Restored historic snooker tables find new home and life

Hamilton history has been preserved and is being used at Hamilton's Alandale lifestyle village at Flagstaff.

Residents are regularly using two fully restored, 100-year-old Barton and McGill snooker tables reckoned to be among the best in the country.

With classic styling, the beautifully crafted, solid timber units which boast two-inch slates, will play fairly and look good for another 100 years.

The older table is made from Australian blackwood and the younger from cedar with a mahogany veneer. They have been cleverly stained to look very much alike.

Both tables came from the Hamilton Club, Grantham St. One, believed to be the older and made pre-1900 was presented by the Officer's Club which closed in 1992. Billiards and snooker were played on the tables, the younger table from 1910, in the extension to the original club building.

Alandale resident Jack Gilbert, a former Hamilton Club member and regular snooker play, remembers the tables well but not in their current "as new" condition. He is looking forward to again playing on the world-class surfaces.

Resident Cam Ewing leads the snooker enthusiasts and he hopes to encourage many others to join in.

One of the tables, broken down and packed up for storage, was purchased by Hamilton deputy mayor Gordon Chesterman. He says he had intentions of having a snooker room at his home which proved impractical.

"I stored the table and later discovered that Alandale village was establishing an area for full-sized snooker and billiard tables. They took it over from me, paired it with the other table from the Hamilton Club, and sent them back to the original manufacturer for restoration."

Mr Chesterman says he is thrilled the tables are now in use.

"It is fantastic to see some of Hamilton's history back in its original condition, being loved and not likely to be sold."