Snippets from 1979 - 1997
From earlier notes the following has been gleaned:
Globetrotting Auckland Vets
Jack Binsley took over as Secretary in 1979 holding office until 1982. During his period in office the membership reached 120 mainly attributed to his efforts. Whilst in office Jack along with Gilbert Hawley (Chairman) organised and conducted three overseas trips two to Australia: Sydney where they played 8 courses and the Gold Coast, for three weeks. There was also a trip to Hawaii in 1981 and there they played on 3 courses. After each of these trips there were visits from Sydney, Tasmania and Queensland Vets. During these years many of the original members were still playing Vets golf.
There were continuing visits to and from Australia.
Leisurely mid-round lunch breaks were the norm
Meetings continued to be held monthly prior to golf with 30 to 100 members being in attendance. All those at the meeting were given start times and or tees for the game that followed. When they arrived at the Club House (mid-round) they then stopped for lunch before completing their round. Doubt if we could get away with this today, of course Clubs were not as busy as they are today.
Coping with increasing membership.
From May 1979 there was an upsurge in membership; this prompted the Committee to back off seeking new members. At the May 28th 1979 meeting there was a field of 125.
Although the official joining age was 60 years and over, depending on numbers the Committee were continually changing the age that new members were automatically accepted, sometimes it was 65 and other times it was down to 62. Those who did not receive automatic entry were placed on a waitlist. The membership in 1985 increased to 400 and further increased to 450 in 1980.
In the late 70’s with increasing members, many ways were discussed to solve this problem. In the early 80’s the Society, due to the large membership, was forced because of numbers allowed on various courses to split playing rights based on surnames. This meant that one day those whose surnames began with A-M played and the next game was only for those with surnames beginning with N-Z.
It is interesting that the final paragraph in the 1979 Annual Meeting report reads as follows: “The rather undignified meeting closed at 11.15am.” This was mainly caused by some members wishing to split the Society into two groups. This was strongly objected to by the President of the day Mr Claude Hyauiason.
Winter and sumer tournaments
The Society used to run a Winter Tournament at Muriwai and a Summer Tournament at Manukau and Auckland, both over 5 days. The last year the Winter Tournament was played at Muriwai was 1995, this being due to the formation of the North Harbour Golf Association and Muriwai being removed from the Auckland listing to the North Harbour listing. Auckland Vets transferred their Winter Tournament to Titirangi, Maungakiekie or Manukau. Due to problems with weather in the winter months this event was finally withdrawn.
Our Summer Tournament was, for a number of years, held at Manukau and Grange courses, and is now held at Grange and Remuera and played over four days.
Auckland and North Harbour split
When the Auckland golfing area was split into two, ‘Auckland’ and ‘North Harbour’ (Gentlemen in 1994, Ladies in the following year), Auckland Vet Golfers were allowed to keep their membership even if they lived in the North Harbour area.
Arthur Sharpe remembered
Arthur Sharpe passed away 1997 aged 92; the Committee Minutes of May 1977 contain a glowing commentary of his achievements and contribution to founding the Society and holding the office of Secretary for 25 years. The next month’s minutes refer to a letter of appreciation from his daughter Doreen Perrett expressing thanks for the comradeship and friendship shown to her father over the years.
Missing monthly minutes 1981 -1989
From 1983 minutes of Monthly and Annual meetings were kept separately, it is a pity that monthly minutes for the period November 1981 to late December 1989 have not been located.
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From earlier notes the following has been gleaned:
Globetrotting Auckland Vets
Jack Binsley took over as Secretary in 1979 holding office until 1982. During his period in office the membership reached 120 mainly attributed to his efforts. Whilst in office Jack along with Gilbert Hawley (Chairman) organised and conducted three overseas trips two to Australia: Sydney where they played 8 courses and the Gold Coast, for three weeks. There was also a trip to Hawaii in 1981 and there they played on 3 courses. After each of these trips there were visits from Sydney, Tasmania and Queensland Vets. During these years many of the original members were still playing Vets golf.
There were continuing visits to and from Australia.
Leisurely mid-round lunch breaks were the norm
Meetings continued to be held monthly prior to golf with 30 to 100 members being in attendance. All those at the meeting were given start times and or tees for the game that followed. When they arrived at the Club House (mid-round) they then stopped for lunch before completing their round. Doubt if we could get away with this today, of course Clubs were not as busy as they are today.
Coping with increasing membership.
From May 1979 there was an upsurge in membership; this prompted the Committee to back off seeking new members. At the May 28th 1979 meeting there was a field of 125.
Although the official joining age was 60 years and over, depending on numbers the Committee were continually changing the age that new members were automatically accepted, sometimes it was 65 and other times it was down to 62. Those who did not receive automatic entry were placed on a waitlist. The membership in 1985 increased to 400 and further increased to 450 in 1980.
In the late 70’s with increasing members, many ways were discussed to solve this problem. In the early 80’s the Society, due to the large membership, was forced because of numbers allowed on various courses to split playing rights based on surnames. This meant that one day those whose surnames began with A-M played and the next game was only for those with surnames beginning with N-Z.
It is interesting that the final paragraph in the 1979 Annual Meeting report reads as follows: “The rather undignified meeting closed at 11.15am.” This was mainly caused by some members wishing to split the Society into two groups. This was strongly objected to by the President of the day Mr Claude Hyauiason.
Winter and sumer tournaments
The Society used to run a Winter Tournament at Muriwai and a Summer Tournament at Manukau and Auckland, both over 5 days. The last year the Winter Tournament was played at Muriwai was 1995, this being due to the formation of the North Harbour Golf Association and Muriwai being removed from the Auckland listing to the North Harbour listing. Auckland Vets transferred their Winter Tournament to Titirangi, Maungakiekie or Manukau. Due to problems with weather in the winter months this event was finally withdrawn.
Our Summer Tournament was, for a number of years, held at Manukau and Grange courses, and is now held at Grange and Remuera and played over four days.
Auckland and North Harbour split
When the Auckland golfing area was split into two, ‘Auckland’ and ‘North Harbour’ (Gentlemen in 1994, Ladies in the following year), Auckland Vet Golfers were allowed to keep their membership even if they lived in the North Harbour area.
Arthur Sharpe remembered
Arthur Sharpe passed away 1997 aged 92; the Committee Minutes of May 1977 contain a glowing commentary of his achievements and contribution to founding the Society and holding the office of Secretary for 25 years. The next month’s minutes refer to a letter of appreciation from his daughter Doreen Perrett expressing thanks for the comradeship and friendship shown to her father over the years.
Missing monthly minutes 1981 -1989
From 1983 minutes of Monthly and Annual meetings were kept separately, it is a pity that monthly minutes for the period November 1981 to late December 1989 have not been located.
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