Heathcote Williams (cricket administrator)


Edward Heathcote Williams was a New Zealand lawyer, farmer and cricket administrator.

Early life and family

Heathcote Williams was one of 11 children, eight boys and three girls. His grandfather Henry Williams was a missionary who arrived in New Zealand in 1823, his father John William Williams was a 19th-century New Zealand politician, and one of his brothers, Kenneth, was a 20th-century New Zealand politician.
He was educated at Auckland Grammar School. He moved to Napier in 1881.

Cricket career

Heathcote Williams' playing record was modest – one first-class match for Hawke's Bay in 1891-92 when he captained his side to an innings victory over Taranaki – but he became one of the leading cricket administrators in New Zealand.
He was the president of the Hawke's Bay Cricket Association from 1892 until his death in 1931. In Christchurch on 27 December 1894, as a delegate from Hawke's Bay, he presided at a meeting of 12 delegates from around New Zealand at which the New Zealand Cricket Council was formed. He was elected the inaugural president. In all he served as president of the Council eight times.