Club Stuff
Do you have any interesting snippets about life at your Club that you would like to share? Some interesting facts and some of the history of Clubs in our Centre.
Send your articles to Pauline Seaton for inclusion. centralotagobowls@gmail.com
Wanaka Bowling Club
Wanaka Bowling Club replaced the original 2008 artificial green in the winter of 2021. The delay until the winter was due to COVID restrictions.
Specialists from Australia came who were particularly tough guys and dressed like they were in Queensland, mostly shorts and tops every day, starting as early as 6.30am and working under lights until after 7pm.
When 60-70 members arrived at the stadium on Saturday 10th July 2021 to play in the ongoing inter-suburb series "The Neil Studholme Trophy", they found a carpark with utes, front-end loaders and piles of gravel and the old mat stacked in rolls. There were also very large boxes of technical equipment containing things like a theodolite used to level the surface to a maximum tolerance of 3mm.
The process took over two weeks, much longer than normal.
There was a wonderful working relationship between the installers and the senior club members. A call for extra help one Saturday saw 25 club members help roll back the underlay while the installers levelled the area around the green.
Part of the contract stated that the club would dispose of the old mat. Due to being abnormally heavy due to the wet state weighing roughly 80 tonnes it would have cost $6000 to $8000 in tip fees to dispose of. This was saved by giving it to various nurseries and landscapers through the community facebook page.
Contributed by Wanaka Bowling Club 27 August 2023
Waipiata Bowling Club
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We often take life a little too seriously. I recently found the attached photos of Dickson Andrews, Life Member and past Greenkeeper of Waipiata Bowling Club.
There were a lot of small stones on the Green and Dickson decided to vacuum them up with the Club Vacuum Cleaner. At the time Dickson was 88 years old and was the Waipiata Green Keeper. I did ask his wife Liz if he helped out with the vacuuming at home. As you can imagine the answer was a resounding NO.
Dickson is now 96 years old and although he has retired as Greenkeeper can still be seen in the paddock beside the Club investigating the irrigation system and ensuring everything is running smoothly.
I might add that I believe Dickson planted the pine trees in the background. Most of these trees have since been cut down but Dickson, in his wisdom, planted another tree break which is now flourishing and continuing to supply shelter for the campers in the Domain.
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Contributed from CO Centre 19 August 2023
