Christopher Mace (24 December 1830 – 23 November 1907) was an English-born

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. He played one first-class cricket match in Australia for Victoria in the 1861–62 season and one in New Zealand for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

during the 1863–64 season, the first match played in New Zealand which has been given first-class status. Mace was born in England, at

Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town of ...

in Yorkshire, in 1830. His younger brother Harry was educated at Bedale School. The brothers, along with their older brother John Mace, emigrated, first to the Colony of Victoria in Australia and then, in the early 1860s, to New Zealand during the Otago Gold Rush. Christopher and Henry established a partnership to mine on the Arrow River in Northern

and the settlement of

Macetown Macetown is an historic gold mining settlement in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is now uninhabited but has become a tourist attraction. Access to the town is via an unsealed road that heads up the steep-sided Arrow gorge. ...

there is named after the three brothers. The partnership was dissolved in 1865, although Christopher stayed in the area, mining with Richard Canovan. In 1883 Mace was appointed the manager of the Eureka gold mine at Terawhiti near Wellington on New Zealand's North Island. In January 1862 Mace played cricket for Victoria against New South Wales in a match at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

. In January 1864 he played in the first cricket match to have been awarded first-class status in New Zealand, a fixture between Otago and Canterbury played in Dunedin. His brother John played in the same match.Christopher Mace
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 June 2023. He is known to have played other cricket matches whilst in Otago, including two matches against a touring English team and for an Arrow side captained by his brother Harry. In Victoria he had played against another touring English team led by

HH Stephenson Heathfield Harman "HH" Stephenson (3 May 1833 in Esher, Surrey – 17 December 1896 in Uppingham, Rutland) was a famous English cricketer during the game's roundarm era. Stephenson bowled right-arm fast roundarm, batted right-handed and was a ...

in January 1862. Mace died at

Addington Addington may refer to: Places In Australia: * Addington, Victoria In Canada: * Addington, Ontario * Addington County, Ontario (now Lennox and Addington County, Ontario) * Addington Highlands, Ontario * Addington Parish, New Brunswick * Adding ...

, Christchurch in 1911 after contracting influenza as the result of suffering from bronchitis. He was aged 76.Deaths, '' Lyttelton Times'', volume XCVI, issue 14538, 25 November 1907, p. 1.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 2 June 2023.)

References

1830 births 1907 deaths Australian cricketers Otago cricketers Victoria cricketers People from Bedale Cricketers from North Yorkshire {{Australia-cricket-bio-1830s-stub