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The Full History Of South Oakleigh Bowling Club Inc

In March 1952 a public meeting was held in the Oakleigh Town Hall with a view to forming a Bowling Club. In July/August 1952 a meeting of intending members appointed a committee to be known as the South Oakleigh Bowling Club Formation Committee. Membership at that stage consisted of 56 men and 14 ladies. A report from the RVBA following an inspection of the site issued a satisfactory report.

In December 1952 the Oakleigh City Council granted permission to occupy the site. At a meeting held on 2nd December 1952 between the Formation Committee and other intending members a new club, known as, the South Oakleigh Bowling Club was formed.

In January 1953 the Ladies Section was formed with 29 members. At the same time Debentures were printed.

Each Member was required to take up one 5 pound Debenture and had the option to purchase 10 pound Debentures carrying an interest rate of 3%. The Joining Fee was ten pounds and the Annual Subscription was eight pounds eight shillings.

The site for the new Club consisted of a swampy undeveloped wasteland and in June 1953 working bees commenced to clear the site. Tenders for 194 pounds and 250 pounds were accepted in the following months to remove and level the earth and to form and pour the concrete for the ditches to No 1 Green. In November 1953 the Club was affiliated with the RVBA.

1954 was a busy and exciting year with :-

February saw the construction of the ditches for No 2 Green, construction of the retaining wall along North Road commencing.

March saw the sowing of the Greens and coaching of new bowlers commenced at Bryant & May’s greens. Membership stood at 132 men and 45 ladies.

In May the plans for the Club House were prepared with an estimated cost of 4200 pounds.

June saw the appointment of the first Green Keeper and the entry of 2 Pennant Teams for Season 1954/55 was made.

In August the foundations for the Club House were poured by members at a working bee.

September saw the official opening of the Greens. The two Pennant Teams were accepted into Division B4 and C4. No 1 side finished in second place.

November saw the commencement of the brickwork on the Club House.

On December 11th the Foundation Stone was laid.

On 18th June 1955 the Club House was officially opened. It must be noted that to achieve such a remarkable achievement praise must be given to those members who gave so much of their time and talents in a voluntary way to assist the new Club reach such a milestone in just a short time.

Since then further additions were made to the Club House with an extension to the eastern end in 1960 and to the western end in 1971.

Following the entry of the first teams in Pennant in 1954 the number of Pennant Sides gradually increased to a maximum in 1976/78 when there were 8 Pennant Sides, I Side in the Roamers and still some players for the Bankers. However since then there has been a steady decline. The Ladies first entered Pennant Sides in 1955/56 with one side. This number increased over the years but again the number fell away until now when we have no Ladies Pennant Teams.

Success in Pennant came in 1960/61 when two sides won their Division. However, the Ladies achieved their first in 1959/60. Since then we have achieved a number of Pennant Flags.

Over the years some of our members have achieved very high honours on the Greens including Victorian Singles Championship (A Murphy), State & Metropolitan Singles Champion (L. Vaux), State & Metropolitan Champion (D Morris), Champion of State Champions (D Morris).

Membership over the years grew to its maximum in the 1980’s when we had about 160 men and 100 ladies. Since then we have had a steady decline in membership.

The life of the Club off the Greens has been one of varied interests. Indoor Bowls, of which our Club was a driving force in the establishment of VIBBA, has seen some remarkable successes and has provided members over the years with a great deal of enjoyment. Pennant and Social Indoor Bowls has been a part of the Club since 1957 and in that time many titles have come our way including National Pairs Championship (J Jones & D King), Champion of Champions (H Howie), Victorian Mixed Pairs Champions (J Jones & E Taylor), Alf Murphy (Victorian Singles Champion).

Social functions have also played a great part of the early life of the Club when Card Nights, Concerts and Dances were held on a regular basis. These enabled members to get together and enjoy the company of other members in an atmosphere of social enjoyment. The introduction of a Liquor Licence in 1970 also introduced another aspect of the social life of the Club.

Electric Light Bowls has also been a great way for members to enjoy the company of fellow members and to participate in the SDELA, of which our Club was a founding member club. This activity has also allowed other Club’s to use our facilities whist their own Club did not have the necessary lighting. Again we have had a mixed bag of success with the Pennant Competition. Legacy Pairs, played annually, has also been a part of the program.

No resume or history of this Club would be complete unless mention was made of the efforts of the Ladies Section. In the early days these Ladies provided refreshments to the volunteers who were working on the site preparing for the greens to be sown and then the buildings to be constructed. This formed the basis for the future direction of the Ladies Section who continued with this tradition over the next 50 years. The Ladies in their own right have been instrumental in running major events within the VLBA and have achieved great success. We owe a great deal to our ladies, both past and present, for their efforts and without them this Club would not be what it is today.

Over the past 10 to 15 years we have seen the passing of most of the Foundation Members of the Club. Today, I believe, we only have two left who are active in the Club. These are Alf Murphy and Lionel McIntyre. Ken Cromb we believe is still alive but living in a Nursing Home. There are still a few members who can remember the early days of the Club but with time passing rapidly these members are fading away. The Club now has the beginnings of a new era with the majority of members being relatively new and it these members who are the ones who will shape the future of the Club.

The early tradition of members giving of their services to build and maintain the Club and its Greens has continued over the life of the Club and is something that each and every member must be justly proud of.  We, the current members, must give thanks to those early members who worked so tirelessly to transform the swampy wasteland into what we have today. We must continue to work like those early members to ensure that the Club continues to prosper.
Last Updated on Sunday, 13 March 2011 08:01