The History of Ngataringa Tennis Club
Picture: Stanley Bay 1890. trees, grass, little whares, a horse grazing peacefully on a narrow isthmus of land. Photo courtesy of Laurel Jonkers.
1890
In 1890, Stanley Bay was known as Brick Bay , and was a narrow spit of land connecting Second Point, as Stanley Point was then called, with the Devonport mainland.
The area was renamed Stanley Point in 1900 in honour of Captain Edward Stanley of HMS Calliope. The name Brick Bay came from a brick works, established at the base of the cliffs where Stanley Bay wharf is now. Part of the old clay diggings are still visible at the foot of the cliff.
In 1895 a proposal to build a timber mill at Stanley Bay was defeated by protesting residents. At the time this photograph was taken, the whole area was owned by the O’Neill family, who also owned O’Neill’s Point at Bayswater. In 1895 the family sold part of Stanley Point to a Dr Fanklyn, who built a large house overlooking the harbour and Auckland city. In 1899, this house was moved to Devonport, after being lowered down the cliff and floated down-harbour on barrels.
The water supply for these early settlers was taken from a spring at the base of the cliffs below where Devon Park now stands.
The small huts in the photograph were whares used by itinerant gumdiggers who dug gum from the kauri forests that once covered the whole area.
The large shed in the foreground was used as a boat shed but was once part of the brick works owned by a Mr Hammond, and established as early as 1844.
The narrow strip of land is the site of the present bus turn-around, and the part of Ngataringa Bay to the right of the photograph past the grazing horse is now the home of the Ngataringa Tennis Club.
1924
In 1924, a group of residents from the Stanley Bay area got together and formed the Stanley bay Improvement Association. The group included Rewa Worrall, whose family has had a long history with the Club. The association were concerned by the lack of playing fields, and they wanted a tennis club as a social centre. They developed the motto “If you want things done do it yourself, but get all the help you can”.
On July 14th that year, a public meeting was called and it was proposed to raise a loan of 3,000 pds to lift the level of the mudflats opposite the beach. With co-operation from the council, a special rate was levied on the ratepayers from Stanley Point to William Bond St, at an average cost of 14/-s per year for ten years. The work went ahead, and became what is now Stanley Bay Park.
1927
The Club was formed after a meeting held in Stanley Bay School on April 12,1927. This was followed by another meeting on May 5, when the decision to call the club ”Ngataringa Tennis Club” was made. Officers of the Club were elected as follows:
Patron: E.W.Alison
President: Charles M Browne
Secretary: L Stanway Bates, N.R Haggett (asst)
Treasurer: G.K. Hansard
In August 1927, the Club gave 100 pds to the Devonport Borough Council so the Council could apply for a pound for pound Government subsidy to establish courts on the newly reclaimed land, that was to become Stanley Bay Park .
The Committee accepted from the then Mayor of Devonport, Mr E Aldridge, the offer of a “hut” from the Stanley Bay wharf as a temporary Club shelter.
A pavilion was built with demolition timber from the old Devonport Fire Alarm Towers, and timber from the old Stanley Bay Wharf was used to build seating.
A further 150 pds was donated to the Devonport Borough Council’s ”Relief of Unemployment Fund” on the understanding the money be spent on the courts.
The club was officially opened by Mayor Aldridge on 26 th November, 1927. Guests included Mr L Swann, secretary of the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association, who congratulated the Club on its “quick leap into existence”. The Club opened with five new chip/grit courts, with the clubhouse being built two years later in 1929.
1929
In 1929, our wonderful Clubhouse opened, with its upstairs lounge good for parties and dancing. The men’s locker room was accessible from outside, so that the after match refreshments were readily available. Some of these lockers have been recycled into a bank of cupboards in the storage area.
1940-68
The war years saw a decline in the Club’s fortunes with many members involved in the war effort. However, a few members kept the Club going through the 50’s and early 60’s.
At some stage during the early years, the courts were converted to asphalt, and of course fundraising was a constant commitment with resurfacing needing to be done every five or six years to prevent cracking, and puddling.
1968
In 1968 Jack Colclough became President, and resolved to turn the Club around, and he did just that. Jack worked the members hard with fundraising to do drainage behind the Clubhouse, repairing fences, and resealing the courts which by this time were asphalt.
During this era a strong Junior club was established by Eva Light and Joyce Stevens, and then joined by Eileen Slark and Noel Jonkers. Together they ran the juniors for abour twelve years. There were huge numbers of children divided into two sessions. Later, Maureen Nute and Toni Green ran a Wednesday after- school group to cater for young beginners, to relieve some of the pressure.
1977
George Glyde presided over our DIY 50th Jubilee – a grand celebration dinner and dance held at the Rugby Club. George later helped to found the North Shore Veterans Association.
The 1970s and 1980s saw the Club in a healthy state, with good representation at all levels of interclub, and a steady increase in membership, particularly Midweek Ladies.
1985
In the mid-80s we had a Midweek “Laddy” by the name of Geoff Sutherland, who told us about the merits of Astrograss. As a result of this, Dianne Hale (then Treasurer), Mike Leyden (then President), and Geoff set the wheels in motion for the Astrograss and Lights project, which was going to cost $87,000. Dianne put together a financial plan of five year debentures costing $800 and 1/2 debentures of $400. The Club secured a bank loan at 22% interest (the going rate at that time) and a top up from Tennis NZ. With the money in place the project went ahead, and members marvelled at how much longer balls and shoes lasted. The courts were now locked to casual players, and as a result the membership grew.
Evening club time was established and proved popular winter and summer, rain or shine.
With good stewardship under Mike Leyden followed by Marvyn Allan, the loans and debentures were paid off and it was time to renovate the Clubhouse.
1991
President John O’Toole and committee accepted plans by local architect Bruce MacFarlane, and signed contracts to modernise the building, and make it more user-friendly with larger windows, and the wonderful viewing deck, a great improvement.
1993-2001
Stan Pearson took over as President, and careful management saw the club with a stable membership. Good financial planning has allowed the club to keep up with maintenance, new fencing on two sides, relaying courts 1 and 2, and other items too numerous to mention.
During this period, planning and steady accumulation of funds began for some larger maintenance items the Committee identifed that would be required in the future.
Stan and John O’Toole (now our Honorary Solicitor) also worked hard to get our lease renewed without the Council putting in a “market rates” clause into the agreement following local government amalgamation. After 11 years correspondence and meetings on the subject, this issue was resolved to our satisfaction and all parties finally signed off on the lease in October 2001.
The unofficial Monday night Men’s evening was started by Gary Sugden during this period – and is still going stronger than ever today.
2001-2007
David Aitken took over as President. The Club’s 75th Jubilee was held with a special dinner at Duders, on the Devonport Waterfront, followed by a “Whites & Wooden Racquets” 1927 tournament held in brilliant sunshine the following day, with a great turnout for both occasions.
In 2002 we introduced our “first Wednesday of the month” Social drinks (and tennis!) evening, which is still a huge success today.
A number of major projects were completed during this time. The first being a major upgrade/replacement of the court lighting system (including two new poles between Courts 1 & 2), and the resurfacing of Courts 3,4,5. The Club received a grant from ASB Trusts for 50% of the cost of this $90,000+ project, which was completed in the Spring of 2002. In 2002/3 we fixed the serious problem of stormwater accumulating as a “swimming pool” under the Clubhouse, and got the NTC monogramme shield made and put up on the Clubhouse exterior.
In 2003/4 we completed our new, widened, volleywall, paid for by North Shore City Council (a large pohutukawa branch had crashed on to the old wall and partially collapsed it). We received a Grant from Lion Foundation towards our new upstairs kitchen, which was part of our renovation of the upstairs of the Clubhouse, which was completed in 2004/5, and saw the introduction of our new colour scheme.
In September of 2004 we introduced our new ”branding/identity” Club logo.
In 2005/6 we received a Grant of $17,500 from ASB Trusts towards the restoration/painting of the outside of the Clubhouse, replacement of the roofing iron, and replacement of the main electrical distribution board.
In 2006/7 planning began for the downstairs refurbishment, and we now have an architect’s CAD drawing as a proposal to consider.
Early in 2007 the Club signed a 10+1 year lease on the derelict ex-Girl Guide building, which is now our Junior Clubhouse. Broken windows were replaced, and the North Shore City Council funded the replacement of the roof, guttering, and downpipes at their cost.
In July 2007, we appointed John Hunter as Director of Coaching, and announced the formation of the Ngataringa Tennis Academy – a new identity for our overall Coaching programme.
In 2008, with Philip Brown installed as President, Vicki Wild took over the running of NTA with Jim Widdowson and continued the good work begun by John Hunter. In 2009, Jim departed for Australia as a coach in Melbourne, but has been ably replaced by Justin Phillips.
2009
Richard Loseby became President and embarked on a programme of refurbishment and renovation of the downstairs clubhouse and resurfacing of courts 1 & 2. Given the tight economic situation and the lack of funding from usual sources, this programme is slowly coming together with an expected completion by the end of 2010.
75th JUBILEE
NGATARINGA TENNIS CLUB 75th JUBILEE
The Club officially celebrated it’s 75th Jubilee on the weekend of 7th and 8th of September, 2002.
The Dinner. Saturday 7th:
A formal dinner was held upstairs at Duders on the Devonport Waterfront, and was attended by close to 100 people. As well as many current members and their partners, we welcomed a number of special guests, and a few ”blasts from the past”.
Allen Foster was magnificent as master of ceremonies, leading the evening through a series of speeches, recollections, poems, the cutting of the Jubilee Cake, and the President awarding gold shoetags to each of the life members present on the evening.
Following the formal part of the evening, a party took place with the band “About Time”, and an excellent time was had by all.
The Tournament, Sunday 8th:
The next day we held Our “1927 Whites and Wooden Racquets” tournament on what was probably the hottest Opening Day in recent memory. The sun was so bright it was almost impossible to look at the camera for the official photograph of all the players, taken outside the clubhouse.
Many people had gone to the trouble of wearing period costume, or wearing their commemorative 75th Jubilee shirts. It was a glorious sight to behold, this turning back of the clock to our original Opening Day!
It was even more challenging trying to play a decent game of tennis with an old wooden racquet, it is amazing that the top players managed to play so well with these old relics! There is clearly a lot to be said for the beautiful oversized composite masterpieces we play with in this century!
A photo gallery for the 75th Jubilee will eventually be added to the website, but for now here is one of the photos of the tournament players – we were all squinting into the direct sunlight….
75th Jubilee
LIFE MEMBERS 1927 – 2006
| Charles M. Browne | |
| L. Stanway Bates | |
| 1945 | Mrs G. Bates |
| 1945 | H. Anderson |
| 1945 | T.M Pollard |
| 1945 | A.J. Dickson |
| 1946 | Mrs M. Pollard |
| 1951 | H.H. Hoyte |
| 1958 | Kathleen Lund |
| 1960 | Bonnie Lund |
| 1964 | N.H. Hume |
| 1971 | J. Colcough |
| 1974 | Laurel Jonkers |
| 1977 | Eileen Slark |
| 1977 | Joyce Stevens |
| 1981 | Colin Bowley |
| 1984 | George Glyde |
| 1990 | Geoff Sutherland |
| 1990 | Karen Leyden |
| 1992 | Dianne Hale |
| 1997 | Maureen Nute |
| 2000 | Toni Green |
| 2001 | Stan Pearson |
| 2005 | Cheryl Aitken |
| 2005 | Gail Lyons |
| 2005 | Raewyn Rumble |
HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Ngataringa Tennis Club has held an annual Club Championship for members since its very first year of existence, being the 1927-28 season. It appears that for the first four seasons, only Mens and Ladies Singles Championships were held, with Ladies, Mens, and Mixed Doubles Championships being finally introduced in 1932.
The Championships were temporarily suspended during 1943-45 because of World War II, the Clubhouse, and Stanley Bay Park being used for the NZ Defence forces.
There are also missing records from 1957 to 1968, it may be assumed that the Championships were played, however there are no existing records, engraving on cups, or names on the Honours Boards in the Clubhouse to indicate any had taken place.
Today, there are separate Championships for Seniors, Midweek Ladies, and Juniors.
If you have any more information on past Championship winners and runners up, please let us know.
Ladies Singles ChampionshipPresident’s Cup (2005 -), Wiseman Cup (1928 – 2004)
|
Mens Singles Championship
75th Jubilee Cup (2002 – ), Tisdall Cup (1928 – 2001)
| Champion | Runner Up | |
| 2009 | David Wilson | Jon Sheridan |
| 2008 | David Wilson | Jon Sheridan |
| 2007 | Matt Hapgood | Richard Loseby |
| 2006 | Matt Hapgood | David Wilson |
| 2005 | Matt Hapgood | John Sheehan |
| 2004 | Matt Hapgood | Jamie Revie |
| 2003 | Matt Hapgood | John Sheehan |
| 2002 | Matt Hapgood | John Sheehan |
| 2001 | Matt Hapgood | John Sheehan |
| 2000 | Matt Hapgood | Peter Light |
| 1999 | Alan Revie | Matt Hapgood |
| 1998 | Simon Crozier | Alan Revie |
| 1997 | Neil Langridge | Rob Drent |
| 1996 | Alan Revie | Clive Currie |
| 1995 | David Carrigan | David Jonkers |
| 1994 | David Carrigan | David Jonkers |
| 1993 | David Jonkers | |
| 1992 | David Jonkers | |
| 1991 | David Carrigan | |
| 1990 | David Jonkers | |
| 1989 | David Jonkers | |
| 1988 | John Sheehan | |
| 1987 | John Sheehan | |
| 1986 | John Sheehan | |
| 1985 | David Jonkers | |
| 1984 | David Jonkers | |
| 1983 | John Sheehan | |
| 1982 | Ken Jack | |
| 1981 | John Sheehan | |
| 1980 | John Sheehan | |
| 1979 | John Sheehan | |
| 1978 | Ken Jack | |
| 1977 | John Sheehan | |
| 1976 | John Sheehan | |
| 1975 | Phil Carrigan | |
| 1974 | Ken Jack | |
| 1973 | Ken Jack | |
| 1972 | H. Owen | |
| 1971 | J. Hume | |
| 1970 | J. Hume | |
| 1969 | ||
| 1968 | ||
| 1967 | ||
| 1966 | ||
| 1965 | ||
| 1964 | ||
| 1963 | ||
| 1962 | R. Tye | |
| 1961 | ||
| 1960 | ||
| 1959 | ||
| 1958 | ||
| 1957 | W.H. (Bill) Harden | |
| 1956 | W.H. (Bill) Harden | |
| 1955 | W.H. (Bill) Harden | |
| 1954 | D.G. Pettett | |
| 1953 | H.H. Hoyte | |
| 1952 | H.H. Hoyte | |
| 1951 | H.H. Hoyte | |
| 1950 | H.H. Hoyte | |
| 1949 | H.H. Hoyte | |
| 1948 | H.H. Hoyte | |
| 1947 | H.H. Hoyte | |
| 1946 | B. Nelson | |
| 1945 | not played | |
| 1944 | not played | |
| 1943 | not played | |
| 1942 | R. Proctor | |
| 1941 | R. Proctor | |
| 1940 | R. Steele | |
| 1939 | R. Steele | |
| 1938 | J.D. Bull | |
| 1937 | J.D. Bull | |
| 1936 | N.R. Haggett | |
| 1935 | N.R. Haggett | |
| 1934 | N.R. Haggett | |
| 1933 | N.R. Haggett | |
| 1932 | H. Anderson | |
| 1931 | R. Dance | |
| 1930 | N.R. Haggett | |
| 1929 | J. Storry | |
| 1928 | N.R. Haggett |
Ladies Doubles Championship
|
Mens Doubles ChampionshipC.M. Browne Cup (2005 – ) & (1939 – 71), F.J. Hooker Cup (1973 – 2004)
|
|
Midweek Ladies Singles Championship
|
|
JUNIOR BOYS UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIP
Slark Cup
| Champion | Runner Up | |
| 2009 | Armando Russo | |
| 2008 | Ben Davies | |
| 2007 | Andrew Ranford | |
| 2006 | Ben Davies | Tom Wyles |
| 2005 | Nick Walker | |
| 1999 | Joel Dykman | |
| 1998 | Ben Hapgood | |
| 1991 | Jamie Hosking | |
| 1990 | N. Boyd | |
| 1984 | N. Saul | |
| 1983 | S. Green | |
| 1982 | ||
| 1981 | Brian Mitchell | |
| 1980 | Brian Mitchell | |
| 1979 | Brian Mitchell | |
| 1978 | M. Slark | |
| 1977 | David Jonkers | |
| 1976 | David Jonkers | |
| 1975 | W. (Bill) Revie | |
| 1974 | W. (Bill) Revie | |
| 1973 | Allen Foster | |
| 1972 | Ken Jack | |
| 1971 | Ken Jack | |
| 1970 | T. Marshall | |
| 1969 | D. Parsons |