Narre Warren Bowls Club - SportsTG · newspaper report of the time says in one article ‘the...

Narre Warren Bowls ClubMagid Drive, Narre Warren, 3805. Ph: 9704 9702

[email protected] by: John Uren

Produced by: Micki Horton, Judy Naughton, Geoff Ampt

30th anniversary2_Layout 1 2/09/2017 11:22 AM

This document covering thefirst 30 year history of NarreWarren Bowls Club is di-

vided into three broad sections,namely the Beginning and first 10-year period, the Consolidation andsecond 10-year period, and theChange and the third 10-year period.A brief concluding section providesinformation on plans already in placefor the beginning of the next decadetogether with some crystal balling onwhere the club may travel during theperiod.

The Beginning and FirstDecadeThe club commenced with a letterwritten to the City of Berwick inMarch 1984 by two Berwick bowlerswho lived in Narre Warren. Thebowlers, Lorna and Bill Wilsonpointed out the need for a secondbowling club in the district as the ex-isting club, Berwick, had reachedsaturation point. Very little informa-tion is available on what took placeover the next 18 months. A newspa-per article, retained in club records,and marked as being published onthe 23/10/1985, says that 31 bowlsenthusiasts met at a public meetingcalled to look into the possibility ofa second bowls club being formed inthe area. The article also says thattwo sites were suggested for the newclub, being beside the Fountain Gateoval and east of the Civic Centre. The article also mentions the council hadtentatively set aside $100,000 in the1987/88 estimates to establish a newclub; however, the City Manager ex-plained to the meeting that Councilwould need to be convinced a need for itexisted before making a final commit-ment. The article further mentions that aSteering (Foundation) Committee hadbeen formed.The Foundation Committee of the pro-posed Narre Warren Bowls Club metfor the first time on 29 October 1985.This committee was very active, and

started raising funds and runningbowls tournaments with the help of theBerwick Bowls Club. The FoundationCommittee called a public meeting,and it was held on 9 April 1986 – ‘forpersons 18 years and over who are in-terested, and wish to become membersof this worthwhile club’. A total of 74people attended the meeting and, ofthese, 72 paid $2.00, and thus becamethe foundation members of the club. ASteering Committee was elected at thepublic meeting. The meeting waschaired by Councillor John Bryon.Records show that the meeting was in-formed that the Berwick Bowls Clubhad approximately 300 members, andhad a waiting list of people wanting tojoin the club.The need for another bowls club in thegeneral Fountain Gate area had beenclearly demonstrated, and Council setabout finding appropriate land, prepar-ing cost estimates and allocating the re-quired monies in their planningbudgets.

The decision on the site was made inFebruary 1986 based on advice thecouncil received from an organisationcalled the Turf Research and AdvisoryInstitute. A local newspaper articlepublished in February 1986 detailedthe advice given by the Institute. Itsays that included in the Institute’s ad-vice was a statement ‘the site next tothe oval allowed for the developmentof two good greens, with the potentialfor a third if the cricket oval wasmoved closer to the highway’. The ar-ticle also said the Institute cautionedthat wind could be a problem, addingit could be diminished with the plant-ing of suitable shrubs. It also said that

flooding of the greens was unlikely.Work started on construction of theGreen A in April or May 1987.Green A was constructed first andwas completed some two years be-fore Green B was completed.While Council approved plans forthe construction of two greens itprovided money initially for fullconstruction of green A only andpartial construction (earthworksonly) for Green B. Photographstaken in August 1987 show GreenA having been formed and levelled,and concrete ditch walls, waterservice, shelter sheds, fence postserected/installed and screen treesplanted. So much was achieved be-tween May and August 1987. Anewspaper report of the time saysin one article ‘the building of thegreen, under the guidance of CityContracts engineer GraemeMcMillian included the use of ster-ilised sand, like that used at VFLPark, and the installation of an au-tomatic sprinkler system. No effortwas spared, and special drains werebrought from Albury and had to becarefully laid as they had a toler-ance of only a few millimetres’.The first AGM of the Narre WarrenBowls Club was held on 12 May1987 at the Fountain Gate CricketClub Pavilion. A councillor of theRoyal Victorian Bowls Association,Harry Reid, took the chair for theelection of office bearers. Bob Roffwas elected president. The meetingagreed on a joining fee of $30.00 andan annual fee of $50.00 per member.The bank balance at the time was$3,819.84.While it is known that the first AGMof Ladies’ Section was held on 12May 1987, no record of the meetinghas been located.A temporary clubhouse and externaltoilets were installed in September1987. Construction of the permanentclubhouse commenced in early 1989, (Continued on page 8)

Introduction

The FoundationCommittee of the

proposed Narre WarrenBowls Club met for the

first time on 29 October1985


The Beginning

Records arenot

available to show whatnegotiations/considerations weredevoted to theproposal between theWilsons’ letter ofMarch ‘84 andOctober ‘85meeting

In March 1984, Lorna Wilson sent thisletter to the City of Berwick requesting theformation of a second bowls club in the

local area.


Leader Newspaper Group has kindly

given its permission for us to

reprint clippingsfor this publication.

Star Newspapers has kindly given itspermission for us to reprint clippings andphotographs for this publication.


Memorial gates at Fountain Gate, from which design ofNarre Warren Bowls Club badge was taken

Above and right: Site clearing

Below: Delivery of first load of timber Construction commences


Installation of temporary clubrooms in September 1987

Frame of the clubroom


In contrast to today,

when very little is

expected of mem-

bers in the upkeep of

the club, it was

‘everybody grab a

hammer, nail or

shovel and put your

back into it’ when

the club was being

formed.

Air conditioning had a different meaning during construction of the clubhouse. I presume the ‘tinnies’ were dispensedfrom Eskies.


WGBA life member, Ron Cotter (right) presents the

Champion of Chamnpions pennant to Bill Wilson of Narre Warren.

Narre Warren Bowling Club’sFirst Annual Meeting was held at Fountain

Gate Cricket Club on 12/5/1987.Present were 52 members.

Office bearers: President R Roff;Senior Vice President J Allot;Junior Vice President R Ireland;

Secretary W Wilson;Assistant Secretary H Watling;

Treasurer R Mowatt.Committee: H McCombe, John Brodie,

J Jenner, R Mundy, W Stevens,Jean Brodie, H Fox.

Bowls Secretary: D Jones; Bowls CommitteeR Ireland, K McCann, John Brodie,B Woodward; Selection CommitteeW Wilson, R Ireland, L Buchanan,

H Watling, R Chanter; Greens DirectorE Stephenson; Greens Committee

W Wilson, J Jenner, S Leveque, P Curmi,Woodward, Jack Heathcote,W Dawkins,

R Mundy, J Allott, R Cooksley

Present at the committee meeting held at the home

of W & L Wilson on 29/5/1986 were: W&L Wilson,

H&F Sanders, M&G Gibbon, H&E Helms, S Leveque,

R&J Jenner, R Roff, H Watling, D Jones.

Office bearers were: President R Roff;

Senior Vice President L Wilson;

Junior Vice President D Jones;

Secretary H Watling;

Assistant Secretary W Wilson;

Treasurer R Jenner.

Continued from page 2 and photographs included in thisdocument show the installation ofthe slab in 1989, and the first lunchin the building (only framed) on 23April of the same year.The Narre Warren Bowls Clubwas formally opened on 19 Sep-tember 1987. A large crowd at-tended the opening, includingspecial guests from the City ofBerwick, RVBA, VLBA and WestGippsland Bowling Association. Aspecial guest was Mrs Sylvia No-belius who was presented with aclub badge. The significance ofthis presentation was that, whilethe club badge was designed bySecretary Wattling, it depicted theNarre Warren Memorial Gates -

which in turn had been built byJack Nobelius. The memorial is asubstantial structure built in 1923in memory of locals lost in WWI,and originally sited at the entry tothe Narre Warren Sports Ground.Opening day for the ladies was heldfive days later on Thursday 24 Sep-tember. The opening was well at-tended. Among those present wereNorton and president of the WestGippsland Bowling Association, MrsMargaret Burgess, who put downthe first jack and bowl respectively.Narre Warren Ladies’ President, MrsRuby Jenner, and Secretary MrsLorna Wilson were heavily involvedin the opening program.During the long fight to have it

recognised that another bowls clubwas needed in the area, and the sub-sequent work performed in installa-tion of the greens and erection of theclubhouse, many strong and lastingfriendships were forged. Photographstaken at the time depict a highly so-cial group, and that there were nu-merous ‘fun’ events. The creation ofa new entity/association/club is a spe-cial event, like the creation of a newperson. From the memories of thefew remaining ‘originals’ and fromwritten and photographic records, theearly hard work and excitement ma-tured into a stable and successful firstdecade in the history of the club.

The Foundation Committee

of the proposed

Narre Warren Bowling Club

was held at the home of

Gwen Greentree,

5 Oakwood Court,

Narre Warren

on 29/10/1985

Committee Members were:

B Wilson, L Wilson,

H Sanders, F Sand

ers,

M Gibbon, G Gibbon

,

H Jones, F Jones,

S Leveque, H Watling,

G Greentree


WGBA life member, Ron Cotter (right) presents the

Champion of Chamnpions pennant to Bill Wilson of Narre Warren.

Pictured left, the Tuesday pennant sidewhen we were in the West Gippsland

Bowling Association.Back Row: Beryl Johnson,Jean Morrison, Hazel Jarvis,Thelma Dawkins, Lorna Wilson,Wilma Parker, Mien Gerraeds,Muriel McCombe, Dot Seal,Val Madigan, Vera Smith.Front Row: Sally Scarlet,Dot Farrell, Vi Allen,

Frances Jones, Dot Hamilton,Joyce Heathcote, June Buchan,Freida Browning, Nell Henson,

Margaret Clarence.


What appears to be a ‘roaring ‘20s’ day at someone’s home, featuring from left: Ann Powell, Noel Ratcliffe,Doreen Collier, Wilma Parker, Thelma Dawkins, Sheila Ballard, Wally Ballard,Ruby Jenner (after whom our Ruby Jenner Pairs is named) and Val Madigan.

We have always put up a

good fight in pennant, a

nd

these ladies in the 1997

/98 season were no excep

tion.

The first four, from left:

Lois Schwennesen,

Lorraine Evans, Aileen

McKenzie (Life Membe

r) and

Rita Joynson lost by on

e shot. And the next fou

r:

Ivy Bertram, Dot Farrel

l (Life Member),

Audrey Mortimer and M

argaret Sheridan lost b

y

five shots.

Right:Mick Olden - a coach, nicebloke and an excellent bowler

Jan and John Heathcote, Helen Fox,Lorraine Evans and Bernie Turnbull at

Inverloch in 1994.

The 1990s


1995 New Bowlers competition. Back row: Gordon LowryKen Tomlin, Lorraine Evans, Andy Sheppard.

Front Row: Jim and Val McCartney, Esma and Roy Naismith.

Laurie Butler, Les Egan, Ian Adcock, Ray Ireland

Fred Johansson, Joy Tomlin, Ken Tomlin, Andy Sheppard,Bert Clarke, Wilma Johansson, Ann Sheppard

Lorraine Evans and Norm Fergusson with theStan Tolley trophy 1993-94. Norm did a lot for the

club in sponsorship and as bowls secretary.

Left: In the same year, foundationmember, Harry McCombe andhis partner Shirley Butler,were runners up pairs

Murial McCombe

and Shirley Butler

won the 1994-95

West Gippsland

Pairs.

Lorraine Evans and Bridie Baldwin being presentedwith their runners-up trophies in the club pairs for

1994-95


Club PresidentsBill Wilson ’92-’93

Fred Fox ’00-’03 & ’05-’06

Frank Appleby ’99-’00 & ’06-’08

John Uren ’08-’10

Peter Rouse ’13-’14

Ray Pigdon ’12-’13

Geoffrey Miller ’03-’05

Jack Allott ’98-’99Les Egan ’93-’96

Roy Mundy ’86-’88

Reg Johnstone ’15-’16

Judy Naughton -’10-’11 Kieran Fitzsimons ’11-’12

Kerry Davis ’14-’15Eric Sydenham ’16-

Bob Roff ’88-’90

Ray Ireland ’90-’92 & ’96-’98


1996

Lorraine Evans and Dot Farrell, the socialcommittee, dressed for and ready to cook theChampagne Breakfast and Presentation in

April 1996.

The NWBC choir (aka the Greens Committee), from left Frank Appleby, Jack Heathcote, John Schwennesen,

Lorraine Evans, Muriel McCombe, Betty Bemrose, Pat Yates

Frank Appleby w

ith Mark Jacob

sen.

In the days before we could afford agreenkeeper, this maintenance and

grounds crew slaved away every Mondaymorning to keep the greens and sur-rounds in tip-top shape. From left:

Jack Allott. Jack Heathcote,Wayne de Ruiter, Ray Ireland,

Bernie Turnbull, John Schwennesen,Keith Blencowe, Peter Geraeds.


The second decade was, ingeneral terms, a period ofconsolidation for the club.

The consolidation was achieved in adifficult outside environment. Near-ing the end of the previous decade,and leading into the second decade,Australia was experiencing a periodof economic depression. Manufactur-ing was contracting, and unemploy-ment exceeded 11 per cent. ManyAustralians were worse off than theyhad been in previous times. In addi-tion, there was an influx of newly ar-rived people from overseas,particularly from Vietnam. Signifi-cant technological change was alsooccurring, particularly with the intro-duction of the internet and mobilephones. In concert with the drift inmembership occurring throughoutAustralia, the Narre Warren BowlsClub experienced a reduction inmembership during its seconddecade. In addition, members’ partic-ipation in the club drifted during theperiod. For example, at the beginningof the period, social bowls during thesummer was played on Wednesdays,Fridays and Sundays. On Sundays, itwas impossible to get a game if youdid not book a spot a week in ad-vance. By the end of the period, Sun-day bowls has lapsed due to lack ofinterest.The indoor bowls section of the clubalso suffered a downturn during thedecade. Indoor bowls had been a pop-ular activity of the club during the firstdecade, and it continued to be so at thefront end of the second decade. Duringwinter in the early part of the period, itwas played Tuesdays, Friday nightsand Sundays, when there were gener-ally five mats being played.There were three pennant teams on aThursday day and night, and a socialinter-club once a month on Saturday,when there would be six mats played.Income to the club from indoor bowlsgrew steadily, and peaked in the 2001season, when a total of $6,840.45

(mostly from mat fees) was remittedto overall club funds.This level offunds from indoor bowls was approx-imately halved in the following (andsubsequent) years, due mainly to theclub opening the greens for outdoorbowls during the winter.With the reduction in membershipover the second decade, there wasalso a lengthening in the average ageof club members. When the club wasformed, the average age of memberswas approximately 50 years. Whilethe average at the end of the seconddecade is not precisely known, it isknown it was 69.4 just a few yearsinto thThee third decade.At the beginning of the period, theclub maintained its assets with a large

group of volunteers who worked onMonday mornings. Typically, thenumber of outdoor volunteers(Greens Committee) on site eachMonday was about 20 members,while indoor volunteers (HouseCommittee) was at least five. By theend of the period, the numbers inboth committees had dwindled in asignificant way. During the period,the club found it necessary to employa contract/professional greenkeeper.The decade commenced with theclub playing pennant in the WestGippsland Bowling Association (as ithad since the cub’s formation). Forthe 1997/98 season, and since, theclub has played Metropolitan, whichis run by Bowls Victoria. A signifi-cant legal decision early in the sec-ond decade had a huge impact on theoperation of bowls in Victoria.

In the year 2000, a 17-year-old younglady, Emily South from St KildaBowling Club, decided she wanted toplay bowls at the highest level of

competition. This was the Saturdayafternoon men’s competition that ranunder the control of the Royal Victo-rian Bowls Association (RVBA). TheSt Kilda Bowls Club believed shewas sufficiently skilled to play in theSaturday competition, but the RVBAwould not register her. Emily Southtook her case to the Victorian EqualOpportunity Commission. At a sub-sequent hearing, the RVBA defendedits position by using the ‘strength,stamina and physique’ exceptionwhich applies in discrimination leg-islation. However, the Commissionrejected the defence presented by theRVBA on the grounds that strength,stamina and physique were not sig-nificant in lawn bowls. The RVBAwas ordered to amend its rules so asnot to prohibit women.Throughout the first decade, thelady members of the club sup-ported the Saturday pennant formen by providing afternoon tea.This was always more than ade-quate, and sometimes sumptuous. Itis understood the need for a sub-stantial afternoon tea on Saturdayswas justified on the basis that manymale bowlers worked a five-and-a-half-day week, hence were in needof sustenance by afternoon tea timeon a Saturday. By the beginning ofthe second decade, the need for abig repast was being questioned.The dwindling availability of ladymembers was also a factor. By theend of decade, afternoon tea atmany clubs had become a modestaffair, with the men players alsohaving a role in the presentation ofthe refreshments.The club celebrated its 20th birthdaywith a dance in its clubrooms. Approx-imately 150 guests attended, includingthe original president, Bob Roff. Rockband IC Rock provided the musical en-tertainment during the evening. Theband plated a goodly amount of old-time music, which allowed guests todance. According to newspaper re-ports, the event was a great success.

Second Decade

The RVBA was ordered toamend its rules so asnot to prohibit women.


The 2000sIn the ‘noughties’, rules are relaxing somewhat, and ladies are wearing trousers as a matter of course.Official whites are giving way to uniforms in club colours, and a few ladies dare to play in Saturday pennant(properly affiliated, of course). The RVBA and VLBA amalgamate to become Bowls Victoria,and - horror of horrors! - men join Tuesday pennant, heretofore the bastion of the ladies.

The pennant finalists at Garfield in1999-2000, proudly celebrating their”winning 75-71 score. From left:Rob Naughton, David McKenzie,John Herschell, Andrew Evans,Fred Fox, Sholto Douglas, John Schwennesen, John Green,Dennis Amezdroz.

Melbourne Cup Day waswholeheartedly celebrated untilonly a few years ago. One of theevents was ‘Best Hat’. Here are

the finalists for 2000. Rob Naughton,

Dot Farrell, Enid Gibb, Neville Bell, Barbara Cowley,

Lois Schwennesen, Nancie Burton

Indoor bowls was bigbusiness back in the‘noughties’, with fiveand six mats being thenorm on Tuesday andSunday, and three onFriday nights. We stillhold our own in pen-nant, butparticipation is downon the ‘glory days’.


Narre Warren Bowls Club - SportsTG · newspaper report of the time says in one article ‘the...

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Transcript of Narre Warren Bowls Club - SportsTG · newspaper report of the time says in one article ‘the...