From 1994 to 2009

Pat Hurry played Croquet at Sawtell and decided to try to establish a Croquet Club at Woolgoolga.

Pat approached Clive Joass from Woolgoolga Sports Council and he directed her to Jim Graham who steered her to John Goddard. Jacqui Till organized and advertised in the local paper for expressions of interest for forming a Croquet Club in Woolgoolga.

A meeting was held on 26th October 1994 at Woolgoolga Community Village, chaired by Jim Graham. A steering committee was formed and the first official meeting was held at John and Mary Goddard`s home on 16th December 1994 with 9 financial members. Inaugral office bearers were John Goddard (who passed the Presidency onto Fred Till), Secretary Pat Hurry and Treasurer Jacquiline Till.

A Constitution was written and in May 1995 the Club came under the umbrella of the Woolgoolga Bowling Club.

$300.00 was borrowed from the Sports Council to purchase second hand equipment from Gosford Club.

Play commenced down at the beach front where the markets are now held. Each week the size of the court would be paced out and flags put at each corner. Pat Hurry could carry all the gear to and from her home in the boot of her car. John Goddard and Henry Studer along with other members took it in turns to mow the grassed area before each game. Many of the original members made their own mallets. Members of the Sawtell Club came on several occasions to give instructions and tuition in both Golf and Association games to members of the newly formed club.

The Secretary wrote to all the Government Departments and members of Parliament who may be able to assist with the development of the fledging club. On 28th February 1996 $1500.00 was received from the Sports and Recreation and on 27th September 1996 $400.00 was given by Croquet NSW.

Council, at the behest of Woolgoolga Community Village Management Committee, allocated the block of land where the present greens are now situated. Members and families, both men and women, under the leadership of Jack Brooks and Fred Till, started holding working bees to clear and prepare the area, with much raking and breaking up of clods. They were also helped by some local tradesmen, especially John Howard who with his earth moving equipment made the leveling of the greens so much easier.

The original court was the little one on the southern side of the present complex.

The Green was opened at Luncheon at the Woolgoolga Bowling Club late 1995. Des and Loris Willmore from Gosford attended and presented the Club with 4 trophies. A larger perpetual Trophy was given from the defunct Gosford Club.

The Woolgoolga Bowling Club assisted us by their green keepers being in charge of mowing and we were also able to store our equipment in one of their storerooms in a cupboards donated by the Tills.

In 1997 we discussed developing a new green and proceeded by approaching Council for their input. After costing, it was decided it was too big a project and instead, sought permission to straighten the existing green and build a shelter shed. On 30th September 1997 a committee of John Bruce, John Goddard, Henry Studer and Pat Hurry were appointed to liaise with all representative bodies to examine the possibility of extensions to the greens. John Bruce was later appointed our Project Manager.

The Sports and Recreation allocated us $6000.00 and the Woolgoolga Rotary Club donated $2000.00 from their Auction. Throughout these years members made and donated goods for raffles, and monies raised together with green fees, resulted in a substantial amount.

Council planned to build a new Library in Ganderton Street, taking portion of our existing green. A new full size green was to be built at the rear of the Library . Council incorporated into their plans a room with toilet, power and water and a covered area close to our greens for our use.

Under the very capable leadership of John Bruce, the men namely John Goddard, Henry Studer, Jack Brooks, Harvey Reid, Gordon Holman, John Young commenced work.

December 1999 meeting reported spraying had been done. After levelling, a base of crusher dust and topdressing was added and then Laser leveled. After a game played with Sawtell Croquet Club on the bowling greens of Coffs Harbour Catholic Club, mulched and scarified grass from green renovation at the club was donated and spread with pleasing results.

The area was fenced and the plans to bring and maintain all greens at a high standard is on-going.Mark Fraser, the green keeper of the Woolgoolga Bowling Club together with his staff has given invaluable assistance and advice over the years. Mark continues to help with mowing and is paid by our Club accordingly.

Social functions (e.g picnic lunches and barbeques) were once a regular occurrence when visiting teams played. At first these were held in the barbecue area of the Bowling Club. Later, when our shed was handed over to us, these continued for a while at the site of the present grounds. The highlight social function of the past few years has been the annual Christmas dinner.

Our monies are often stretched to allow us to buy new equipment from time to time, to fit out our room, insure our contents and be free of debt. We are, at this time (2009), an independent, self-reliant club.

Currently we have one full and one half green in very good condition. Our membership stands at 55 and we play both Association and Golf Croquet. Inter-Club competitions are held with both Sawtell and Urunga at various times throughout the year. We also have a lot of visitors who join in while holidaying in the area.