Arthur George Jenkins (7 February 1887 – 19 May 1963) was a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n cricket Test match umpire.

Early life

Jenkins was born at Woodville, South Australia on 7 February 1887. He was the son of a butcher, William Jenkins, who died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1895, and Jemima "Mina" Patten. William came from

Yealmpton Yealmpton () is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is located in the South Hams on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about from Plymouth. Its name derives from the River Yealm that flows through the villag ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and arrived in Australia on 28 April 1858 on the ''Storm Cloud''. Mina was born at

Port Noarlunga, South Australia Port Noarlunga is a suburb in the City of Onkaparinga, South Australia. It is a small sea-side suburb, population 2,918, about to the south of the Adelaide city centre and was originally created as a sea port. This area is now popular as a ho ...

, on 26 May 1861. Her parents had travelled to Australia from

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, aboard the ''Admiral Boxer'' on 21 August 1855. Arthur Jenkins had a sister, Eleanor May (b. 1883), and three brothers, Frederick Charles (1889–91), Stanley Robert (b. 1893), and William Roy (b. 1892). When the father died, the three surviving boys were farmed out to people who would take them. He married Ethel Nellie Paget on 4 September 1912. They had four children, Ronald Arthur (1913-2003), Eileen Nellie (1914), Lorna Nellie (1916–98), and Joyce Gwenyth (1918-2010). In his youth, Arthur Jenkins worked as an

ironworker An ironworker is a tradesman who works in the iron-working industry. Ironworkers assemble the structural framework in accordance with engineered drawings and install the metal support pieces for new buildings. They also repair and renovate o ...

, but spent the last 33 years of his working life as a

storeman A warehouseman can be someone who works in a warehouse, usually delivering goods for sale or storage, or, in older usage, someone who owns a warehouse and sells goods directly from it or from a shop fronting onto the warehouse (similar to a modern ...

Career

As a boy, Jenkins was a mascot, drink waiter, boundary marker, and assistant scorer for Woodville Cricket Club. He became an umpire in 1910 and was rewarded with the official fee of two

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...

per afternoon. By 1933 he was lecturing junior umpires in the art of the role. He umpired SACA matches well into his seventies, officiating in almost 800 games. Of those, some thirty were First Class matches,Cricket Archive
''Umpire in First Class Matches''. Retrieved 18 April 2015. typically South Australia playing against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Victoria or

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Others included South Australia v.

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(1928/29 and 1929/30), South Australia v.

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

(1931), South Australia v. New Zealanders (1937), and Don Bradman's XI v. Vic Richardson's XI (1937). Jenkins officiated at one Test match, the first between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, played at

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

from 12 December to 16 December 1930.Cricket Archive
''Australia v. West Indies'' The match was won by Australia by 10 wickets.
'' West Indies in Australia Test Series, 1930/31'' Jenkins' colleague was

George Hele George Alfred Hele (16 July 1891 – 28 August 1982) was an Australian cricket umpire who umpired 16 Test matches between 1928 and 1933. He was most famous for his role in the infamous Bodyline series, played between Australia and England duri ...

References

External links

*
Lists of matches
from CricketArchive

from CricketArchive 1887 births 1963 deaths Australian Test cricket umpires Australian people of English descent Australian people of Northern Ireland descent Australian cricket umpires Sportspeople from Adelaide {{Australia-cricket-bio-stub

Early life

Career

See also

References

Further reading

External links