This week saw the erection at Burnside Park of three of our club legends who were part of ‘The Pillars of Pride’ installation at Lancaster Park (AMI Stadium as it was known).
Committee Member Will Kennedy entrusted the help of fellow Te Ara Maurea Roydvale School staff member John Lintott to design and build the necessary steel brackets to hang the curved metal pieces on the posts of the Pavilion.
Will was able to use some of funds from his raffle towards this project as well some of the 2025 Golf Day funds which Matthew Everest arranged to have an anti-graffiti cover applied by Riccarton Signs. A terrific job in a short space of time – but how did they get to Burnside Park?
‘The Pillars of Pride’ were commissioned by the Victory Park Board – the statutory body established under the Victory Park Act 1919 to manage and govern Lancaster Park on behalf of the public and local sporting codes. Designed to honor the “Legends of Lancaster Park,” the installation featured dedicated physical pillars and commemorative plaques celebrating legendary Canterbury players across both rugby and cricket. Players from our club are:
Dan Reese (1879–1953)
Dan Reese is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Canterbury and New Zealand cricket. A talented left-handed all-rounder and long-time captain for West Christchurch, he made his first-class debut for Canterbury in 1898 as a teenager. Reese captained both Canterbury and New Zealand in the pre-Test era and enjoyed success playing top-level county cricket in England.
Off the field, Reese was a monumental administrator. As Chairman of both the Canterbury Cricket Association (CCA) and the New Zealand Cricket Council (NZCC), he played a central role in establishing the district cricket system in Christchurch and securing Hagley Oval as a premier venue for the province.
Graham Dowling, OBE (Born 1937)
Graham Dowling is one of New Zealand cricket’s most distinguished opening batsmen and captains. Dowling represented Canterbury and West Christchurch with distinction throughout the 1960s, earning 39 Test caps for New Zealand between 1961 and 1972 (19 as captain).
His crowning on-field moment occurred in 1968 at Lancaster Park, where he led New Zealand to its first-ever Test victory over India, scoring a magnificent 239 runs in a single innings. He subsequently skippered New Zealand to its first Test series victory against Pakistan in 1969. Following his playing career, Dowling served as Chief Executive of New Zealand Cricket, an ICC Match Referee, and spent a decade as Patron/President of Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club (2005–2015).
Graham Dowling was significantly involved in the amalgamation of the clubs at Burnside in 1972 both as a player and committee member.
Brian Hastings (1940–2024)
Brian Hastings was a stylish middle-order batsman who anchored the Canterbury batting lineup through the 1960s and 1970s while playing for West Christchurch. Hastings represented New Zealand in 31 Test matches between 1969 and 1976, scoring 1,510 Test runs with 4 centuries at an average of 30.20.
His most famous performance came at Eden Park in 1973 against Pakistan, where he scored 110 and shared a world-record 151-run 9th-wicket partnership with Richard Collinge. Hastings also played a crucial administrative role at the club with the amalgamation between West Christchurch and Burnside, serving on the committee that laid the groundwork for the modern club at Burnside Park.
Following the devastating February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, AMI Stadium (Lancaster Park) was severely damaged and subsequently condemned for demolition in March 2017. Deconstruction started in 2018 and final day of deconstruction was 15th October 2019 – 138 years to the day it was first opened in 1881. Community and sports groups had the chance to acquire parts of the Stadium as part of the deconstruction process.
The grey seats on the deck at Burnside are from Lancaster Park and donated by a member of the club.
At some point the Pillars of Pride were recovered and Rugby were installed at Rugby Park and this was completed in July 2018.
It’s unclear what plans Canterbury Cricket or the Trust may have considered for the 13 Cricket Pillars of Pride, however they were put into storage and the club was contacted this year by St Albans Cricket Club that these were available and that Canterbury Cricket would be getting in touch with us. We were certainly proud to accept them. We think having them gifted to the club of origin where they can be displayed to inspire the next generation is an excellent choice.
In August 2026 Conrad Dry, the President and Chair at St Albans CC, dropped them off to Burnside Park where Will Kennedy offered to take the lead on having them installed.
Please email in any amendments, photos, information suggestions to for this article to cricket@burnsidecricket.org.nz
