Whitby Bowling Club
The Beginning
The Club originated early in 1975 on the initiative of two local residents Messrs. Chris Stokes and Don Hazlewood. These two prepared a circular, seeking expressions of interest in establishing a bowling club for Whitby. They placed their circular in every letter-box in Whitby, and were encouraged to received 30 favourable replies. Following this expression of interest these two gentlemen made more widespread enquires, and held discussions with the Hutt City Council on prospects of the council laying out one green ready for play towards the end of 1976. The Whitby Developments Consortium had already set aside sufficient land to accommodate three greens and associated facilities.
The inaugural meeting took place on 20th August 1975. Following this meeting which outlined the efforts on establishing the Club, the inaugural General Meeting took place on 19th November 1975. Of the people present,
33 signed up as foundation members (25 Men & 8 Women). The first President was Wally Sisam, who had held a similar position at the Tawa Bowling Club.
The meeting noted that the Club expected to be granted a lease to occupy its present location by the then Hutt City Council (now the Porirua City Council) in a recreational reserve with an original 25 years lease with the right of renewal.
In March 1976, The Whitby Bowling Club achieved official incorporation.
By June 1976 membership had climbed to 30 with a foundation members subscription of $5.00 applying. By this time the Club badge had been designed and approved. It retained elements of the Whitby Consortium logo design. At the 1976 A.G.M steady progress was reported on construction of the first green which was put down under contract by the Hutt City Council. It was expected that the Green would be ready for play at the start of 1977-78 season.
However, the Wellington weather and financial negotiations dashed this expectation. By March 1977 drainage and the base course had been laid. Negotiations for a club house were completed by June 1977. Club working bees at which members of the Whitby Lions Club provided able support, meant a satisfactory strike of Cotula was obtained by autumn of 1977.
The 1977 A.G.M noted that the growth conditions in the coming Winter and Spring would determine whether play could start in the 1977/78 season.
The Women’s Branch of the Club held their first meeting on 27th August 1977 with 14 women attending and Mrs PA Brown was elected President of the Women’s section.
By December 1977, the green had been mown 4 times but continuous bad weather, and weak cotula growth prevented opening the green for play.
At the same time the Committee was expressing concern at the lack of progress in determining what type of pavilion should be erected. However, it was not much longer before the Salvation Army Hall from Cannon’s Creek became available and was purchased for $3,000 by the Club, and moved to the current location.
After nearly three years of hard voluntary work by our core group of enthusiasts, the Whitby Bowling Club was offically opened on Saturday 28th October 1978. The Club House, had been fully renovated and partioned, including a modern kitchen with all the necessary facilities.
Surrounding the green and clubhouse are numerous hedge plants to form future wind breaks, all donated by the Porirua City Corporation and Hutt City Council.
Dave Bauer, President Whitby Lions presented Green Superintendent Gordon Brown with a triple roller, an inaugural gift from the Whitby Lions to mark the occasion. Mrs Jan Stokes, wife of the then President bowled the first “jack”. Mr McLean then sent down the first bowl followed by Mrs Craig and Mr Raine. Although there were no touchers, all bowls were delivered in copybook style.
The inaugural Club Champions for the 1978-79 Season were:
1978-79
Men’s Junior Singles Champion: Geoff Fallaize
Men’s Pairs Champions: Frank Dean (s) & Bill Churchill
Geoff Fallaize went on win four titles (3 Juniors Singles & 1 Pairs),
Frank Dean won 3 titles (Fours, Pairs & Singles), whilst Bill Churchill won 2 titles (Fours & Pairs).
The Story Continues:
Since those early days the Whitby Bowling club has continued to thrive in the community despite a few ups and downs along the way. It took a number of years to obtain a full bar licence and funds have been difficult to come by, especially as there has always been a desire to obtain a second carpet green.
Extensions to the clubhouse were made in the mid 80's and again in the mid 90's, providing much improved facilities for club members and the wider Whitby community. In 2024 the green was completely renewed and provided a much improved playing sutface for members.
Over the years club members have enjoyed success in Centre and National tournaments. In 2026, Whitby was bestowed with the honour of being the Wellington Centre 'Club of the Year'.
The club celebrated 50 years of extistence in 2025, culminating in a very successful Jubilee weekend in late November.
