Tauranga Club has come a long way in 120 years

Seven of the Clubs past presidents and current president Tracy Rudduck-Gudsell. PHOTO/BRIAN SCANTLEBURY

The Tauranga Club celebrated its 120 year anniversary on Saturday night.

The club was first established as a gentlemen's club in 1894 and later opened to women as well.

Club president Tracey Rudduck-Gudsell said it had been a place for business people to meet from the outset and was now a great networking venue.

Mrs Rudduck-Gudsell was voted in to become the second female president the club has had in its 120 years, in 2012.

The club was started by a group of men who went on to establish businesses in Tauranga, which still stand today, Mrs Rudduck-Gudsell said.

One of these men was Henry Sharp who later joined with Archie Tudhope in 1911 to form Sharp Tudhope Lawyers, now Tauranga's oldest business.

Dame Lynley Dodd, Sir Gordon Tietjens, Hon Simon Bridges and Mayor Stuart Crosby were among the guests on Saturday night, with former All Black Frano Botica attending as a guest speaker.

Mayor Crosby said it was a significant anniversary for Tauranga.

"I'm sure council meetings and some of the early development of the city would've been discussed there."

The club is now located in the Devonport Towers, but Mr Crosby said he remembered it differently.

"My early recollection was a great big house on Devonport Rd," he said.

He acknowledged the history and congratulated the club when he spoke at the celebration dinner.