Cricket great's ashes not found but alternatives on table

Placemakers Dunedin branch operator Justin Macready says the ashes of cricket great Bert...
Placemakers Dunedin branch operator Justin Macready says the ashes of cricket great Bert Sutcliffe are ‘‘very unlikely’’ to be found. Right: Sutcliffe walks out on to Carisbrook during an Otago v Canterbury Plunket Shield match in 1948. PHOTOS: PETER MCINTOSH/ODT FILES
The search for the ashes of Otago cricket great Bert Sutcliffe continues, but alternative ways to honour him are being considered as construction begins on a new PlaceMakers store at the old Carisbrook site.

New Zealand test cricketer Sutcliffe died in April 2001.

Some of his ashes were scattered at Carisbrook, but the remainder were buried there in a private ceremony later that year.

Otago Cricket approached the Sutcliffe family in 2010 with the idea of relocating his ashes to the University Oval.

The family agreed, but the ashes could not be found.

The Dunedin City Council sold the site to Calder Stewart in 2013. The buildings on the site were demolished in 2014.

PlaceMakers Dunedin branch operator Justin Macready said it was ‘‘very unlikely’’ the ashes would be found.

The mostly likely time for the ashes to have been found was when Carisbrook was demolished, as the turf was dug up.

If the ashes were on site they would had to have been buried very deep.

Although it was unlikely, the builders were aware of the situation and were keeping an eye out for the ashes, he said.

He had spoken to Calder Stewart and they were in talks about new ways Sutcliffe could be honoured.

What form that would take was still undecided, but it was important to have a memorial on site, he said.

wyatt.ryder@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement