Gunnedah street to be named in honour of Roger Wotton

Gunnedah is paying tribute to parliamentarian, champion cricketer, administrator and military veteran, the late Roger Wotton, with a street expected to be named in his honour.

Gunnedah Shire Council has thrown its support behind the naming of a new street be called ‘Wotton Close’.

The street name, which is subject to a public exhibition period, is located in a new subdivision at 243-261 Stock Road.

The proposed road name is from drawn from council’s Naming of Public Infrastructure Register and refers to Roger Corfield Anson Wotton, from Gunnedah.

Mr Wotton was a Lieutenant in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force 1940-45, Country Party member from 1968-71 and 1973-1991, and captain of Gunnedah Cricket team in the 1950s, playing at country level.

He was also NSW Cricket Association vice president for 30 years, councillor and vice president on the Royal Agricultural Society from 1961, and ringmaster at the Sydney Royal Easter Show during the 1980s.

Mr Wotton was described in ‘The Final Curtain’ by Ron McLean as a ‘larger than life character’ who served NSW Parliament in the northern electorates of Burrangong (1968-71 and 1973-81) and Castlereagh (1981-1991).

He served in the AIF during World War II from 1940 to 1945, rising to the rank of Lieutenant and serving in Darwin, Moratai and Borneo.

After the war and a five-year stint in local government at Coonabarabran, Mr Wotton was selected as the Country Party’s candidate for the new state seat of Burrendong and was elected comfortably.

He remained in the NSW Parliament from then until 1991, when his then-seat of Castlereagh was abolished in another redistribution and he retired.

At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving member of the NSW Legislative Assembly.

Mr Wotton was revered by politicians young and old, including former Gunnedah shire mayor and state MP, Adam Marshall.

“He used to explain how to pronounce his last name by saying, “It’s ‘wotton’ as in cotton, not ‘wooten’ as in rootin'”, Mr Marshall recalled in his 2024 valedictory speech as the Member for Northern Tablelands.

Mr Wotton would later tell the then recently elected Gunnedah mayor, “Whatever you do in politics, remember this: If you always put people and their issues at the forefront, the politics will always take care of itself.”

The respected politician was also father-in-law to Gunnedah shire councillor and former deputy mayor, Rob Hooke.

Mr Hooke recalled Mr Wotton’s standing as a true ‘man of the people’.

“His real hobby was people,” Mr Hooke said. “He was a magnet for people and he knew people from all walks of life.”

In addition to his three decades with the Royal Agricultural Society – much of that as vice president, and 16 years with Sydney Royal, Mr Wotton was also Gunnedah Show Society president from 1956 until the late 1960s, during which he achieved near-legendary local status for his contacts in the RAS and his ability to “get things done”.

Mr Wotton’s legendary reputation extended to the cricket field as captain of the all-conquering Gunnedah cricket teams of the 1950s, which swept the boards in northern competition. He played against the touring Indian team in 1947 and against the MCC at Lismore in 1950. In 1954 he was captain of the Northern NSW team which played the MCC (England) team at Newcastle.

He was vice-president of the NSW Cricket Association for 30 years, as well as a life member, and was manager of the Australian team which toured New Zealand in 1977. He also managed NSW teams on several occasions at Sheffield Shield level.

It was after one of his team addresses that legendary wicketkeeper Rod Marsh apparently told Mr Wotton: “We eat managers”, to which Mr Wotton replied, “Well, you’ll find me pretty tough.”

Such was Mr Wotton’s humility in the top echelons of the cricket world, many didn’t even know he played as well as managed cricket teams.

After selling Kurrajong, Roger and his wife Shirley, moved into Gunnedah, building their home Kurramul above the Kamilaroi Road on the outskirts of town. Shirley died in October 1999 and Roger was given out by the Great Umpire on September 6, 2012, at the age of 93.

The proposed road name is on public exhibition for 28 days at Gunnedah Shire Council’s office at 63 Elgin Street and online at gunnedah.nsw.gov.au. Submissions should be received no later than 5pm on Thursday, August 14, 2025.