|
Nowra Croquet Club Celebrates 95 Years of Croquet
Welcoming speech by Club President Wendy Wade Welcome to Mr Gareth Ward MP, Member for Kiama, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, Illawarra and South Coast ad Parliamentary Secretary for Education. It would have been interesting to be at the Meeting held in the Pavilion of the Bowling Club, presumably Nowra, when it was decided to form the Nowra Ladies Croquet Club 95. I would imagine these ladies had no idea that the small club which they had founded would ever be celebrating its 95th Birthday. Over the years, the club has had some very lean times, the membership dropped to the very small number of 15 and there were several long periods of time, six months or more when the single lawn was being reconditioned and unavailable for play. It was only due to the tenacity of members that it survived at all. We are now 70 plus members strong, and growing. The first man to play on the lawn at the West Street site was Mr Maslen from Sydney and it took until January 1965 for this to happen. It is believed the first man to actually become a member was the husband of the then President, Mrs Connie Button and that was in 1985, 63 years after the founding of the Club! Men were always welcome to help with the heavy work however, very undemocratic but that was just the way things were in those days. The members have always been the backbone of the club and this is also true today. Without our members we wouldn’t exist. They are always available to help when called upon to work around the club and to donate time and effort. This is evident in the appearance of the Club building and grounds. Apart from the mowing of the courts all the maintenance of our beautiful surroundings is carried out by the members. In February 2009, the first games were played on the current courts. The Amenities block was then constructed in 2012 and for the first time we had toilets on site, oh the luxury of not having to walk over to the Pool! The club is about to have to move again and once more we will be calling on our members’ generosity with time and maybe donations of plants to make the new grounds as lovely as the current one. Thank you all for being here today. Hopefully we’ll see you in five years time when we turn 100!!!! |
 Balloons Galore and of course the ‘cake'
 Past and present committee members with Gareth Ward MP member for Kiama and Nowra Croquet Club Patron.
Members Marion Wallis, Larry Beecroft, Margaret Sawers, Wendy Wade, Glyn Williams |
 Club members enjoying the great autumn weather |
 Listening to speeches |
 What a great day to have a birthday and speeches!!! |
|
Nowra hosts combined Probus clubs for their annual 'friendly'
On Monday the 24th May, Nowra again hosted Probus clubs from Nowra and Jervis Bay for their annual friendly GC day held at our courts in Bomaderry. Some 50 visitors enjoyed the bright and warm autumn day. Members of the croquet club assisted the players in honing their croquet skills with much fun and friendship. One of the visitors, Susan Wiesberg, was visiting from Boston, America, whilst another local visitor was Margie Thompson, who is ninety five years of age and quiet skilful with the mallet. Nowra Croquet Club always enjoy hosting these events. Bob Williamson |
 Visitors, Susan Weisberg (USA) Jan Chappelow, Monica Borg, Anne Lowenstein, watched by club member Phil Pickard |
 Steve Hutchison, watches Brian Costello, "skittle the bottles" |
 Geoff O’Dwyer, Lyn Thomson, Pat O’Dwyer and Nowra club member Val Pickard "pose for the camera" |
 Evonne Hutchison, Karen James(Nowra), Brian Costello, Ron Strong, watch Steve Hutchison "swing away" |
 Ross Thomson Margaret Hamblion and Sandra McLaren watch Margie Thompson (95) "run the hoop" |
 Winners are grinners, Margie Thompson celebrates her hoop! |
 Always a nice way to spend an autumn day!! |
On Easter Monday, glorious autumn sunshine provided a splendid backdrop for the inaugural battle for the Shire Shield between Port Hacking and Sutherland Croquet Clubs.
Port Hacking Club was the host club this time, but this will alternate from year to year.
Players from both clubs competed in pairs (one player from Sutherland Club with one player from Port Hacking Club) to win the shield. Wendy Fothergill, from Sydney Croquet Club, was referee for the day.
The battle on the lawns lasted all day with just a break for lunch in the club rooms. The motto for the day was "For Fun and Friendship" and this was certainly the prevailing spirit throughout the day's play.
The 2017 winning team was Margery Bennett (Sutherland CC) and Lorraine Hatfield (Port Hacking CC). Runners-up were Deb Morgan (SCC) and Peter Cullen (PHCC).
 Margaret Sawers |
Exciting Finish to NSW Women's GC Singles
Nowra Club Captain Margaret Sawers has beaten Maitland's Pam Gentle in a hoop count back for the state women's title. The double round robin event bubbled to a climax as both Pam and Margaret moved smoothly through the draw with consistent and accurate play. Pam had the edge leading into day two, having beaten Margaret in their first round encounter. However, Margaret showed a steely nerve and great determination to set up a nail biting conclusion to the championship. She had to beat Pam in the second last game of the tournament, then the experienced Nerida Taylor to take home the silverware. Nerida was full of praise for Margaret's effort saying she was 'very focussed'. Both Margaret and Pam ended up on 10 wins each from their 12 games, with Margaret winning by 10 hoops on a count back. The popular former NSW representative started the tournament as the number four seed behind Ros Johnstone, Pam and Nerida but her fearless hoop running and well thought out clearances saw her upset her more fancied rivals. This is Margaret's first state CG title, although she combined with club mate Glyn Williams to win the state Ricochet Doubles title last year. The Nowra club is incredible proud of their club captain's achievement. She is famous for her boundless energy and is always encouraging, coaching and devoting countless hours to the members and the club. David Hanbidge |