A recent history of golf croquet at Mount Barker by John Selby

October 15, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

Which form of the game do you prefer? Association or Golf Croquet?

July 23, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

An early decision for newcomers to make is whether to learn not just golf croquet, but also how to play the more formal game, Association Croquet. Whatever the decision, there are basic considerations that are common to both forms, and for which it will be helpful to seek the guidance of an experienced coach.

Basic skills to master, are how to grip the mallet, and how to address and strike the ball. After this it is necessary to learn how to consistently run hoops, and how to adjust the swing and its strength to the distance the ball needs to travel, and to the condition of the lawn. A high standard of accuracy is essential. It is vital to learn to keep one’s head down, and one’s body still during the stroke. Then too, there are specialised strokes such as stop shots and jump shots to include in one’s armamentarium.

What are the essential differences between the two games to bear in mind when choosing which to play?

Association Croquet is usually played with a two and a half hour time limit; a game of golf croquet can usually be completed in about 40 minutes.

Both forms of the game can be played as either singles or doubles, or if needed as a threesome.

In Association Croquet just one player at a time is allowed to occupy the court, until their turn ends. The most skilled players are able to extend their turn by so positioning all balls as needed to be able to continue to run hoops in sequence. In golf croquet, players are allowed just one stroke per turn, and balls are played in a set order of play. As soon as one player runs a hoop, all players move on to the next one. As a result, the game is played in groups that move together from one hoop to the next, allowing plenty of time for chit chat. Sledging however is not in the spirit of the game.

Golf croquet is a skilful game involving careful ball positioning, roquet shots, (striking an opponent’s ball to perhaps hit them out of position), and hoop running.

Croquet shots in which the striker ball being played is struck whilst in contact with another ball(s) add an additional level of complexity and interest to Association Croquet.

Association croquet can take months to master, and indeed years to learn all the intricacies and strategies that can be used. Golf croquet on the other hand can be played after as little as an hour or two of guidance.

It is not surprising that in today’s world with so much pressure on our time, golf croquet has become the more popular form of the sport. Indeed many clubs might have had to close but for the shorter form of the game, with more opportunity for social interaction.

The equipment

The basic equipment for croquet comprises:

a set of six metal hoops with the uprights 12 inches above ground level and a width between uprights of between three and three-quarters of an inch and 4 inches in width. The width is capable of slight adjustment and can be set to be tighter for competitive play.
Sets of four balls, the primary colours being as shown, blue, black, red and yellow.
Mallets have been mostly fashioned from timber, but many are now constructed from other materials such as metal in the mallet shown.

It may seem an easy task to strike a ball through a hoop, but it is one made difficult by setting the clearance between hoop and ball at only one-eighth of an inch, or one-sixteenth of an inch for championship play. From the Oxford Croquet website: http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/tech/hoopspec/index.asp

ACCEPTANCE STANDARDS from
1. HOOP WIDTH. The clearance is defined as the difference between the distance between the inside edges of the uprights at half-ball height and the maximum diameter of the largest ball to be used on the court. Unless otherwise advertised in the Fixtures Calendar, or as stated below, hoops must be set such that the clearance is as near as possible equal to, but not less than, 1/16″ for Championship and other events played under conditions of Advanced Play, and 1/8″ for other, including mixed, events, with an upward tolerance of 50%. The Manager may, in accordance with M2.C.10, alter the advertised clearance by up to 50% in steps of 1/32″ in either direction, provided that this and the reason for it is publicised before play starts that day.
2. HOOP RIGIDITY. Hoops must be set firmly and securely such that no perceptible movement occurs when the crown is pushed/pulled with considerable force.

Doubles players move on to the next hoop to be played.

Secondary Colours are green, brown, pink and white. Brown is stuck in the hoop.

Two games can be played simultaneously on the one court. Sometimes it is necessary to wait while the other group finishes playing the next hoop.

Bill Kidd and Patricia Hill watch whilst Valda Jaensch lines up her shot.

Wendy Thiele and Eric Klenke play a singles match.

An Introduction to Golf Croquet.

July 22, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

I am indebted to the Croquet SA website for this introductory information about how to play golf croquet, and the basic rules of the game. I have included it in this blog for the benefit of those readers who may be puzzled about how it is played in South Australia.

Click to access SACA-GOLF-CROQUET-INTRODUCTION-Verson-5.pdf

SACA-GOLF-CROQUET- Rules. version-5

Introduction to gold croquet

GOLF CROQUET RULES:

1. There are four balls, blue, red, black and yellow, which must be played in that order (the colours are painted on the centre peg to act as a reminder).

2. The hoops and peg cannot be moved to facilitate play.

3. The person whose turn it is to play is called the striker. A turn consists of just one strike. In Singles one player uses the blue and black balls, the other red and yellow. In Doubles each player strikes his own ball — with blue partnering black and red partnering yellow.

4. Toss a coin to start the game. The winner of the toss starts by striking the blue ball, the next person the red ball, and so on.

5. Each person starts in the court within one yard of the corner shown overleaf. In succeeding turns you strike your ball from where it lies. The first hoop to be run is hoop 1, in the direction indicated on the diagram.

6. Once someone has run hoop 1 everyone then plays to run hoop 2, and so on. The game proceeds in the sequence shown and the first player to run seven hoops wins.

7. A hoop is run when no part of the ball protrudes beyond the side of the hoop from which it started (see the diagram above). A ball may take more than one turn to run a hoop.

8. If a ball other than the striker’s ball is hit through the hoop (peeled) by the striker’s ball then the hoop counts for that peeled ball, even if the striker’s ball also goes through that hoop.

9. Each turn consists of striking the correct ball with the face of the mallet head and with no other part of the mallet. Accidentally touching your ball counts as a strike. When it is your turn you have to take it — you are not allowed to ‘pass’.

10. When striking your ball be careful not to touch another ball with your mallet as this constitutes a ‘fault’. It is also a fault to hit your own ball more than once — a ‘double tap’ — or to ‘crush’ your ball into a hoop or the peg. Great care has to be taken to avoid these faults when your ball is close to an upright of a hoop and at an angle to the opening. It is a fault to force the ball through regardless!

11. If a fault is committed the turn ends, no points are scored, and your opponent can decide to take his turn from where the balls are or to have them returned to where they were.

12. Even if it’s not your turn you must not touch any ball, or let it touch you, or you will lose your next turn. So don’t trip over a ball, and watch out for moving balls. They can move very fast! If you do touch a ball your opponent can choose to leave it where it comes to rest or to put it back where it was before.

13. It is important not to play the wrong ball or play out of turn. If this does happen then your opponent can choose whether or

not to replace the balls or leave them where they are, and choose which ball to restart with. For example: if yellow was played (wrongly) after blue, your opponent can choose to continue with either the black or the blue ball. (In Singles if a player plays there partner ball by mistake the ball is put back where it was and the correct partner ball is played, no penalty. In Doubles if the ball belongs to the striker’s partner, no points are scored for any ball, the ball and any other ball

moved are replaced and the correct ball is played, no penalty). A hoop run by the wrong ball does not count as a hoop point.

14. When all balls have stopped any ball which has left the court is replaced on the boundary at the place where it went off.

15. After a turn in which a hoop point is scored any ball that is over halfway to the next hoop to be played can be declared ‘offside’, unless it got there:

a. as a result of the stroke just played: by it running the hoop or it being peeled through, or by it peeling another ball through that hoop; or

b. a stroke, wrong ball play or fault played or committed by an opponent, however this exemption does not apply to a ball whose owner misses a turn

in that position because of a non-striking fault; for example by the red ball being struck so that it knocks the opponent’s blue or black ball beyond halfway to the next hoop; or

c. contact with an opponent’s ball, however this exemption does not result from a ball played away from an opponent’s ball with which it was in contact, unless it moves that ball in the stroke; or

d. being directed to a penalty spot.

16. If your ball is offside, and is so claimed by your opponent, and you are asked to do so, you must move the ball to one of two penalty positions – your opponent chooses which. The penalty points are the half way points on each of the longer boundaries. Your opponent may prefer you to take your turn from where your ball lies.

More Croquet from Mount Barker! (Part III)

July 14, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

There are few more satisfying moments in croquet than being able to hit your opponent’s ball off the court just when he or she is set-up plumb in front, about to run the hoop. Deeply frustrating however for your opponent when their good play is thus negated.
At times croquet can take on the characteristics of near war-time confrontation. But it is just a game, and players find plenty to smile about both on and off the court.

Lorraine and Wendy again. Winners are grinners!

What did John Selby say at morning-tea to have the girls rolling in laughter?

Peggy can scarcely contain her mirth.

I’d be smiling too if I had a girl on each side!

Wendy Thiele with Eric and Mavis Klenke

A happy trio: Colleen, John and Patricia Hill.

Some of the lady charmers in the club.

Patricia Schultz

Patricia Hill

Peggy Louch

Marjorie Turner

Heather Daniel

Meredith Walters

The weaker sex

Terry Thiele

William Kidd

Kevin Jaensch

Ken Robson

Vice President & Coach John Selby

John Freeman

Secretary Neal Gibson

Robert Armstrong

Eric Klenke

Trevor Kramm

Max Walcom

Peter Fry

A dictum for accuracy in play is keep your head down, and watch the ball. Don’t look at where you think it will go. Here Coach John Selby shows how you should do it, and other players studiously follow the advice.

Wendy Thiele

Head down. Bum up. Stay still when you swing

Patricia Hill

Meredith Walters

Bill Kidd shows his style

More from the Mount Barker Croquet Club (Part II)

July 14, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

In the clubhouse, on the far wall where the club memorabilia is displayed, is an Honour Roll recording the names of those who have served the club in official capacities. Unfortunately this fails to give credit to all the other members who cheerfully devote many unpaid hours to support the club’s activities.

The Club Honour Roll

Hoops in place for the start of play

For good croquet immaculately prepared lawns are essential. The club is indebted to all those who tend the lawns and the gardens and carry out the maintenance of the club facilities.

Focus on the play!

Many fail to play sport later in life because they feel that they do not have the sporting prowess to excel. Even although she has only been playing croquet for a couple of years, by her own self-assessment Marjorie Turner considers she is average, and unlikely to become a top player. But this does not deter her from playing. She values the exercise, and the friendship she has found. She says members have always made her feel welcome, and she has met some very nice people.

Marjorie Turner

Colleen Walters, nine years a member, six as Club Treasurer. She appreciates the regular exercise, and the social life. With husband Maurice, they are another of the club’s couples.

Colleen Walters

The cooking duo, Colleen & Maurice Walters

Having played croquet for the past 11 years Mavis Klenke has become one of the club’s most accomplished players, winning several gala day competitions. She loves sport, and golf croquet has become an important part of her life, a pleasure she can now share with her husband Eric since he retired. He has become equally enthusiastic about the game.

Mavis Klenke

Eric Klenke

Trevor Kramm watches as Meredith Walters has her turn.

Meet Mount Barker’s Croquet Players. Part I

July 12, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

Acknowledgement

I am grateful for the photographic skills of young Mount Barker resident Lyndall Zobel of unpretended photography in this series of posts.

<www.unpretended.com.au>

Where we live and play!

From the lower reaches of Australia’s longest river, the meandering Murray, near where it flows into the vast Lake Alexandrina at the Murray mouth, one can see prominent on the Adelaide Hills horizon, the diminutive Mount Barker peak, named after its white discoverer Captain Collet Barker who lost his life exploring the region in 1831. Only 360 metres in elevation it still dominates the landscape west of the highest peak, Mount Lofty, as the terrain gently slopes towards the Murray plains. It marks the site of one of South Australia’s oldest settlements, the Mount Barker Township, surveyed in 1839, with farmers starting to settle the undulating countryside in 1844. Now with a population of about 15,000 it is the urban hub of the Hills, close to the tourist meccas of Hahndorf, and Strathalbyn, and merging with the adjacent growth centres of Littlehampton and Nairne.

The Mount Barker Croquet Club is on the fringe of the shopping district, next to the Bowling Club, and across the road from Stephenson Park. It is in a pleasant, relaxing setting with stately elder trees on either side of an adjacent pathway, and majestic gnarled massive red gums thriving in the creek bed to the south. Photinia shrubs provide a screen from passers-by walking the scenic trail to the Laratinga Wetlands.

Should you have opportunity to visit this idyllic part Australia’s Southern State, why not think of paying a visit to our croquet club and meet us in person. Even if you have never played croquet before, you can still come and test your skill with mallet and ball in running the hoops, on a Thursday or Saturday morning for “golf croquet”. Fortunately it is possible to play croquet the year around in Australia, except for the days when there is pelting rain, or searing heat.

Introducing the Mount Barker Croquet Club

Here is the club photograph for 2015, the year we celebrate 100 years of croquet played on our three Mann Street lawns. It is just those that play Golf Croquet. Absent are the few Association Croquet players.

Did you ever see a more handsome sporting club than this vigorous group of 25?

Golf Croquet Players 2015

From Left to Right:

Back Row: William Kidd, John Freeman, Denise Fry, Mavis Klenke, Heather Daniels, Meredith Walters, Robert Armstrong, Kevin Jaensch, Peggy Louch, Joy Steer, Trevor Kramm, Ken Robson, John Selby (Vice President).

Middle Row: Eric Klenke (Committee member), Peter Fry (Grounds person), Lorraine Kramm (Committee member), Valda Jaensch (President), Neal Gibson (Secretary), Patricia Schultz (Committee member), Wendy Thiele (Treasurer).

Front Row: David Foster, Gloria Foster, Sandra Armstrong, Marjorie Turner, Lorna Gibson.

President Valda Jaensch

Secretary Neal Gibson

Treasurer Wendy Theile

Vice President & Coach John Selby

Eric Klenke, Kevin Jaensch (seated) & VaLda Jaensch

Mavis Klenke & Helen Daniels

Lorraine Kramm

Lorna Gibson & John Selby

Kevin Jaensch

Erik Klenke

Ken Robson

Denise Fry

John Freeman

Gloria Foster

Helen Daniels

Lorna Gibson

Robert Armstrong

Sandra Armstrong

Elder Tree Bough frames the view

Don’t bring your mallet inside the club-house

John Selby addresses the ball.

John demonstrates the back-swing between the legs

Continuing the forward swing after striking the ball. Safe now to look up.

John Selby contemplates his next move.

Erik Klenke lines up to run the hoop

Good one Eric!

Bill Kidd waits his turn

Whose turn next?

Red has a clear shot on the hoop!

The black ball is played and blocks the red ball’s approach to the hoop. The red ball still has a chance to run the hoop with a jump shot!

Trevor Kramm walks to the next hoop

Joy Steer.

Peter Fry shows his grip with widely separated hands.

Did the blue ball run the hoop?

Our current Club President is one of our lady members, Valda Jaensch from nearby Callington, who first tried croquet on the 4^th June 2005. She so enjoyed it that she remembers the date precisely, and has played social croquet at Mount Barker ever since, together with participating in gala day competitions.

Valda’s husband Kevin has shared his wife’s enjoyment of croquet from the same memorable occasion in 2005. Retired and in his late 70’s, croquet has been a perfect sporting interest for him, and an activity which he can share with Valda.

Club President,
Valda Jaensch

For information about our club, Secretary Neal Gibson is the man you should contact. Phone contact: 08 8398 6742 Neal Gibson nealdgibson@bigpond.com

When John Selby retired in March 2002 he chose golf croquet for his sporting activity. He is one of our outstanding players and has served the club well as coach and photographer. He is the Immediate Past President of the Club, and current Vice President.

Croquet is a game that can be played to an advanced age, even into the nineties. Skills by then may be declining, but with age comes the “smarts”even to the point of a little more cunning when it comes to strategy. Heading our honour list would have to be now retired Bert and Bette Walkom.

Bette took up golf croquet in 1963 after the trauma of an accident in the family. Bert followed on but preferred the more involved Association Croquet. He proved to be an excellent player achieving a handicap of only 3, and winning a tournament at Millicent in the South East of the State.

Bert & Bette Walkom, Honorary Members

Trevor Kramm is the only member to regularly play both forms of croquet, Golf and Association Croquet. There is merit in doing this. The games foster overlapping but slightly different strengths. The playing of one may help improve your skills for the other code. For example Trevor brings a confident running of the hoops from golf croquet to his Association game. Although in his mid-eighties, Trevor’s skill from 13 years of croquet is little diminished, and he still very much enjoys not only the games, but the social contacts, and opportunities to meet new people.

Wife Lorraine plays croquet too. The Kramms are another of several couples to enjoy playing croquet together at this club.

Trevor Kramm walks to the next hoop

Good buddies Lorraine
Kramm & and Wendy Thiele

Entertainment plus croquet too!! The Royal Croquet Club, Adelaide.

June 24, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

https://www.facebook.com/RoyalCroquetClub

It was all the fun of the fair at the 2015 Adelaide Fringe Festival’s most popular event, the Royal Croquet Club for a second year. True It featured croquet, but the crowds came for the many premier late night entertainments rather than to play family sport. If like me you did not know what it was all about, just click on the link to the Facebook website above.

The event was so popular that considerable damage was done to the turf in the northern end of Victoria Square prompting the Adelaide Council to question the wisdom of committing to the event at the next Festival in 2016.

Post Festival Devastation in Victoria Square!!

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/royal-croquet-club-to-have-opening-hours-cut-and-lockout-brought-forward/story-fni6uo1m-1227410874039
• ANTHONY TEMPLETON CITY EDITOR
• The Advertiser
• June 23, 2015 11:01PM

NEGOTIATIONS between the Royal Croquet Club and Adelaide City Council will begin to ensure the popular Fringe venue returns next year but its hours of operation will be reduced and lockout brought forward.
Other restrictions on the Royal Croquet Club (RCC) include reducing its trading hours to 1am on weekends, banning loud music past 12am, introducing a midnight lockout, mandating public access to part of Victoria Square during the day and making aesthetic improvements to the fencing.
The new restrictions on the Club’s operations were passed by the Economic and Community Development Committee on Tuesday, after the event had attracted criticism about its impact on bricks-and-mortar venues and damaging the Square.
Councillor Alex Antic, who proposed the changes, said they were designed to get the balance right between supporting the event and addressing community concerns.
“I think this is a pretty sensible compromise position that addresses a number of the issues and concerns in the community (about the Royal Croquet Club),” Mr Antic said.

The Organisers: Tom Skipper, Stuart Duckworth, and Sam Weickert show how its done!!

Photos to bring back memories – Mount Barker Croquet Club celebrates 100 years of croquet.

June 13, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

History matters. Its stories from the past substitute for the brevity of our lives.

On the back wall of the Mount Barker Club-House, among other club memorabilia, is a framed photographic copy of the first Treasurer Reta M Chapman’s “Short History of the Mount Barker Croquet Club”. It was written in 1986, the sesqui-centenary year of the settlement of South Australia in 1836. The print is so small, and the photographs of such poor quality, it is scarcely readable.

Thanks to her we at least know a little of the club origins. Croquet was played in South Australia as early as 1867, in the Barossa Valley. The first Adelaide Club was at North Adelaide. A photograph supplied by Reta Chapman shows croquet being played on a private lawn on her grandparents property Brookbank near Mount Barker. Reta is a babe in her mother’s arms, and her sister Kathleen is held by her father. There were fifteen regular croquet players before the outbreak of World War I, but withdrawal receipts of amounts of about one pound dated 1916- 1919 in a money-box that passed into her possession, confirmed the existence of the fledgling croquet club during the gloom of the war years. The first lawns at the Mount Barker Club were seeded first in 1915, but failed to germinate.

A short history of Mount Barker Croquet Club by Reta Chapman 1986.

Croquet at Brookbank in 1911

: Reta Chapman’s History

Everybody Loves Croquet

June 4, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

Bough of a giant English Elm tree frames the equipment shed and shelter of the Mount Barker croquet club.

Croquet is one of the oldest most traditional games in the world. But did you know that it is also one of the most social games in the world? A century ago, it was a highly social and fashionable pastime and was one of only a handful of games enjoyed by both men and women together. It was not uncommon for male players to deliberately hit their female opponent’s ball off into the bushes where time spent searching for it was an opportunity for some flirting. (Does your club need more bushes?)

Today croquet is enjoying a resurgence in popularity because of its social aspect and its flexibility as a tactical game that challenges the mind yet is not as physically demanding as some other sports. There are a variety of types of croquet to try that can take as little as 40 minutes (golf croquet) or some hours for the more traditional game of association croquet, where it has been compared to snooker on grass.

In South Australia there are 38 croquet clubs with a membership of over 1000 active players who, as well as enjoying the social aspect of the sport, may compete in local, state, national and even international championships. Australia is the largest croquet playing nation in the world with over 8000 players.

Croquet is one of those games that many people haven’t tried, so are drawn to it out of curiosity. They soon discover how enjoyable it is and how it accommodates men and women equally, and can be as competitive or as social as they like.

Members at clubs enjoy passing on their knowledge with budding new players young and old and welcome any interested member of the community to come and try croquet at their club.

Younger players are being drawn to the game by Croquet SA initiatives such as the new Hammer Time program, where the experienced members take great delight in helping them play. This interaction between generations in the community really brings people together and is a fabulous example of the State Government’s strategy for an all age friendly community.

Clubs work hard to present their facility as an inviting and modern venue where the whole community can enjoy croquet. Clubs are often located in lovely ambient surroundings, when coupled with the lush croquet lawns are a delight for anyone to enjoy. Hyde Park club, located in the Unley Council area is one such club. In an effort to make their facilities more attractive for their members and guests they recently purchased some new chairs – chairs that were safer and more comfortable that the 40+ year old ones they replaced. The Club is very appreciative of the Grants for Seniors funding it received for the chairs through Office for the Ageing.

So, step up to croquet, click here for more information or phone 8271 6586 to find your nearest club.

http://www.weekendplus.sa.gov.au/?iid=119812&crd=0&searchKey=Croquet#folio=3

This is an article is from the magazine “The Weekend Plus”, a South Australian Government Publication devoted to South Australian Seniors. It is well worth a read, even if you are not from South Australia. I trust they will not object to my reproducing it in this blog.

The Fun Croquet Game! Golf croquet!

May 5, 2015 by Kenneth Robson

Croquet suffers the disadvantage over bowls in being not so well-known or understood. As a result bowls is the popular choice. Another problem is accessibility. There are fewer croquet clubs, and they may not be close. Immaculate lawns must meet the specific requirements of croquet. The speed of ball movement in croquet has to be precise to reach but not overshoot targeted positions. The usual bowling green is too fast.

The strategies and the rules of Association Croquet, the classic form of the game, take time to master, but many players choose it over bowls for the challenges this presents. Games are usually capped at two and a half hours, and as a result tournaments may last several days. They are intensely competitive, motivating players to strive for excellence. Even “friendlies” can be almost do or die events.

Not everyone coming to retirement or seeking a sport for their leisure hours, wishes to be so deeply involved. Golf croquet is a simpler version, and a fun game, with plenty of social interaction, It is still very skilful. It is amazing how often freakish shots occur to the applause of even one’s opponents. The game is also shorter, most lasting about three-quarters of an hour. This allows a game to be played before and after the essential tea break in a morning or afternoon session of play. Golf croquet has saved many a club from extinction.

Golf Croquet Mount Barker Style

It may not have the youngest members, but it would definitely rate as one of the friendliest of clubs.

This group of 25 Mount Barker Golf Croquet regulars are enthusiastic about their twice weekly friendly matches. In Gala day competitions, visitors from other clubs, join the local club for a full day of competitive croquet matches.

The club logo.

Two mallets forming an oblique cross with a set of croquet balls in the angles with the primary colours of blue/black and red/yellow

Don’t wait until you retire to take up croquet!

SA Golf Croquet State Team 2013

It is the younger players who do best. It helps too if you have prowess in other sports.

Location of the Mount Barker Croquet and club details

The club is on the low side of Mann Street, next to the Mount Barker Bowling Club, on the eastern side of Adelaide Road, busy entrance to Mount Barker from Adelaide’s South-Eastern Freeway.

Corner Mann Street and Adelaide Road Mount Barker, SA 5251

Phone contact: 08 8398 6742 Neal Gibson nealdgibson@bigpond.com

Club Secretary: Neal Gibson, 42/2 Hutchinson Street Mount Barker, SA 5251

Parent Body:

SA Croquet Association

Hours:

Fields a number of divisions which play, Tues 10am – 12.30pm; Thurs 9am – 12 noon; Saturday 9am – 11.30am

Fees:

$250 plus SACA ( South Australian Croquet Association) Fee

Club Secretary Neal Gibson

Facilities

There are three standard size lawns. To accommodate more players, each lawn can be sub-divided if necessary into two.

At play on the main lawn in front of the shelter and equipment shed.

The not so modern rest rooms

What better name for the club toilet block?

Croquhe for Gentlemen

Croquher for the Ladies

Pelicans – Mount Barker’s Laratinga Wetlands

Few clubs can boast such a lovely leafy setting such as the Mount Barker Club members enjoy. In the background on the other side of Adelaide Road, is the Keith Stephenson recreational park. A linear walking trail on the southern edge of the club links this park to the famous Laratinga Wetlands.

Refurbished (thanks to Mt Barker Council) Clubhouse.

Golf Croquet players in action on the 2nd and 3rd lawns in front of the refurbished clubhouse. In the back-ground behind the clubhouse, on the other-side of Adelaide Road is the popular Wallis Cinema complex, a modern state-of-the-art facility which boasts seven auditoriums, each with a wall-to-wall screen, high back seats, and Dolby Surround Sound. It adjoins the historic Auchendarroch House and the Tavern.

Originally named The Oakfield Hotel, “Auchendarroch” derives its origins from the Scottish-Gaelic term ‘holy place of the oaks’ and was built-in 1860 by Scottish immigrant Lachlan McFarlane.

Another Scottish ex patriot, Robert Barr Smith, business person and philanthropist, purchased the property in 1878. He served on the boards of the University of Adelaide, the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, and many Adelaide companies.