Wyndham Hill-Smith OBE (16 February 1909 – 25 October 1990) was an Australian cricketer and wine-maker.[1]
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Wyndham Hill-Smith | ||||||||||||||
Born | (1909-02-16)16 February 1909 Angaston, South Australia | ||||||||||||||
Died | 25 October 1990(1990-10-25) (aged 81) Angaston, South Australia | ||||||||||||||
Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||
Role | Batsman | ||||||||||||||
Relations | Clem Hill Les Hill Arthur Hill Henry Hill Percival Hill (uncles) | ||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
1931/32–1933/34 | Western Australia | ||||||||||||||
FC debut | 19 March 1932 Western Australia v South Africans | ||||||||||||||
Last FC | 26 March 1934 Western Australia v Australian XI | ||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 15 December 2008 |
The nephew of Australia captain Clem Hill, Hill-Smith was a left-handed batsman. He attended St Peter's College, Adelaide, playing in the college cricket team that toured Ceylon in January 1928.[2]
He played eight first-class matches for Western Australia and one for a representative Australian XI.[3] He made his first-class debut against the touring South Africans at the WACA Ground in 1932. Opening the batting, he made 56 runs before being dismissed by Xen Balaskas.[4]
Following the death of his brother Sidney in the Kyeema aircraft crash in 1938, Hill-Smith returned to South Australia to take on the management of the family winery, Yalumba at Angaston.[5] He led the company from 1938 to 1986.[6] In 1980, Hill-Smith was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the wine industry and horse racing.[7]
A grandstand at Cheltenham Park Racecourse was named the Wyndham Hill Smith Grandstand.[8] His Wisden obituary concluded with the comment, "In later life he became famous for the liberal hospitality which he extended to touring teams at his Yalumba vineyard in South Australia."[9]