Tokoroa Bowling Club - Tokoroa Bowling Club 38 Chambers Street

The Tokoroa Bowling Club has a long and interesting history, many honours have come the way of it's members and it has risen from humble beginnings to an organisation with fine facilities and dedicated membership committed to their game and their Club.

​

In January 1948, barely nine months after the formation of the parent Club a Mr St J (Duke) Paxton was asked by the Committee to advise on the laying out of a bowling green.  In May of that year the Club Committee appointed E. Nuttal and W. McHardy as their representatives to a Bowling Club Committee.

​

By July 'working bees' were being held.  Dick Evans enlisted the help of many of the local farmers who were Club members and owned trucks, to clear ground and cart sand from the roadside at the end of Mossop Road, and clay from Sloss Road to lay the base.  Gavin McEwan and Doug Molesworth were just two of the local identities who contributed time to this project.  Petrol was made available to those who brought tractors along, and all participating in the work had their time credited to future subscriptions in the Bowling Club at the rate of 40 pence per hour.

​

The work seems to have progressed slowly, for in November 1949 the main Club committee engaged a Mr RJ Oliver and a partner to finish off the bowling green.  They were to receive wages of 80 & 60 pence per hour respectively, and One Pound per hour for their truck.  This arrangement must have turned sour, because the minutes record that a dispute over Mr Oliver's charges, had resulted in all payments being stopped and the Club Solicitor was called in to act for the Club.

​

The Club Minutes for January 1950 record that "the Sadust Bowling Green was a failure" and that "a grass Green would be better proposition".  The committee then decided to engage a Mr Bridges to advise the Club member D. Williamson who was given sole charge of completing the project.  By May of 1950 Mr Williamson reported that the grand total of expenditure for a bowling facility had reached an eye watering 222 pounds but the green was ready for grassing.

​

The Club President reported at the AGM held in April 1951 that the Clubs first Bowling Green was complete.  'Duke' Paxton was elected a Life Member of the Bowling Club the same year.

​

The first committee meeting of the Bowling Club was held 21st May 1950.  D. Williamson was elected President and Messrs Butler, Colsen, Goodrich, Steiner, Waldon, Evans and Osmers were the Committee.  Charlie Steiner remained a member of the Club until he passed away in 1996.  The original subscriptions were set at 2 pounds 10 shillings per annum. 

​

Many changes took place through the fifties and sixties with numbers playing bowls increasing each year with the facilities being upgraded year by year.  In 1971 the second green was opened and questions were asked "when are the ladies going to be allowed to form their own club?"  (This was to take another ten years !).  The Anniversary Weekend three day tournament was instituted and brought top ranked bowlers from far and wide to play in Tokoroa.  In it's hey day during the late seventies and eighties, the Anniversary Weekend Tournament was so popular that section play was competed for not only at Tokoroa, but also Tokoroa East, Putaruru and Arapuni Bowling Clubs.

​

In 1972 the new Pavilion was opened by Mayor James (Jim) Higgins.  It was extended and a BBQ area was added in 1986.  In 1976 the Club celebrated its 25th anniversary and in 1981 the Ladies Bowling Club was formed with Mrs Carol Pearson as founding President and Mrs Joan Evans as Secretary.  In 1986 a full time green keeper was employed "on contract" and the 'Astrograss' Bowling Green was installed in 1991.

​

The Tokoroa Bowling Club has made great strides since those long times ago, for instance in 1953 prize money for Championship Winners was increased to 2 pounds.

​