Story

The Cricketers was built by Thomas McCormack, who began accumulating property in the Sandridge area from his arrival in Port Melbourne in 1861. Originally a dairyman, Thomas prospered and became a substantial land owner and ‘gentleman’ by the time of his death.

He was the owner-builder of the Cricketers Arms hotel, for which he bought the land on the far side of the Sandridge Lagoon in 1873.

The Cricketers Arms Hotel passed out of the family when Matthew McCormack, one of Thomas’s sons, died in 1905. It passed back into family hands in 1932, when James and Mary took it over and lived there with their family until the 1940s.  Other family members also lived in the Cricketers Arms. Mary, also known as ‘Ma’ McCormack, died when she was hit by a double-decker bus in Lonsdale St in 1946.

The Cricketers has seen many owners since 1873, and it is now safely in the hands of Steve Schreuder and his family who have lovingly restored and renovated the hotel to ensure it survives well into the future.