Donald Harry Seccombe (born 3 April 1942) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n politician and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played several first-class matches for

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

during the early 1960s, and later served in

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

as the mayor of Redland Shire. Born in

Goomeri Goomeri ( ) is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Goomeri had a population of 677 people. Geography The town is located on the intersection of ...

, Seccombe was one of three cricketing brothers who played matches for Queensland Country representative sides during the 1960s (the others being Roger and Colin), though he was the only one to progress to the state team. A right-handed middle-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

, he made his first-class debut in the 1962–63 season of the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

, playing two matches (home and away) against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. On debut at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

, Seccombe scored 58 runs coming in sixth in Queensland's first innings, partnering with Des Bull (152) for a 118-run

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

for the fifth wicket. In the second match, at

the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

, he scored 48 and 41, putting on 104 for the fourth wicket with Graham Bizzell in Queensland's second innings. Seccombe's third and fourth matches for Queensland came two seasons later, home games against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and Victoria in January and February 1965, respectively. In what were his last matches for the team, he scored only 57 runs over four innings. He was promoted to first drop behind Bull and

Sam Trimble Samuel Christy Trimble, (16 August 1934 – 29 July 2019) was an Australian first-class cricketer who played for Queensland between 1959–60 and 1975–76. Trimble began his career in New South Wales, but unable to break into the state team ...

in the match against Victoria, and was caught by

Bob Cowper Robert Maskew Cowper (5 October 1940 – 11 May 2025) was an Australian cricketer who played Test cricket for Australia from 1964 to 1968, and Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria and Western Australia from 1960 to 1970. He scored the first ...

for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

off of Alan Connolly's bowling, who finished with figures of 9/67 in Queensland's first innings. He continued playing for country-based representative sides until the late 1970s, playing several times against touring international sides. Outside of sports, Seccombe was at one stage national sales manager for Incitec Ltd., a fertiliser manufacturer. A founder (and past president) of both the Redlands Sporting Club and the Redland Foundation, and later president of Clubs Queensland, he served as mayor of Redland Shire from 2001 to until the 2008 election, which he did not contest. He was named a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, for "significant service to the community, particularly through cricket administration and the clubs industry". Seccombe's nephew, Wade Seccombe, was also a notable cricketer, playing over 100 Shield matches as Queensland's

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.Wade Seccombe player profile
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seccombe, Don 1942 births Australian cricketers Australian sports executives and administrators Cricketers from Queensland Living people Mayors of places in Queensland Queensland cricketers Members of the Order of Australia People from Wide Bay–Burnett 20th-century Australian sportsmen