| It began with a few enthusiasts playing on a rough
piece of ground on what is now the parking area behind the BP station on Main Road, Fish Hoek
A little later this bank of stalwarts, headed by Hilda Troughton moved
to a court where stands the present Civic Centre. When building of the latter
was planned the authorities offered to prepare an alternative site at the
junction of 17th Avenue and Paris Road where the club now remains. At the time
it was intended to be a temporary arrangement and that at a later date the club
would move to the Recreation Centre off the Kommetjie Road. However, when the
footballers took over part of the space allocated for croquet, it was decided to
remain where we were.
Negotiations with Council regarding the actual siting, levelling,
water connection, etc., carried on through the latter part of 1972 and throughout
most of 1973. The courts were finally ready in 1974 and were in fine condition
at that time.
Much of what was accomplished was done by two people, namely Hilda
Troughton on the organizing and negotiating side and Charles Gainsford who single-handedly
built the clubhouse without having any electric power to help him. The 17th June 2005
marked the 30th anniversary of the clubhouse roof-wetting. Charles also put up the
wooden perimeter fence which lasted until a few months ago when it was replaced with the
financial assistance from Western Province Croquet Association and member loans. Hilda
was the club's first Secretary, while Nan Coetzee acted as President.
It was 27 years after the clubhouse was built that the club managed
to get electricity. Through the good offices of the WPCA this enabled an irrigation system
to be installed and made improvements to the courts possible. This, together with the
active promotion of golf croquet, has resulted in moving from a dwindling membership to more
than double in the past 6 years.
Work continues on the courts and hopefully one day in the not too distant
future we will be able to match the other WP clubs in this regard.
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