The first Annual General Meeting was held on I September 12 1895 in Mr Geo Buxton’s rooms. The Annual Report (the first one presented) made special mention of five members of the Association gaining places in the northern team that played at Country Week. In particular D Pryor, H Harden and W Lipscomb had “performed exceedingly well with the bat”. (These Country Week matches had been introduced in 1892-93 by the NSWCA to search out country talent and they were usually followed by a Combined Country team match against a Metropolitan XI).
Ikon Moore was congratulated for “bringing honour to the Association” by his selection for NSW in the inter-colonial match against South Australia.
Congratulations were also extended to the Pearl and Singleton Clubs for sharing the honours in the senior competition, each club losing one match (Singleton had apparently been a late entry in the competition). The junior competition was won by the East Maitland B team but the Association regretted “it was not in a position to award badges” to the players of that club – a matter that raised some protest at the meeting.
The Treasurer, W T Lindsay, reported that receipts for the first season were €36.10.9 and the expenditure €28.7.1, leaving a credit balance of $8.3.8. Expenses included 4s.1d. for printing at T Dimmock, an old established Maitland firm.
The Postal District qualification rule that had led to the Albion dispute was repealed, thereby opening the way for that club to rejoin the Association. As a further reaction to the dispute it was decided the secretaries of the senior clubs should meet and draw up their own program of club fixtures for the senior competition – an arrangement that was to be followed for the next three seasons.
In addition to the inter-district matches against Newcastle and Robertson Associations it was resolved that the Association should arrange a program of electorate matches, with teams from each of the political divisions competing against each other.