The Ashburton Bowling Club will celebrate its 125th jubilee on Saturday.
Located in the picturesque grounds of the Ashburton Domain, the club has a bright future.
But it was not always the case. In 2020, members faced a battle to remain at their historic site.
It was following a long-term plan on the domain by the district council. It proposed the club’s two greens and buildings be relocated, to make way for a central information hub.
Club members protested and were ultimately able to remain there.
President Kevin Walker said it would be ‘‘a thrill’’ to celebrate the jubilee.
Today the grounds looked better than ever. They were located in an ideal location of the stunning domain gardens, framed by tall trees.
‘‘This is the greatest asset. We have got a great set-up and it’s quite protected from the wind,’’ Kevin said.
The club is going strong. It has about 55 playing members, aged from their 40s to 90s. Some had come from the recent closure of the Ashburton Club and MSA bowling club.This compares to about 80 playing members 10 years ago.
Kevin said the club was holding twilight bowls each Friday night, up until the end of February, in an effort to attract new members. New bowlers could just go along for a roll up and a barbecue.
Chair of the jubilee committee Judie Ryk said preparations for the 125th celebrations were going well.
She was expecting up to 80 past and present members to attend.
Proud history
‘‘Admirers of the ancient and ever popular game of bowls are reminded that a meeting to consider the question of establishing a club in Ashburton is convened for this evening.’’
So said an Ashburton Guardian newspaper notice on October 23, 1894.
The newspaper’s report the next day suggested there had been a good attendance, as the Ashburton Bowling Club was formed and a committee was elected. David Thomas was the president. However, records of the club from those early days are scarce, and it was not until five years later when further meetings were held that the club was officially founded.
The green, in the general vicinity of where the club is located today at the Ashburton Domain, was officially opened on the first day of 1900, though only for practice.
The pavilion is believed to have been a tank stand, boarded up around the sides, in which members stored their gear.
The formal opening of the club did not take place until March 1, when a visiting team from Christchurch made up the opposition. Membership was recorded at 37.
In 1906 a new pavilion was built and a new green was laid.
About this time David Thomas relinquished his position of club president.
While membership grew, history records the quality of the green was not satisfactory to members, so they appointed a green supervisor and greenkeeper, and a new green was laid.
Membership stood at 90 in 1946.
In 1950 the club held its golden jubilee. It involved a dinner, tournament and performance by the Ashburton Silver Band.
In 1952 it was decided female members could be admitted to the club.
They were allowed to play on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, but not on Saturday, which remained the domain of male bowlers. One man resigned from the club because of the decision to allow ladies.
The 1906 pavilion was renovated in the 1950s, but as the club continued to grow a new pavilion was needed.
A building fund was created in the late 1960s and a new pavilion built. A well was installed in 1979 to help with watering of the greens.
The pavilion was extended in the mid 1980s.
Relaxing of licensing laws enable the club to incorporate a bar on the premises. In 1995 members decided to apply for a full liquor license.
‘‘This is now big business,’’ said writers in the club’s centennial booklet in 1999.
‘‘Along with this, a very busy social committee has arranged many happy hours, barbecues, and many other functions.’’
In 1996 the ladies’ and men’s sections merged, in what was believed to be one of the first bowling club section mergers in New Zealand.
A new kitchen was installed and carpet laid.
In 2020 the club faced a battle to remain at the domain.
‘‘Certificates of achievement cover walls and tresses and its trophy cabinet contains silverware going back to the turn of the century,’’ said a The Ashburton Courier reporter, explaining the club’s historic connections to the site.
