BOWLING

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20464, 2 April 1938, Page 23 (Supplement)

BOWLING

AROUND THE GREENS THE CAMBRIDGE CLUB FORTY YEARS’ PROGRESS (By “Skip ’) Easter Tournament Entries are reported to be coming in freely for the first Easter tournament to be staged In Hamilton this month under the auspices of the South Auckland Bowling Centre. Hamilton Club's Success The Hamilton Club is to be heartily congratulated upon its success in winning the Thomson Shield from such a strong Auckland Club as Carlton. It was a clean cut victory by a margin that supporters of the local club would have hardly been optimistic enough to expect before the match. The result of the match definitely demonstrated that the standard of howling in Hamilton compares very favourably with that in the city. Cambridge Easter Fixture The coming 30th Easter rinks tournament of the Cambridge Club promises to be equally as successful as its many predecessors, writes our Cambridge bowling correspondest. The required 52 entries have long since been received. One might ask: Why is this fixture so popular? The answer is in the proximity of the club’s three greens. It is not a question of playing here to-day and there to-morrow as at some other tournaments. A further reason is that the Cambridge club’s delightful surroundings at Te Koutu Park, appeal to the visiting bowlers, some of whom have been coming regularly to the fixture for nearly 20 years. Representative Entries The entries for the coming Cambridge Easter rinks tournament are once again most representative. Among the 52 rinks are representatives of nearly all the Auckland and Suburban Clubs and from as far away as Whangarei and Dargaville in the north and Whakatane and Taneatua in the east. Tournament Winners In view of the proximity of the Cambridge tournament it is of interest to read the honours btfard. Here it is, showing the club and winning skip:— 1909, Grey Lynn (Waite) ; 1910, Whitiora (Mitchell); 1911, Rotorua (McFarlane) ; 1912, Paeroa (McWatters); 1914, Carlton (C. Laurie); 1915, Ponsonby (M. Walker); 1916, Rotorua (A. -Brown;; 1917, Whitiora (R. Pilkington) ; 1918, Ponsonby (M. Walker); 1919, Tauranga (Rowe) ; 1920, Hamilton (R. Pilkington) ; 1921. Whitiora (Scott); 1922, Mt. Eden (Findlay); 1923, Rotorua (Fowkes; ; 1924, Hamilton (Coombes); 1925, Hamilton (R. Pilkington); 1926, Thames (H. Cordes) ; 1927, Cambridge (-S. Lewis) : 1928, Papatoetoe (Parker-Hill) ; 1929, Auckland (Scantlebury) ; 1930, Papatoetoe (Parker-Hill); 1931, Te Aroha ;Kriskovich) ; 1932, West End (W. Bremner); 1933, Hamilton (R. Pilkington) ; 1934, Cambridge (Edgar James); 1935, Onehunga (F. Livingstone); 1936, Cambridge (H. N. Freeman); 1937, Te Awamutu (H. Burchell). Forty Years’ Progress In a little over a fortnight the Cambridge Bowling Club will hold its 30th Easter tournament, but the origin of the club dates back over forty years. The early records of the club—one of the oldest in South Auckland —appear to have been lost, but there still remains in Cambridge one original member in Mr Frank O’Toole, of Duke Street. He tells an interesting tale of the original efforts to provide a green and establish the club. Mr O’Toole was an early green superintendent and is a life member. The site of the present main greens in Te Koutu Park was once a Town Board gravel pit, and when the Cambridge Domain Board, under the leadership of that grand pioneer of Cambridge, the late Thomas Wells—father of Mr Mervyn Wells—took over the domain area and commenced to improve it, the thoughts of several citizens turned to the game of bowls, which then held sway in the city of Auckland. The late Mr Wells was eager to co-operate. A gorse-ridden area was partly cleared and three rinks were laid down. Auckland loaned the clu'b a bag of bowls and so the Cambridge Bowling Club came into being. The first president was the late Mr Thomas Wells and the first secretary was the late Mr Martin McDermott. Among other early members were Messrs G. E. Clark, Walter Wright, Wm. Riley, James Young, John Ferguson, M. Butler, T. F. Richards, R. Carr, F. Brooks and L. Isherwood. In the years that followed a full size green was laid down. For several seasons the question of an annual tournament was hotly debated, but eventually the first tourney was held, two rinks out of eight being set aside for local members, who were not included in tournament teams. There still remain three of the early members in Cambridge and they are Messrs O’Toole, Martin Butler, and Thomas F. Richards, Mr Butler was the first tournament secretary. All three still take the keenest interest in the\lub. In the early days the club had a very small pavilion which—in a much altered condition—now serves the Tennis Club. The present bowling pavilion, recently enlarged at a cost of £3OO, was built as a result of the enthusiasm of the members who took up debentures. The majority eventually made gifts of them to the club. To-day the membership of the club is close to 100, the president being an old member, Mr l rederick L. Tueker and the secret-arv Mr Ernest Martyn.