A colourful contribution to the local community

Ryde City Bowling Club - one of the most successful metropolitan bowling clubs throughout the 1960s, ‘70s and early ‘80s - recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary.

Over 100 members and guests attended a friendly morning roll-up, renewed old friendships and recalled many fond memories over a sit down luncheon.

Ryde City President Dick Vinton welcomed the official guests including RNSWBA President John Archer, Senior Vice President Ian McKnight, Ryde City Mayor Clr Vic Tagg, Zone 10 President Michael Schwarcz and Zone 15 President and former Ryde City Bowls secretary during the 1990s, Kevin Dring.

Mr Dring wrote the club history for the 90-year celebrations and was invited by the Centenary Committee of Barry Richards, Joan Bruce, Allan Hill and Steve Thomson to present the 100-year address.

Extracts from this address reflect upon Ryde’s outstanding success on the greens and the important contribution that the club has made to the local community throughout the years.

In the founding year of 1908 the telephone was still a distinct novelty and a source of wonderment to a generation that was being baffled by the magic of electricity.

In the village centre new community buildings had been opened, such as Ryde Town Hall in 1903, the Post Office 1907 and the Masonic Hall in 1908. Gas lighting was being extended throughout the district and streets were being beautified with tree plantings. Salter’s Paddock was opened as Ryde Park in 1908 and plans were immediately put in place to build tennis courts, a bowling green a cricket pitch and football oval.

Council Alderman David Anderson was the founding father of the Ryde Bowling Club and ultimately became Ryde’s longest serving President from 1912-1927 (16 years).

The first green was opened (Feb 27 1909), and a small weatherboard clubhouse followed in 1910 for the comfort of its 18 members. There were only 30 other registered bowling clubs in NSW around that time. The club’s first recorded victory in a State event was the John Young Shield in the summer of 1915/1916 and then for a second time in the summer of 1931/1932.
The club struggled with tiny membership growth throughout the World War One period and it wasn’t until the early depression years of the 1930s that membership started to increase at a steady rate.

SECOND GREEN

This prompted the idea of a second green and a new clubhouse to be funded from a government unemployment relief scheme. Floodlighting for night bowls was installed in 1939, the same year that 11 foundation members of the Women’s Bowling Club became affiliated with the NSW Women’s Bowling Association.

Despite World War Two, membership continued to grow and by the early ‘50s, the men’s membership was upwards of 250 and the ladies around 60. Having overcome the challenges of its humble beginning, two world wars and the depression years of the ‘30s in its first 50 years, the club was well positioned to take advantage of the country’s economic growth in the ensuing years.

CLUB CHAMPIONS

The men’s club progressively gave birth to a host of champions:
D. Long and J. Bird won the Australian Pairs in 1953 and represented Australia at the Empire Games in Canada the following Year.

Norm Ralph gained State selection for the first time in 1953 and went on to represent the State on 59 occasions. A prestige tournament in his memory and honour began in 1975 and it was fitting that the Norm Ralph Fours was conducted as part of the centenary celebrations.

For the next 25 years names like Colin MacDuff, Jack Hopper, George Gurney, Jack Askew, Herb Murray, Peter Rheuben (the only Ryde player to ever win all four club championships in the one year), Les Hewitt, David Blumberg, Steve Bocksette, Keith Jenkins and John Stuart all gained White Pocket status.

It was a selector’s dream to have a squad of players of this calibre on the books and add to that, district representatives such as Des Guest, Ray Wilson and some very talented No 1 bowlers in the likes of Jack Cooney, Max Denton, John Dickinson, Eddie McGuinness, Andy McNaughton, Doug McWhirter, Jim Morton and Ron Muir.

It was during this golden era from 1960-1981 that Ryde won five State No 1 pennants (1962, ‘66, ‘72, ‘75, ‘81) and were runners-up three times (1965, ‘78, ‘79) plus a multitude of lower grade and Northern District Flags.

HIGH PROFILE

But Ryde’s success was not confined to the greens. It enjoyed a high profile within the local community and for some 25 years its members produced some of the funniest and entertaining stage shows. Local hospitals and community groups were the beneficiaries of their financial success.

For over 30 years (1949-1981) the camaraderie andgood fellowship within theclub was reinforced by a compassionate welfare committee with a scheme known as the Mortality Fund, which upon the death of a member provided the widow with £100, a significant sum back in those days.

Not to be outdone, Charlie Wilson in the early 1960s formed the famous Ryde Bowling Club Welfare Band and for the next 30 odd years they blew their trumpets and beat their drum, providing members of the club with many memorable hours of fun and entertainment. Their Christmas carol tours on the back of a truck around the streets of Ryde were legendary.

Another legendary event which spawned many bar room stories over the years was the annual “kneelers and grippers” day (Catholics versus Masons) initiated by Jack Cleary and Ted Malone in the early 1970s.

LONG RELATIONSHIP

Perhaps the longest relationship that Ryde enjoyed with any other club through visitations and special days was that with City Tatts, an association that spanned more than 50 years.

A couple of City Tatts well known scallywags were Wally Duvall and Keith Free. Visitations with Stockton and Wiseman Park were also memorable occasions and Clive Dawson’s annual Market Day on behalf of the Flemington barrow boys was something else. If you didn’t go home with a monster vegetable tray or a bag of spuds, you just couldn’t bowl.

Throughout these years the club prospered under the progressive leadership of presidents like Allan Travis (‘69-’72), Ted Malone (‘73-’75), George Gurney (‘76-’78), Bill Le Page (‘79-’81), Lou Higgins (‘82-’84) Bruce Bell (‘85-’89) Jim Cole (‘90-’98), Jim Fraser (‘99-’2000) and in more recent years Ken Burkett (‘01-’06), Steve Thomson (‘06), Matt Kennedy (‘06 -’07) and Dick Vinton. Jimmy Cole was the founder of the famous King Cole Tours which have operated for the past 20 years and done over 100 tours to all corners of NSW and various interstate and international adventures. It was said that Norfolk Island’s economy was dependent on King Cole Tours.

HARD WORKERS

It was the hard working committees and a multitude of volunteer workers that underpinned the club’s success over all these years.
It would be remiss if I didn’t mention the ultimate review board - the ‘Round Table’ - that guided Ryde City through thick and thin. Club life wouldn’t be the same without that group of dedicated members who take it upon themselves to review all of management’s decisions, analyse club performance and provide unsolicited counsel to the president and individual directors on a vast range of issues.

They were like the Upper House, a ‘Table of Review’ and would meet daily in the interest of bar turnover. Two standout characters were Kevin (Beaver) Williams and Brian Burns, whose memories live on in the Beaver/Burns Day, which is now the biggest day on Ryde’s bowling calendar.

Over the years the club house has undergone many rebuilds and facelifts, the most recent being the renovation and opening of the downstairs function room and bar in November 2002 and the official opening of upstairs as we see it today, on December 16, 2004.

CHANGING TIMES

But times are changing, and the last few years have proved to be amongst the toughest of Ryde’s history. The club industry generally is under enormous pressure with changing suburban demographics, draconian government legislation, new poker machine taxes and smoke-free environments, coupled with an overall decline in bowling numbers.

Many bowling clubs are facing similar challenges to that of Ryde City, but whatever the future may hold, Ryde City can justifiably be proud of its colourful history that has significantly contributed to the sport of lawn bowls and made an important contribution within the local community.

To those of us who have been privileged to be part of this proud history, we will cherish those memories forever.

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