Club profile: The Rotorua Club

After almost 90 years, the Rotorua Club is still the social scene for developing friendships, says club president Allan Forbes.
The club is about to move to new, stylish premises on the first floor of the Rotorua racecourse and Mr Forbes hoped the new facilities would encourage more members.
There are now 440 members at the Rotorua Club.
Mr Forbes was introduced to the club nine years ago and said it was an excellent environment for business networking and developing friendships.
"There is such a huge variety of people from different occupations and it's always a good relaxed environment," he said.
"Throughout my time in the club I have never seen any bad words exchanged between members."
He said the new building would provide improvements for members celebrating special occasions, large gatherings and a good comfortable view when the horse racing was on.
"We are always trying to encourage new members to join up and hope the new building will implement that," he said. "There is no extra fee to celebrate a special occasion if you're a member and because we are one with the Rotorua Racing Club, you can benefit from what they have to offer also," he said.
"We don't have many younger members, so we strongly encourage more to come along. It's all about having fun and meeting new people and that has always been the case. Now members can make new memories and enjoy themselves in a new building."
The club will be moving from its Fenton St premises slightly up the road the third move since the club was founded in 1921.
Mr Forbes said it was an awesome environment and he had developed long-lasting friendships he would have never had if it wasn't for the club, including a friendship with the late Sir Howard Morrison, who was also a member.
"The room is always filled with laughter and everyone is very friendly, there's always lots of fun."
He said a club highlight for him included being part of the Bean Club which always guaranteed a good laugh.
"There are 21 members including four women in the club and the rule is you have to carry a bean around with you at all times," he said.
"If you see another Bean Club member and they don't have their bean, they have to buy you a drink," he said.
"We have a blast with it. I always carry mine around all the time because you never know when you might bump into someone," he said. "It's worth coming along and checking out the fun for yourself."
The Rotorua Club started on the Hinemaru St side of Princes Gate Hotel, which is now the Rotorua Women's Club.
Membership grew over the years and therefore the call for more games was echoed.
However, towards the end of the 1960s the premises grew too small for the growing membership and too costly to manage, so was moved to the Fenton St venue.
Mr Forbes said it was a similar issue which caused the move to Arawa Park, but he was pleased and looked forward to the club's future progress.
The new club facilities include a private function room, an access grandstand, gaming room, TAB, a large parking area, and 13 televisions.
It is expected to officially open at the beginning of next month.
Members must be aged 18 or over.
 
ABOUT THE CLUB
Who: Rotorua Club.
What: Social Club combined with the Rotorua Racing Club. There are a range of sub-clubs too.
Where: First floor of racecourse grandstand at Arawa Park.
Cost: $60 per person and $90 a couple for a year.
Membership: 440.
Founded: 1921.
Contact: For more information contact club president Allan Forbes, phone (07) 348 5681.