become Abbott Park. Mackay Junior Cricket (1/2 share) Wests Cricket and Wests soccer (1/4 share each) were awarded the lease on the virgin land that was mostly devil devil country.

Roy Andrew, with his farm experience, and many hours brought the ground to a standard where sport could be played.

Mackay Junior Cricket eventually sold their holding on the lease to Mackay Baseball. Wests senior and Junior soccer were clashing and because we could not agree where light towers would go – they walked away from the lease during the early 1990’s.

Baseball folded shortly after through lack of numbers and Graham brokered a deal between Wests Cricket and Souths Leagues club for the joint lease holding that now stands (Souths Leagues paid baseball $6000).

The reason this was done was to try and utilise the fields 12 months of the year as developing these grounds was a huge drain on chook raffle funds of a cricket club. When Harrup Park developed – thanks to a Government grant, and raising funds was now impossible at the Austral Hotel, Graham approached Souths Leagues Club to allow us to use their facilities for Friday night raffles.

(Harrup Park at the time could not sustain 6 clubs trying to fund raise from the one venue.)  Wests in turn changed their name to Souths in 1996 and the rest is history.

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Graham sadly passed away in October 2024.

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Club stalwart, served as secretary for a period of 10 years and captained numerous senior club sides over a period of 15 years.

Terry played mainly 4th grade where he captained Premiership winning teams, later handing the reigns to a future life member, Owen Eisenmenger.

Terry played some reserve grade and his claim to fame was in the only 1st grade game he played. Batting with Tom England, (one of the clubs all time greatest players and member of the team of the century) in a game crucial to our Premiership hopes, the pair put on 50 for the eighth wicket. Tom England contributed 50 to the partnership and Terry McArthur made 0. Perhaps the best duck ever seen at the time in first grade and the match was won.

Surprisingly another life member and former Secretary, Paul Anderson also contributed a similar feat when batting with Wayne Short (another great first grade player) many years later in the 1990’s, the pair adding 80 runs for the ninth wicket against a rampant Walkerston attack, with Paul also contributing nought.  

Terry also played a big part in helping the chook raffle fund raising efforts at the Austral Hotel and served as Secretary for Mackay Cricket during his playing days.

Bernie and Neville Hinds (both great fundraisers) started Centrals Junior Rugby League. (These teams came from Central State School where Bernie’s wife, Moya Oliver, was teaching, who convinced the Principal to support this move)

After they were established for about 2 years they approached Graham Brown to see if Wests senior cricket would take these boys and allow then to play cricket in the off league season as they wanted to keep the boys together.  

There was some concern at the time with costs involved as to whether our club could sustain the extra expenditure.

Being assured by Bernie and Neville they would pull their weight, our club was the first to bring senior and junior cricket teams under the one umbrella.

Bernie eventually became President of the club remaining at the helm for over 10 years. A great fund raiser and very keen on Juniors to keep coming through the grades, he and Moya went out of their way to make sure all West players were looked after from throwing their house open to players from the mines to stay overnight, to BBQ’s and fundraising to help junior players to travel.

Bernie would often pay the fees for those players who received no support from home.

Bernie and Moya would mow grass or whatever it took to get junior players on the field.

Bernie was instrumental in the 1985/86 season for introducing a sponsored incentive scheme for first grade players with a local car sales business that saw them paid for scores of 50 or more and taking five wicket innings.

Moya was also a passionate supporter of the club.

In the pre development days of Harrup Park, Moya would assist in the canteen and many older players may fondly remember the ham and salad rolls which were a specialty.

Moya would eventually teach at Mackay West State School introducing many future Wests juniors who would progress to the senior ranks of the club.

Perhaps the greatest contribution Moya and Bernie have made to the club is that of their son’s Paul and Terry who have also contributed so much and are also both life members.  

Graeme McNee played a significant amount of first grade cricket in Brisbane before coming to Mackay.

He coached Souths Junior cricket for 7 years and also served as President.

He was a real pillar in our club during a time when we were short on quality first grade players. This did not deter him and he went on to mould good Wests sides. His top score of 56 not out for Queensland Country v West Indies was all class. West Indies had the likes of Wes Hall, Lester King and Gary Sobers in their bowling line up.

When Graham Brown learned that Graeme was coming to Mackay, he phoned and asked would he consider playing for Wests the answer was simply ‘yes’.

That was his bond even though approached by other clubs.

He never let the club down and has blue/gold blood in his veins.

Graeme’s son, Jon has gone on to play first grade for the club and was also an accomplished top order bat and wicket keeper with a similar no nonsense approach to his game.

One of the clubs finest ever players, the Medal for First Grade Player of the Year is named after Paul.

Outstanding leader both on and off the field, Paul had a very decorated playing career as a middle order batsman and off spin bowler.  

Having learnt his craft alongside club legends of Max and Graham Brown and Graeme McNee, Paul developed an impressive portfolio of success in a golden era of the club winning numerous first grade premierships.

Off the field he was outstanding in building club camaraderie and fundraising, ensuring the club did the little things right with administration, senior selection and juniors.

Paul also served as a club delegate for Mackay Cricket and captained the Mackay team to many victories in intercity competition.

The Award for Club Person of the Year is named after Dave.

The club has a long list of outstanding administrators and Dave Williams was one of the finest club Secretaries for many years.

His administrative work was envied by all other clubs and he also served as a delegate for Mackay Cricket and was pivotal in the on field developments at Harrup Park in the 1990’s that saw a World Cup match played at Harrup Park in 1992.

In his dual role as manager of the club’s first grade side he was a confidant and supporter for many players entering first grade, readily supplying staminade and alike.

Dave also served as manager of the Qld Country side on several occasions at the Australian Country Championships.

The Medal for Second Grade Player of the Year is named after Colin.

Another long time executive, Colin served as Secretary and junior co-ordinator for many years.  

A formidable first grade player, Colin was able to occupy the crease for long periods of time with a solid defensive technique.

In later years he had the privilege of playing senior cricket with his son’s Ross, Ian and David, including some mammoth scores in reserve grade where Colin once added over 300 runs in a partnership with another promising junior at the time, Matthew Bloxsidge.  

Colin’s son David would go on to join an elite club, scoring a century on debut in first grade for the club.  

Colin is part of the Brown Dynasty, which also includes brother’s Graham and Max.

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The following information was provided by David Williams the 14th life member of the club at Colin's induction

Colin Brown has been a member of the original Western Suburbs Cricket Club and more recently since its inception, Southern Suburbs Cricket Club. 

This membership has extended beyond 25 years.

In his time at both Clubs he has never been one to "leave it to others" and has always been at the forefront of Club activities.  Some have referred to Colin as "BP, the quiet achiever".

His involvement has been as a player in all grades, a captain in some, a fundraiser, a selector, a junior coach, a junior representative coach, a junior representative manager, chairman of selectors, clubman of the year, a junior co-ordinator and registrar, adviser to the Executive and a parent.  Along the way, he has won grade premierships both as a player and captain. 

Colin is a member of a true blue and gold cricketing family that has supplied 6 players to the Club thus far.  His name does not figure in the Club batting and bowling aggregates and averages, but this is overshadowed by his commitment, his loyalty and his humble approach to life.  Colin has never been one to promote his own abilities, but has been one of the unwavering rocks on which this successful Club has been built.  Oh how some other Mackay Clubs would welcome a Colin Brown!

Colin is comparatively young in years but old in knowledge.  He has always been able to give opinions or counsel based on fairness and fact.  His honesty and ability to communicate has been one of his greatest virtues, especially during his time as Chairman of Selectors.  He undoubtedly has derived great pleasure in seeing his sons playing grade cricket with the Club and has also had the opportunity to play in the same side.  Not too many fathers get that opportunity.

One could go on forever extolling the virtues of Colin, but to me, his loyalty stands out above all else.  People such as Colin do not get the chance to qualify for recognition of this kind without assistance.  He has indeed been fortunate in this regard with many people here tonight being part of the

Colin Brown story including his wife and family.

It is a pleasure to present the 15th Life Membership of Southern Suburbs Cricket Club to Colin Brown with my best wishes and thanks for a job well done.

Owen was a stalwart of the club who commenced playing for Wests (as it was known then) during the 80's after transferring to Mackay for work in his role as a land valuer.

An outstanding leader and determined player, 'The Bulldog', as he became known, captained the club fourth grade team for many years, guiding our juniors who were entering senior ranks.

His batting and wily off spin were worthy of higher honours but Owen preferred to take a lower key approach to his cricket and remained in 4th grade, enjoying the challenge of leading his young players to many victories and lessons in cricket and life.  

Numerous players would go on to represent first grade after beginning their senior cricket career with Owen.

After hanging up the bat, Owen immediately took up the challenge of coaching our Under 10 teams, once again sharing his knowledge and wisdom with the next generation of cricketers.  

This is where many of our current players would have had their first foray into cricket and with the true gentleman that was Owen.  

Owen managed the Under 10 teams for 20 years only once taking a short break in that time.  

He was ably assisted for several seasons by his eldest daughter Zoe, herself a very capable cricketer, who no doubt inherited her father's ability with both bat and ball.  

Awarded a life membership of Souths in 2006 for his services to the club, Owen was later recognised in 2015/16 as the Qld Cricket Junior Coach of the Year, an award most fitting for a man of his ability and life time service to cricket.

The Souths Junior Cricketer of the Year Award is also named in honour of Owen.

Owen was a true gentleman whose contribution to the Southern Suburbs Cricket Club and Mackay Cricket will never be forgotten.

Greg joined Wests from Lochiels in the 1983/1984 season, (Lochiels had perhaps the finest ever club caps ever seen in Mackay cricket) and was a member of the West team which won the inaugural North Qld Games Medal for cricket alongside Terry and Paul Oliver in 1984.  

Greg then rotated between 1st and 2nd grade as a bowling all rounder until ceasing his first grade playing career in the 1993/1994 season to become an umpire.

He would go on to umpire many high level games including four Nth Qld v Sth Qld games including 2 at Allan Border Field which was a highlight. Not bad for a deaf man with a seeing eye dog, many of his former team mates thought….Greg later took a season off from umpiring to play along his son Mathew in 3rd grade until those troublesome hamstrings said no more.

Greg’s son, an accomplished fast bowler and premiership winning first grader for the club, would go on to represent Qld Country and First grade for Norths in Brisbane.

Greg later returned to umpiring until leaving Mackay in 2010 to live in Brisbane.

Along with Richard Davies, Greg umpired the 1996/97 Grand final - the year of the First A Grade Premiership for the club when it changed its name to Souths that season.

Greg served as Secretary of the club from 1985 until 1987, junior co-ordinator for 6 years and junior delegate for 8 years also coaching his son, Mathew’s junior team for 5 years. 

From playing juniors for Wests to captaining first grade, Nathan followed the traditional cricket pathway for many at the club.  

His work both on and off the field as a leader, confidant and role model saw him awarded life membership, possibly the youngest of any to date.

Nathan, who served his playing apprenticeship under the great Terry Oliver, would go on to captain the first grade side to several premierships.  

Upon completion of playing he has also filled the President’s role and remains a willing volunteer and part time player.

Paul joined Wests in the 1992/93 season after playing his entire junior and senior cricket until then with Easts.

Up until his retirement from competitive cricket in 2004/05, ‘Firey’ had only ever played first grade cricket for the club, missing only one match in that time through injury.

Not the fastest of bowlers or biggest of hitters, his approach to the game was centred on hard work and commitment.  

He represented Mackay, Mackay Whitsunday and North Qld at open age and a Qld Country Development XI verse the Victorian Institute of Sport in Mackay that included players who would go on to represent Victoria at first class level.

His rise to representative level came later than most and was a testament to his commitment.  

Off the field Paul was instrumental in several successful funding applications, including the lighting of Abbott Park and various equipment grants.  

Fortunate enough to play with club greats such as Paul and Terry Oliver, Brett Barbour, Wayne Short, Ian Kelly and Mick McLeod and under the expert tutelage of club Secretary Dave Williams and long serving Treasurer Graham Brown, Paul learnt very quickly the way of life at Souths/Wests.

He has filled the role of first grade captain, coach, Secretary, Treasurer, junior coach, raffle seller and general volunteer amongst others and continues to remain very active in the club both on and off the field. 

The Medal for Third Grade Player of the Year is named after Paul.

Col served as President of the club for several seasons including our reign as club champions in the mid 2000’s.

Previous to this he had served as the junior co-ordinator and was very active on the club committee.

An avid lower grade player for the club, he was also very active in the junior ranks through the involvement of his son’s Robbie and Andrew who would both go on to play first grade.

Col continues to support the club and is now the region’s most decorated umpire, having umpired at several Australian Country Cricket Championships and high class fixtures at Harrup Park, including the Bulls Masters tournaments.

Terry played club cricket with our club when it was known as Wests for his entire junior cricket career to Under 16.

He represented Queensland State Primary Schools in the series played in Brisbane in 1975-76 and later appeared for North Queensland teams at Under 19, Colts, and open age.

Terry represented Queensland Country at the National Country Championships in 1984-85, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1992-93 and 1993-94 and was a member of the Australia Country team in 1989-90 and 1992-93.

In 20 matches in the National Country Championships he scored 864 runs at 41.14 with one century: 100 v Western Australia Country in 1992-93. In October 1985 he was one of four North Queensland players included in the Queensland XI to play New Zealand at Townsville.

He moved to Brisbane for the seasons of 1985-86 and 1986-87, playing with Toombul in their second grade team.

For the seasons of 1990-91 and 1991-92 he played in the QCA first grade competition with Gold Coast, scoring 825 runs at 31.73 with a highest of 98.

While playing with Gold Coast he was included in the Queensland state squad.

He commenced his education at Hervey Bay and then at West Mackay State School and Mackay State High School.

He was the Queensland Cricket Development Officer for the Central Queensland area taking in Bowen to Gladstone and all places in Queensland to their west.

He moved to Brisbane in the year 2000 and, among his various appointments, was an assistant to QAS director Richard Done and also to Queensland Bulls coach Bennett King.

In 1997-98 he accompanied the Queensland Country team to the National Championships as coach and continued in that role in each series to 2001.

He was twice appointed coach of the Australia Country team, for their match against Pakistan at Manuka Oval in January 2000 and for their match against Zimbabwe played at Bowral in January 2001.

In June 2001 he travelled with Bennett King to West Indies to assist with the new Cricket Academy that had been established in the region.

On 10 April 2002 he was announced as the successor to Bennett King in the position of the Bulls coach, retaining that role until 2008.

In that time Qld won numerous titles and broke previous first class and One Day records for the state.

From 2008 to 2014 Terry continued with Qld Cricket in various coaching roles before commencing his own coaching business.

Terry comes from a strong Wests/Souths family, his mother and father, Bernie and Moya and brother, Paul, are all life members.  

Whilst having moved to Brisbane to further his cricket career, Terry has never stopped supporting the club.

Even from an early age he was a willing volunteer, assisting with raffles and working bees.  

When he returned to Mackay in the 90’s he once again stepped up as a player and volunteer coaching both junior and senior sides, captaining the very first ‘Souths’ Poole Cup winning side.  

During his time at the club he has overseen redevelopments of our training facilities, fundraised and generally, whilst never recognised on the field as one, has been a true all rounder.  

Even now he is still supporting some of our coaches and players from afar with advice and support.

Bill and Lindsey Perry’s association with the club began like many, through their children playing juniors.  

Their son Max has since gone on to represent the club in First Grade and the Perry’s have served in almost every possible off field position.

Bill has played, coached, captained, umpired, acted as head groundsman and led the club as President for many seasons before returning to general volunteer duties at the completion of the 2016/17 season.

Leading the club through change and building a stronger relationship with Souths Rugby League, Bill was ably supported for many years on the executive by wife Lindsey who was one of the clubs longest serving Secretaries until also stepping down on completion of the 2016/17 season.  

Lindsey not only served Souths but also managed to fill the same Secretary position for Mackay Cricket, Mackay Whitsunday, North Qld and as a delegate to Qld Cricket. Long term supporters of the club, the Perry’s continue to fill roles on and off the field.

Michael commenced his association through the club when his son Thomas began playing in 2006.

Michael, who had played junior cricket himself had been away from the game for many years but quickly, as is his nature, became re involved, assisting junior cricket as Tom continued to play.

Mick also coached his daughter, Amity in junior cricket. Volunteering is part of Mick’s DNA as he has been very active with other groups including the local Homebush school, Mackay Netball and Galaxy Netball club and other sporting and community groups.  

Mick is a professional volunteer first and cane and cattle farmer second, one would say, although we all know, his family comes first, where he is much loved as a father and husband.

Since 2006, Mick has lent his skills to coaching, umpiring, scoring, managing, club secretary, groundskeeper, fundraiser, you name it, he has probably done it.  

As Secretary Mick has had to deal with some difficult instances previously unseen over the history of the club and his professionalism with those matters was well received.  

For the past 5 years he has been the pivotal man when it comes to raffles and fundraising and has completed more Friday night raffles than anyone else in the recent history of the club.  

The Abbott Park fields and turf wicket are his domain and he spends countless hours curating them.

His work as an umpire with Mackay Cricket is also highly respected.  

Mick would say his finest work for the club has been the creation of the Annual Mock Awards, although others may disagree on that one.

Mick has achieved all this whilst also returning to the playing field and enjoying time with his son, team mates and opposition, playing the game with spirit and passion.

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The time and effort Mick has put into the club in the past 17 years has been surpassed by no one and this passion for the game and club is second to none.  

Mick has been awarded the Dave Williams Shield for Clubman of the Year on five previous occasions and the Junior Club Person of the year.

Brad joined the club in 2000, marking the beginning of an impressive and ongoing journey with the club.

In his debut season, he scored a century in 2nd Grade and contributed with the ball as well.

As his career progressed, Brad became a formidable medium fast bowler and a handy bat in 1st Grade. He was an integral part of the back-to-back 1st Grade Poole Cup Premiership victories in 2006/07 and 2007/08.

His contributions weren’t limited to just the field, Brad played a key role in organising social events for the club.

Together with Luke Stone, he created the club’s legendary end of season Presentation Nights and helped bring to life memorable moments such as the Souths Cricket Show and the iconic KFC ads, among many others.

Brad’s dedication to Souths extends well beyond his playing days.

For many years, he has been an integral part of our junior programs serving as the club’s Junior Co-ordinator and coaching multiple teams.

His dedication and hard work have played a crucial role in the growth of the clubs junior base, earning him recognition not only from the club but also Mackay Cricket and Queensland Cricket.

His outstanding contributions were acknowledged when he was named Queensland Cricket's Community Coach of the Year for 2023/24.

Brad's impact has truly taken our junior program to another level, building on the foundation laid by previous outstanding co-ordinators and coaches.

Beyond coaching, Brad has also been a driving force behind the club's social media and community engagement, helping strengthen the club’s presence both on and off the field.

His contributions to the club have been invaluable, and his passion for Souths is evident in everything he does. Whether it’s through his role in the club’s junior programs, his active involvement in social events, or his leadership both on and off the field, Brad has always gone above and beyond.

As Brad celebrates 25 years of playing and volunteering for Souths, the club is proud to announce him as our 25th Life Member.

This recognition is a testament to his incredible dedication, passion, and the profound impact he has had on the club.