It’s game, set and match as Cockle Bay Tennis Club looks back with pride and serves up its half-century anniversary rally at the end of the month.
The club with eight top-class all-weather courts at Meadowland Park is holding an ace 50 Years’ Golden Jubilee on Saturday, August 30, and people who’ve had an association with it are invited.
“Let’s come together to relive the great memories – past and present,” the club says.
Activities on the celebration day start at 1pm with a Yankee tournament to 3pm, and from then on there’s a mix and mingle event.
Cockle Bay Tennis Club’s origins began with the opening of Howick College in 1974, says Mark Jones, a foundation club member who was awarded life membership in 1997.
Jones, along with Lorena Ennor, Sue Clearwater and Denise Clough, are members of the 50th anniversary organising committee.
The club now has 450 members, the majority being juniors, and they say families have had generations play at Cockle Bay and they’re encouraged to attend the jubilee.
Howick College was originally built with eight asphalt tennis courts and during its first year, local residents and parents organised informal games of tennis out of school hours.
“At the start of 1975, a public meeting was called to establish the Howick College Tennis Club with a formal constitution,” says Jones, of the start of what was to become Cockle Bay Tennis Club.
“Facilities at the school were sparse in the early days but soon the old Santa’s hut from Howick Village – a builder’s hut with no power or water – was moved to the courts as the first clubrooms.
“The club developed a competitive edge early, initially affiliating with the Auckland Hardcourts Association and then Auckland Lawn Tennis Association, now Auckland Tennis, to provide members with a competitive interclub scene.
“By 1980, the clubhouse was completely inadequate, and negotiations were held with the Education Department to build a tennis pavilion next to the courts.”
This commenced a busy period of community fundraising, and donations of time, materials and labour resulted in a new clubhouse being opened in 1982, Jones says.
“This enhanced and grew the club’s popularity as a family-friendly club with organised club tournaments, fun days, and a natural progression for college students to expand their tennis interests with senior play.
“By the mid-1980s, many of the local tennis clubs were upgrading their facilities with the advent of artificial grass surfaces, new court lighting systems and higher quality clubrooms.”
Jones says with the introduction of weekend retail trading, members were not as available to play tennis at set times, as well as the restrictions of no court lights, limited midweek play and the reliance on daylight saving to provide evening tennis was limiting.
“By 1986-87, membership dropped to 19 seniors – mainly the remaining interclub team and foundation members.
“In 1986, members Bill Brown and Philippa Collins were aware of the upcoming subdivision of the Somerville farm and establishment of a reserve below Howick College.
“A small, dedicated group of club stalwarts could see an opportunity to establish a new and modern tennis facility for the area.
“This began a five-year project to raise funds and design a new club,” Jones says.
“We entered into the former Shared Responsibility Scheme with the then Manukau City Council based on the club contributing 25 per cent, a council grant of 25 per cent, and an interest free council loan of 50 per cent.
“With a budget of approximately $400,000 this was a great deal.
“The funding only permitted six courts to be built which were completed in time for the 1992-93 season,” says Jones.
“The ground floor clubhouse was completed in 1993 through a second tranche of council shared responsibility funding and a Lotteries’ grant.”
The facility was officially opened by then Mayor of Manukau Sir Barry Curtis in August 1993.
“With our own world-class tennis facilities, the club once again flourished with a resident professional tennis coach, business sponsorship, a new midweek section and expanded junior and intermediate coaching,” Jones says.
“A strong family-focused but competitive club developed throughout all levels, with a new generation of volunteer support from numerous parents and club members.”
This century, there has been other significant events, such as when the former Macleans Tennis Club closed in 2009 and its members joined Cockle Bay.
In 2011, the new two-storey clubrooms were built in the complex which is a shared racquet sports facility with Howick Squash Club.
And earlier this year, Cockle Bay Tennis Club and Howick Squash merged to form the Meadowlands Sport and Recreation Trust.
- If people wish to attend the Cockle Bay Tennis Club’s 50 Years’ Golden Jubilee, they can rsvp email 50jubliee@cocklebaytennis.co.nz.
