Emerson RodwellPrint Page 
Gates commemorate Edwin Emerson Rodwell M.M. (Military Medal) who was a cricket player, umpire, sports commemtator and sports administrator. He was a soldier in World War Town and saw service in New Guiinea and Borneo and was awarded the Military Medal.
He was an opening batsman and a prolific run-scorer at club level, and represented Tasmania on 18 occasions at first class level, and captained Tasmania five times between 1950–51 and 1955-56. During his captaincy Tasmania won their first first-class match after a winless period of over 20 years, making him the first successful Tasmanian captain since Jim Atkinson in the early 1930's.
By the time he finished his playing career, he was already a life member of Glenorchy Cricket Club, where he continued to work as a club administrator.
Location
| Address: | King George V Avenue, KGV Oval, Glenorchy, 7010 |
|---|---|
| State: | TAS |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -42.831828 Long: 147.27637 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Gate |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Sport |
Dedication
Emerson Rodwell
A Glenorchy Cricket Club Legend
1921 - 2011
Edwin Emerson Rodwell MM (born April 12,1921, in Claremont, Tasmania) was a decorated soldier, cricket player, commentator, newspaper columnist and adminsitrator. He fought in World War 2, in Borneo, and was awarded the Militray Medal for "exemplary coolness, bravery and devotion to duty", during an attack on a fortified Japanese postion on the island of Tarakan, off the coast of Borneo, in May 1945.
Rodwell was a top order batsman and a prolific run-scorer at club level, and represented Tasmania on 18 occassions at first-class level, captaining the side five times between 1950-51 and 1955-56. He scored a first class century : 104 against Victoria at the MCG in January 1950. During his captaincy Tasmania won its first match at that level since 1935-36.
Rodwell was one of the premier cricket players of the immediate post-war period in Tasmania. He dominated the Tasmanian Grade Cricket competition as a batsman, captain and dangerous bowler playing as an aggressive top-order batsman for his beloved Glenorchy Cricket Club, whom he represented for his whole career.
His amazing first-grade career spans from his debut at 17 in 1938-39 through to the end of the 1963-64 season, when he was just short of his 43rd birthday. He played 293 matches and amassede 11,703 first-grade runs from 344 innings at an average of 37.87. He also had the competition`s highest season average on six occassions, and was the leading run scorer five time and scored 29 hundreds. During the 1949-50 season he scored a thenreord of 1071 runs for the season. Rodwell made his highest score of 215 against Kingborough Cricket Club at their home ground of Kingston Beach Oval.
Rodwell`s prolific run-scoring sometimes overshadowed his all-round abilities. A right-arm medium pace bowler, he was able to move the ball off the pitch, and claimed 355 wickts during his club career and he also dismissed Neil Harvey while bowling for Tasmania. His career best retun was 7/44.
Rodwell as equally effective as Glenorchy`s captain. During his time in charge the club dominated the TCA competition winning eight titles. He was involved in an amazing 11 titles during his playing career and Glenorchy finished either first or second for 17 consecutive seasons, from 1947-48 to 1963-64. His commitment to cricket and the Glenorchy Cricket Club continued playing several years in lower grades and performing a number of administrative roles. He remained an avid supporter until his passing.
The Emerson Rodwell Medal, named in his honour in 2007 is awarded annually to the Cricket Tasmania Premier League best and fairest player. He died on 27 February 2011.
