Wanganui Croquet Club's centenary spawns potted history

Wanganui Croquet Club's potted history author, Terry Coxon, in play. Photo / Paul Brooks

Terry Coxon, golf croquet player and member of the Wanganui Croquet Club, was asked to go on the centenary committee last year. The club, formed in 1921, celebrated its first century. It was felt a potted history of the club needed to be written and the task was given to Terry.

"I went to the museum, first up, and got the first 10 years of the croquet club's annual reports," he says. They were mostly handwritten.

Terry Coxon's potted history of Wanganui Croquet Club

Terry says when the Wanganui Croquet Club was formed, under the name Victoria Park Croquet Club, there were already three clubs operating in town, with a club in Gonville starting up soon after. It wasn't until the 21st century that the clubs were whittled down to one, with clubs outside Whanganui city still supplying local competition. Terry says when the Gonville club closed down, it bequeathed all its gear to the club in Marton.

Wanganui Croquet Club's potted history author, Terry Coxon, in play. Photo / Paul Brooks

Terry finished the history and managed to get it all into a small book of about 10 pages, but the paper quality is high and there are some excellent photographs reproduced inside. One is of the committee some time in the 1920s, featuring eight women and one lone gentleman. He was the Very Rev Ralph Creed Meredith, an Anglican cleric, Freemason and sportsman who arrived in New Zealand from England in 1924. He was an accomplished croquet player - and distinguished himself in other sports, too - and became president of the New Zealand Croquet Association and life member of Wanganui. He was appointed vicar of Wanganui by the Bishop of Wellington, which necessitated the move to New Zealand.

He returned to England in 1931 for surgery but stayed on, eventually becoming chaplain to King George VI and later Queen Elizabeth II. He also served as vicar of St John the Baptist Church, Windsor, from 1940–1958. To have him here in Whanganui, even for such a short time, gives credence to the old saying, "Everybody's got to be somewhere."

The history contains details of the club and the game itself, from the traditional association croquet to the newer, shorter form of Golf Croquet, and contains references to many of the people who played in and supported the club over its 100 years.

Golf Croquet is the game of choice at Wanganui Croquet Club these days, but Association Croquet is still played in Marton. Terry says association games can go on for ages.
"They had a tournament here [in Whanganui] and it went on for eight days!" He says the teams were fed morning tea and lunch throughout the tournament. "Even today, there are association tournaments that last five days." Golf croquet is very different. "In a couple of hours you can get three games in."

Since the introduction of golf croquet, Whanganui's declining membership has reversed and grown, with interclub competitions held with Feilding, Marton, Rose Gardens (Palmerston North), Levin and Dannevirke.
Terry says croquet used to be played in people's gardens; in fact, they called it "garden croquet". He says association croquet in its day was a game for "genteel folks". It was parasols and cucumber sandwiches, until declining somewhat and overtaken by golf croquet about 20 years ago.
"It saved the club and now membership is strong."
Wanganui Croquet Club started with two greens and now has eight. Only Nelson and Heretaunga (Havelock North) clubs have more.
"It's a good, simple sport and a bit of fun," says Terry.

John B Phillips, celebrated sports writer, spent about five years as Croquet New Zealand publicity officer.
"I covered New Zealand champs and world croquet events in the country," he says. John is renowned for his in-depth features and meticulous research, so he was able to cover a lot of club history and include many croquet personalities in his stories.
"I travelled around the country when world events were held in Wellington, Nelson and Whanganui."
The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield, an international between England, Australia and New Zealand, was one of the big events he covered.
He says Whanganui was able to stage quite a few major events because it had plenty of lawns available for play.