Walter Pearless Explained

Walter Pearless
Full Name:	Walter Hugh Pearless
Birth Date:	1879 3, df=yes
Birth Place:	Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
Death Place:	Richmond, Nelson, New Zealand
Club1:	Nelson
Club2:	Nelson
Year2:	1904/05
Type1:	FC
Debutdate1:	29 December
Debutyear1:	1904
Debutfor1:	Otago
Debutagainst1:	Wellington
Lastdate1:	31 December
Lastyear1:	1904
Lastfor1:	Otago
Lastagainst1:	Canterbury
Hidedeliveries:	true
Columns:	1
Column1:	First-class
Matches1:	2
Runs1:	29
Bat Avg1:	14.50
100S/50S1:	0/0
Top Score1:	17
Catches/Stumpings1:	1/–
Source:	https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/walter-pearless-38181 CricInfo
Date:	10 May
Year:	2024

Walter Hugh Pearless (28 March 1879 – 29 December 1940) was an Australian-born doctor and cricketer who played first-class cricket for Otago during the 1904–05 season.

Pearless was born at Gippsland in Victoria in 1879 but educated at Nelson College in Nelson, New Zealand.^[1] He played club cricket for Nelson College before moving to play for Wakefeld Cricket Club, a club that he remained involved with throughout much of his life.^{[2] [3] [4]} He played matches for the Nelson cricket team, including against a touring English side led by Lord Hawke in 1902–03, and later in his life acted as a selector for the Nelson Hawke Cup side.^{[5] [6] [7]}

After leaving school, Pearless, whose father was a doctor, studied medicine at the University of Otago in Dunedin.^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]} Whilst in Dunedin he played cricket for the Carisbrook club and during the 1904–05 season played in two representative matches for Otago.^{[13] [14]}

Described as a "patient and consistent cricketer",^[15] he made his debut for the side against Wellington in late December 1904, scoring 17 runs in his only innings of an innings victory, impressing with his "sound defence", although the cricket correspondent of the Otago Witness felt that he was unlucky to have batted at a time when Wellington's fielding was impressive, his "powerful hitting" failing to beat the fielders.^[15]

The match finished at 11:30 on 31 December and Pearless played his second, and final, first-class match later on the same day. The match, against Canterbury started at 2 pm on the same day, Pearless scoring eight runs in his first innings and four not out in his second, batting last in Otago's order during his final innings.^[5]

Pearless practiced as a doctor throughout the rest of his life, much of it in the Motueka area.^[16] He was involved with Motueka Cricket Club^{[17] [18]} until his death at Richmond in 1940 at the age of 61.^{[19] [20]}

Notes and References

1. McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 105. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2023-06-05.)
2. Cricket, Nelson Evening Mail, volume XXX, issue 289, 7 December 1896, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
3. The tour of the Wakefield Club, 'The Colonist, volume XLI, issue 9134, 31 March 1898, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
4. Wakefield Cricket Club, Nelson Evening Mail, volume LIV, issue LIV, 30 August 1920, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
5. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/22/22656/22656.html Walter Pearless
6. Cricket, Nelson Evening Mail, volume LVI, 5 January 1924, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
7. Cricket, Nelson Evening Mail, volume LVI, 22 September 1923, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
8. Nelson Collegians athlete Otago University, The Colonist, volume XLIII, issue 9633, 11 November 1899, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
9. University of Otago, Otago Daily Times, issue 11264, 7 November 1898, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
10. Practice of medicine, Otago Witness, issue 2539, 12 November 1902, p. 13. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
11. Surgery, Otago Witness, issue 2539, 12 November 1902, p. 13. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
12. University examination, Evening Star, issue 11522, 13 April 1901, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
13. Cricket, Evening Star, issue 12608, 13 September 1905, p. 1. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
14. Cricket: the Carisbrook Club, Evening Star, issue 11994, 17 September 1903, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
15. Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2651, 4 January 1905, p. 56. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
16. NZ Red Cross Society, Nelson Evening Mail, volume LXXII, 17 February 1939, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
17. Representative cricket, Nelson Evening Mail, volume LXIX, 30 January 1936, p. 11. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
18. Motueka Cricket Club, Nelson Evening Mail, volume LXXIII, 5 September 1939, p. 5. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)
19. https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/walter-pearless-38181 Walter Pearless
20. Deaths, Nelson Evening Mail, volume LXXIII, 30 December 1940, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 2023-12-11.)