Gisborne Bowling Club’s Malcolm Trowell, the senior men’s representative selector and an outstanding player in both indoor and lawn bowls, is paired with Chris Bunyan, who has rapidly become a contender for regular representative selection. They were both in the team who qualified top of section play in the Martin Memorial.
Te Karaka Bowling Club stalwart David File has 90-odd centre bowling titles and is paired with fellow rep bowler Shaun Goldsbury, who takes frequent breaks from Auckland’s hustle to grace Gisborne bowling greens.
Tolaga Bay pair Boon McIlroy and Mark Walker could be regarded as dangerous outsiders: long shots for the ultimate prize but definite contenders for an upset that tips form upside-down.
Well-performed Vern Alder is a late replacement for Tolaga Bay clubmate Peter Mitchell, who has pulled a hamstring. Alder will partner second-year bowler Shane Smiler, and they will be keen to ruffle the feathers of more fancied opponents.
Gisborne’s Andrew Ball has been a consistent achiever in centre competition over the past few years, and is paired with outstanding indoor bowler Warren Gibb, who also shows ability in the outdoor game. They were the other half of Trowell’s top-qualifying four in the Martin Memorial.
Tolaga Bay’s Ben Elkington and Ricky Miller were – with McIlroy and Walker – in the second-ranked Martin Memorial team at the end of qualifying. They, too, have the ability to rattle a few cages.
The women’s tournament has one standout combination: the Kahutia club’s Glenys Whiteman (s) and Dayvinia Mills.
Their toughest combination could come from two sets of sisters – Tolaga Bay’s Clara and Mary Taingahue, and Poverty Bay’s Anita Vaotuua and Jessie Davis-Law.
Te Karaka combination Erica Thompson and Diane Murray have junior and senior rep experience respectively, and could give them all a fright.
Weatherley brothers prominent from 50s to 80s
The Weatherley brothers were Gisborne bowling royalty.
They were prominent in the Gisborne bowling scene from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Brothers Geoff and George were members of the winning Burton Cup team four years running, from 1959 to 1962, a feat that had not been achieved before. Another brother, Hec, joined them in other team events. All were members of Kahutia Bowling Club.
Tolaga Bay Bowling Club member Vern Alder was mentored by George Weatherley as a youngster, and says he was “a lovely fella”.
“My mother [Ngaire Alder] got me into the Kahutia Bowling Club in 1982 – I would have been 12. I used to go down after school and practise three times a week.
“In my second year, George Weatherley asked me to play for them in a tournament. They needed a lead – there were a lot of graded tournaments back then – and I said ‘yes’.”
George Weatherley was wary of being too prescriptive with his coaching, and saw the danger of changing someone’s style and mucking them up, Alder said.
“He said if I had a problem I could go to him any time and he would talk to me about it and I would work it out. So every time I had a problem I would go and see him. That lasted probably until his passing.”
David File started playing in 1980, at Kahutia, and in his second or third year played in “three or four” tournaments with both Geoff and George.
“George was club coach at Kahutia for many years but didn’t like to poke his nose in unless he was asked. If you asked him, he was willing to help.
“Geoff was the best bowler of the three but he was hard of hearing. In games, he and George communicated with hand signals.”
George Weatherley died on February 25, 1991, aged 84. He was predeceased by his brothers Hec and Geoff.
