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The greens were officially opened on
September 3, 1960 by Cr. E.L. Newbigin, a past president of the Shire
of Doncaster & Templestowe. Mrs. Newbigin rolled the first jack and
Mrs. Elsie Davey put down the first bowl. Mr. Bill Lowe of the RVBA
said that, in his opinion, the Club had created a world record by
having the greens ready for play in such a short time despite the
excessively hot summer. In view of this heat members had dug a small
dam which has since been covered in. The Ladies opening by Mrs.
McCutcheon, a Vice-President of the VLVA assisted the VLBA executive
member, Mrs. Brinkhead, followed on September 8.
As the early Club did not engage a
greenkeeper, the duties in this area were shared voluntarily by Cyril
Davey, Toby Cameron after whom the first green was named and Bert
Newsome. Bert did this job officially for some years after. More land
was acquired from Toby Cameron in the region of the flagpole and the
Gregory Place car park.
As Clubs on Council land could not play
bowls on Sundays, Greythorn being independent, became a very popular
venue for people from nearby clubs such as Doncaster, North Balwyn and
East Kew: there being waiting lists on most weekends.
Despite cramped quarters in the small
clubhouse, and few facilities, the ladies soon began pulling their
weight in local and VLBA quarters: one memorable occasion being
catering for three hot days of the Australian Championships with cold
meats, salads and hot drinks. Lil Doyle provided an ice box which was a
very useful supplement to the 9 cu ft refrigerator.
Naturally the early days have been
documented in far more detail than the great years which have followed
and which we will record in more summary form.
Catering Committee:
The Ladies Catering Committee has performed a grand service over the
years providing for occasions which have drawn bi crowds from time to
time. At the Christmas Party in 1969 the comparatively small committee
catered for 212 people of whom 207 attended the occasion, which with
kitchen help cost of L10/-/-. Taking into account some donations,
the chicken, ham, salads and pavlovas cost 68c a head for the night.
The greatly enlarged Catering Committee continues to provide a very
useful and satisfying service. In recent years the barbeque, for which
the men do the cooking, has been a very successful social innovation.
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