More than a century of tennis in Plimmerton was celebrated on Sunday, with past and present players returning to the community courts for a day steeped in local history.
Around 60 people gathered at Plimmerton Community Tennis, dressing in 1920s style and taking to the courts with wooden rackets and white tennis balls.
The celebrations included a game of triples, a special coaching session for junior players and a fish and chip lunch on the clubhouse verandah for players whose connections with the club stretch back to the 1970s.
Life member Kythie Morris, who played at the club for 40 years and served on its committee, cut the centenary cake.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker also joined the celebrations and recalled playing on the courts as a child.
Club president Laura Bryant said the occasion recognised generations of people who had been part of the club.
“Every friendship that has been made, the coaching, the matches, the socials, all add up to a family and a club that feels like a home away from home,” she said.
A mini museum inside the clubhouse told a history that reaches back further than the centenary being marked this year.
Equipment: Lanovia C550
Software Used: Adobe Photoshop CS2 9.0.
This File is the property of Pataka Museum, Porirua)
Research by club member Philippa Sargent found newspaper records showing tennis was being played by the club from at least 1922 on its current site, where the old Plimmerton School stood in Beach Road.
The 100th anniversary marks the establishment in 1926 of a combined bowling, croquet and tennis facility in Grays Road.
Its concrete tennis courts received high praise at the time, being described as “three of the finest hard courts in the Dominion”.
The club’s history was not always straightforward.
During the Depression years of the 1930s and World War II, financial pressures took their toll. In 1941 the tennis courts were sold to pay debt and the club returned to using the school courts.
When the school left the site in 1955, the tennis club took over a remaining classroom as its clubhouse.
Another major chapter came in August 2004, when a macrocarpa tree fell during a storm and completely destroyed the clubhouse.
A replacement log-style clubhouse was built in 2006 following a Porirua City Council insurance claim. It now overlooks the sea and two Plexipave courts which are available for public use.
Today, Plimmerton Community Tennis has about 30 adult members taking part in interclub competition and social club days.
Its junior coaching programme attracts up to 40 children during terms one and four.
The centenary celebrations are continuing in October, when the club will offer free coaching for adults and teenagers who are either new to tennis or returning to the sport.
The sessions will be held on the first three Sunday mornings in October, beginning on 4 October at 8.30am. No registration is required.
