In 1898, a cricket team was formed from the residents of Birkenhead — a small borough on Auckland's North Shore with a population of just 1,000 people. The players were mostly employees of the nearby Chelsea Sugar Refinery, tough and hardworking men who brought that same energy to the cricket field.
Horse-drawn traffic, gas lamps, and rough roads paved with ash from the sugar works — this was the Birkenhead where our club was born. 'King Dick' Seddon was Prime Minister, and W.G. Grace had just turned 53.
In that first season of 1898–99, the team won seven, lost seven and drew one of their 15 matches. Club captain Henry Stewart led the batting, while the McPhail brothers and J. Wrightson were the star bowlers — James McPhail even taking a hat trick in an early ACA match.
