Gabbin keeps on giving.

My first visit was in June 2020, straight after lockdown and quite early in my new obsession with abandoned cricket pitches. I could see the pitch, out in a paddock not far from the well-maintained hall, and took a few snaps from a distance. I took more pics on the weekend with the crop in full bloom.

Some new information came through. That wasn’t the main pitch. Cricket was played on a recreation reserve on the other side of town. A visit in June 2022 added another pitch to my collection. It wasn’t hard to find.

Then in July 2022 I was watching an interview by Matthew Pavlich with Dockers coach Justin Longmuir on Kayo. There was a bombshell moment for me when Longmuir revealed he went to Gabbin Primary School, not Koorda as most thought.

I was returning to the area last weekend and during my preparation noticed (via Google Maps) there were two ovals side-by-side in the old Gabbin Recreation Reserve. I decided to investigate. Recently installed information signs are evidence that while not many people live in Gabbin these days, it certainly isn’t neglected. It turns out the town had separate footy and cricket grounds. 

Gabbin Football Club played in various competitions from at least 1920 and won the first Koorda Football Association premiership in 1929. Opponents over the years have included Koorda, Mandiga (I hope to find the cricket pitch there one day), Cadoux, Booralaming, Kulja and Mollerin.

It was fascinating to wander around in the sparse bush that was once the centre of sporting and social activity. If there was anyone else in Gabbin on Saturday they may have heard the delighted shouts, the screams, the squeals, the swearing when I emerged from bushes and spied the scoreboard.

Additional information from Western Australian Football: The Clubs, Competitions and Premiers (1885-1945) by Derek Mott.

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