Introduction:

Our table tennis club is an old club, going back over 60 years. Unfortunately, over that time a lot of records and history have been lost. However, in June 23 we were contacted by Bruce Roberts whose history with the club as both a multiple Club Champion and President goes back over 50 years. Bruce has taken the time to put together a history of our club, concentrating on the 60’s, 70’s and early eighties. The following ‘A Snapshot in Time’ document is invaluable information for our club and Bruce captures the essence of the fun, competition and friendships that the club provided for many members and visitors over several decades.

We thank Bruce immensely for what he has provided and it gives the current Committee the desire to respect and preserve the club’s history and to continue to provide a worthwhile, fun and friendly experience for all our members, into hopefully a very long future.  

 “A SNAPSHOT IN TIME”

1960’S TO 1980’S

 PREAMBLE

The Cronulla RSL Sub Branch, which was formed in 1942, leased a couple of rooms at the Cecil Hotel, South Cronulla. These were used mainly for sub branch activities, but eventually expanded to include more “social” activities, including dances and other social functions. A few poker machines were installed and the RSL “social club” was born.

A few years on, the sub-branch purchased land in Gerrale Street, the current club location, and commenced development and construction of the new club soon after. The Cronulla RSL Memorial Club was completed with the doors opening for business in June 1953.

Cronulla RSL Memorial Club “History” alludes to the fact that the first sporting “sub-clubs” were formed AFTER 1953 (ie.  Fishing, Swimming, Billiards and Snooker), however there is clear evidence  that some sub-club activity was present before then. Both the Swimming and Fishing clubs, for example, were active from around 1950 or earlier.

Again, Cronulla RSL “History” alludes to the fact that the table tennis “sub-club” and a few others (ie Darts, Indoor Bowls, Outdoor Bowls, Golf, Rugby League) were formed closer to 1960. Yet, the table tennis “Singles Club Champion” Trophy (ie the W T Franklin Trophy), has two names engraved on it “K Lawless” and “G Emerson” for the years 1947 and 1948 respectively??

Unfortunately, these two names and their timing appear to be a bit of an “enigma” as “regular activity” and evidence thereof for the table tennis club in any form don’t really emerge until 1961.

As a result, this document/paper will focus on the early ‘60’s as its starting point.

GAME NIGHT

Thursday night was the designated “game” night, and from at least 1961 till the late 80’s or early 90’s, the games were played on the dance floor in the main lounge of the club.

The club had 5 tables. 3 were used for Thursday night play, 1 was kept exclusively for the district competition nights, and one for ladies night.

Now when I say “table” I don’t mean two sides folded together, rolled out on wheels and set up in seconds. Each table had “6” parts to assemble (excluding the net). The “table top” was in two pieces. There were two long “timber support beams” which would lock into 2 “A” shaped timber footings/legs.  The weight of these tables was significant.

On a normal monthly night (ie not a trophy/championship event) each player would play 3 singles matches and one doubles match. Players would need to register by 7.45pm with games starting at 8.00pm. The night often went on till well after 11.00pm.

“Games” were played “first to 21 points” with an advantage of 2 points. All matches were played on handicap, including the “trophy” nights. The only events played without handicap were the club singles championship and club doubles championship.

There wasn’t any “grading” (ie A, B, C etc). Everyone played everyone else based on a random draw under the handicapping system.

Up until about 1980, there were no “plus” handicaps. The “least proficient” player would be on or around “0” and the rest of the players would be scaled up from there depending on their ability. Handicaps were adjusted monthly and would go up or down depending on results. If you won a trophy in any given month you would receive an automatic 10 point “penalty” on your handicap. This was done so that there was an equitable distribution of trophies as best as possible.

Given the large number of members and a vast range of skills, the best player in the club would often end up on a handicap over 100, meaning, should he draw the “least proficient” player he would be most likely giving him around 100+ start. It would make for a long game. Also, it wasn’t a very “entertaining” match for either player. As a result, “plus” handicaps were (eventually) introduced around 1980 which helped overcome this issue and “shorten” the night considerably.

The club “year” began on 1st April and concluded the following March 31.

The singles club championship was contested in July and the doubles club championship in November each year.

These naturally were the 2 most prestigious (and therefore sort after) events, followed by the “Yearly Point Score”, which was awarded to the player who registered the most wins throughout the entire year (ie 1st April to 31st March). The winner often regarded as the most “consistent” and most “successful” player in any given year.

The yearly point score “standings” would come under regular scrutiny closer to the end of the year by those in contention which added to the “prestige” and excitement of the contest. There were also prizes for 2nd and 3rd.

There were many other defined “trophy” nights, often named after the donor of the event. These were scattered throughout the year. Many, if not all of these are still contested today.

The matches were played in good spirit but were still very competitive. These being pre “RBT” times, quite a bit of “amber fluid” was consumed on the night. On many occasions a group of us would retire to one members home in South Cronulla after game night concluded, for a “coffee” and port. Time would often get away and arriving home in the “wee hours” was a regular occurrence. I have a “not so pleasant” memory of my dear wife calling out to me as I quietly came through the front door on one such night “Don’t bother putting the garbage bin out, he's gone!”

There was also strong rumours that Arthur Williams spent his lunch breaks at work on Fridays curled up asleep in the back of his HD holden in the work car park at Warwick Farm.

Alas, working on Friday was a real challenge for many of our members.

Ladies Night - On the last Thursday of every month wives, partners and girlfriends would be invited along and would play an “event” on handicap on a 4th table set up on the carpet at the back of the lounge. During this period, there were no female members of any sub club.

This wasn’t just a “hit and giggle” event. The competitiveness was equal to any of the men’s events. Not surprising to see the names “Penrose” (Rose) and “Williams” (Peggy) appearing on the winners list more often than not.

THE 60’s

Although I wasn’t a member of the table tennis club myself until 1971, I remember many  conversations with fellow members who were present in the 60’s, so I think I can reflect on this time with reasonable confidence and authority.

As there weren’t any “associate” members at this time, all members of the table tennis club (and all other sub-clubs) were return servicemen. Most, if not all, were WW2 vets, having served both in Australia and abroad. They were mostly in their 40’s and early 50’s.

Given the uncertainty of the “formation date” of the table tennis club, it wasn’t clear if there were any WW1 Members at this time (or in fact earlier), although conversations I had with some of the players who were members at this time suggest that there wasn’t any.

Having said that, the names Lawless (1947) and Emerson (1948) continue to come to mind. One thing we do know is that ’47 and ’48 were the first 2 years that the singles club championship was contested, as it states it on the trophy. Whether that is the first two years of the table tennis club as a whole we don’t know.Then there is the name/donor on the singles club championship trophy “W T Franklin”. Who was he? Was he a member of the table tennis club or just a member of the memorial club who generously donated the trophy? He may well have been an early “pioneer” of the table tennis club back in the 40’s at the Cecil Hotel? Sadly, we will never know for sure.

In doing a bit of research I came across a “William Thomas Franklin” who lived in Darook Park Road Cronulla. He passed away in 1968 aged 69. There is more than a fair chance he is our man.

A bit more research and we discovered the full names of our first two champions – Kevin Charles Lawless (’47) and George Oliver Emerson (’48). Kevin was 29 when he won the singles club championship. He passed away in 1960 aged just 42. George was 38 when he won the championship. He passed away in 1993 aged 83.

In the early 60’s, among the leaders of the table tennis club were names like Len Parry, Syd Grant, Ted Grainger, Ted Dellar, Leon Deards, Fred Quested, Bruce Green, George Stearn, Francis Fortune, Len Blyth just to name a few.

There were definitely some characters amongst this lot. Bruce Green was a school teacher by trade but also a renowned magician and hypnotist, going by the stage name of “The Great Mafisto”. I have first hand knowledge of his skills as a hypnotist. When I was in 5th form at high school (1968) he had me running around the school hall cackling like a chook at a school concert night (along with a few other unsuspecting students)

Lenny Parry was also a good bloke to know as he was general manager of EMI records, and was always happy to pass around a few “samples” if prompted. Most of these guys were still members in the early 70’s but they essentially were “non playing” members by the mid ‘70’s.

It wasn’t long before names like Arthur Williams, John Penrose, Geoff Hennessy, Perc Hancock, Bob Chapman and others became integral parts of the club, and would continue to be so for a long time to come.

The singles club champion on the honour roll in 1961 was one “H (Herb) Manglesdorf”. The name “Manglesdorf” was “iconic” within the memorial club throughout the 60’s and 70’s, but not in Table Tennis.

Herb, and his brother “Les” were both multiple singles club champions in Billiards and Snooker. Both were state ranked players for many years.

It is quite possible, if not highly probable, that Herb Manglesdorf is the only “individual” club champion in two different sports/sub-clubs with the Cronulla RSL Memorial Club.

In the 60’s and most of the 70’s the memorial club was quite generous in its support of its members. For example, cheese and biscuits on all the bars was the norm all day every day. 

Also, 3-4 nights per week, the “dining room” would put on a supper on the lounge floor for all members free of charge, things like curried prawns and rice in winter, and cold meats and salads in summer.

In those days, the “dining room” was leased out by the club. One of the many trophies played for at the table tennis club then and still is today is the “Jack Anastas Trophy”. Jack was a member of the table tennis club but I doubt he ever picked up a bat. He ran the dining room for most of the 60’s and early/mid ‘70’s. He had an affinity with the table tennis club, mainly due to the fact that he was a close mate of John Penrose. Needless to say our presentation night dinners and competition night suppers were always a bit “extra special”.

In regard to the action on the tables in the 60’s, following Herb Manglesdorf in ’61 the rest of the decade, and half of the next belonged exclusively to two players, John Penrose and John Harvey.

They won 13 of the next 14 years club singles championships between them. John Penrose winning 8 and John Harvey 5.

Both “Johns” had very different playing styles. John Penrose, who was also affectionately known as “Tubby”, was a short, squat in stature man with lethal backhand and forehand drives and flicks. Because of his “low centre of gravity” he would dominate the middle of the table and was almost impossible to shift.  JP was all aggression and had an uncanny ability to “hit through” underspin, which made him extremely difficult to subdue.

On the other hand, John Harvey was a tall, thick set, powerful man, who, in table tennis terms you would define as a “spoiler”. JH could chop the head off the ball and also possessed an extremely challenging range of serves. JH would simply wear you down. He was the one man during this period that was JP’s equal. JH wasn’t a regular on Thursday nights mainly turning up close to the championships.  John was a civil engineer with Department of Main Roads (DMR) and also played in the city businessmen’s competition.

Despite the dominance of the two Johns, there were a number of other quality players who weren’t far behind. Players such as Arthur Williams, Syd Grant and Geoff Black were always in the mix but just couldn’t get past these two strong adversaries, time and time again. Ken Eldridge was another formidable opponent. Ken didn’t attend many Thursday nights but represented the table tennis club with distinction in the “A” grade district competition. He was also a regular semi-finalist in the singles club championship but always fell just short against the “two John’s”.

In addition to his dominance as a singles player, John Penrose was also a much sought after “doubles partner”. He won “10” doubles club championships in the 60’s and 70’s, five in each decade. In the 60’s he partnered up with Fred Quested in ’64 and ’66 to ’69.

In the 60’s through to the mid ‘70’s, all our members were “self - taught”. To the best of my knowledge, none of our members during this period received any specific “tuition” or “coaching” on the finer points of the modern game, particularly skills like heavy forehand and backhand top spin.

Probably around 30% - 40% of our members in the 60’s played with a “pen grip”, mostly using flat bats/paddles with little or no rubber to speak of. Others used “off the shelf” bats with a modest amount of rubber thickness, with one or two (eg John Harvey) who used to “build” their own bats with specialised rubber to impart as much spin as possible.

THE 70’s

My dad, Brian Roberts, was a returned serviceman (WW2) and a member of Cronulla RSL Club.

In 1969, the first intake of “Associate Members” was approved by the board. To be eligible you had to be a “son of a member”. I turned 18 in October 1969 and immediately joined the memorial club.

In early 1971, a good friend of mine, who was also a “son of a member”, encouraged me to come along and have a game of table tennis at the club. His dad was a member and secretary of the table tennis sub club, his dad’s name was “Geoff Hennessy”.

I went along with my friend one night for a look. I had never played a game of table tennis in my life to that point, although I was reasonably proficient at tennis.

After that first night I was hooked, and I joined the club the following week.

In the early 70’s, more “sons of members” joined the table tennis club. In addition, a number of “National Service Conscripts”, who were “called up” for duty during the Vietnam War, also became members, giving the club a wider spread demographically.

Ages now ranged from early twenties through to early 60’s, with membership numbers well over 40. Thursday night attendance was generally in the twenties, some nights as many as thirty.

The injection of many young players into the club seemed to lift the “energy and enthusiasm” of the older members and despite the age differences the comradery across all generations was strong and positive, as was the competition.

Also, the mid-seventies saw associate membership being offered to all and sundry, and all sub-clubs had an influx of new members as a result. Again, this presented opportunity for a “wider range” of skill and diversity to join us at the table.

The mid seventies also saw a “changing of the guard” in regard to dominance at the table. John H and John P  had a stranglehold on the top spots in the first half of ’75, but ’76 saw a shift in that momentum.

Winning the singles club championship for the first time in ’76 was an extremely proud moment for me personally, and I think a milestone moment for the table tennis club as a whole. But it wasn’t winning the “final” that year that had the greatest impact, it was the fact that I beat “John Penrose”, club legend, the number one ranked player and current champion, in the semi - finals.

This had a massive flow on effect for the club.

As previously stated, “the two John’s” dominated the table for 14 years from ’62-’75. However, In the 7 years between ’76 and ’82 we had no less than 5 different singles club champions :

1 – Bruce Roberts (’76, ’77 & ’81)

2 – John Penrose (’78) – Just when you think you had finally broken the nexus, he pops up again in ’78 and wins it again!!

3 – Roger Massie (79) – Roger (the Dodger) Massie joined the table tennis club in ’78. Roger was about 25 when he joined us. Roger had come up from Tasmania for work and he and I played men’s cricket together. In conversation he mentioned he played table tennis so I invited him along for a hit. I thought

he said he played IN Tasmania, what I missed was he actually played FOR Tasmania. Roger brought to the club the first evidence of a “coached” player, introducing heavy forehand and backhand top spin which many members found quite daunting. He certainly bolstered the ranks of dominant players. Sadly, Roger returned to Tasmania at the end of 1980. No doubt if he had stayed his name would have appeared on W T Franklin Trophy many more times I feel.

4 – Garry Russell (’80) - Garry came to the club in the same year as Roger the Dodger. We came up against Garry many times in the “A” Grade District Competition. Garry played for Heathcote United Services Club, and was a great player. Garry married in ’78 and bought a unit in Cronulla. As a result he joined our table tennis club which again lifted the overall standard of play considerably. Garry was 27 when he joined us.

5 – Rob Penrose (’82) – Rob , John’s younger son , was definitely a chip off the old block. Rob was already a member when I joined in ’71. He was a year older than me (21). Rob was fairly “sporadic” in his attendance. Working for Qantas he spent a lot of time away, and he often was absent when the singles championship was contested. Rob won the singles championship for the first time in ’71 aged just 21. This was at a time when the “two Johns” had a stranglehold on the title. Rob had a great all - round game. Like his dad, his forehand and back hand drives were lethal. But Rob also possessed a very strong “defensive” game which made him a very challenging adversary. By the mid seventies Rob was hardly seen at all and, like Roger the Dodger, had he been more regular I have no doubt his name would also have dominated the W T Franklin Trophy many more times, just like his dad. Coaxed by his mother “Rose” however, Rob always seemed to find time to come along and contest the doubles club championship in the early 70’s, partnering hid dad John. As a pair they were pretty much unbeatable. Rob and John won 5 doubles club championships on the trot between ’71 and ’75.

With this group of players and many others leading the charge, Toward the end of the ‘70’s the standard of play was as strong as it has ever been. Any one of a handful of players could have won the singles club championship on any given day, which was fantastic for the club. Just getting to a semi-final of the club singles championship was a great achievement, let alone making the final or in fact winning the title.

This also made for a far more competitive doubles club championship. Whilst the Penrose “Father & Son” combo dominated the first half of the 70’s, the latter half of the decade saw 3 different combos have success. It was great to see Arthur Williams team up with his son Peter and take out the doubles title in ’78. Arthur won his first doubles title 15 years earlier in ‘63.

Again, there were many “characters” amongst our members in this decade as well, many carrying over from the 60’s.

One who stands out for me was our resident Irish man “Bill (Billy) Malone”. Billy would have been the oldest (active) member of the club in this period, and was in his ‘60’s when I joined in ’71.

Billy spoke fairly softly in his deep “Irish Brogue” and was almost impossible to understand, and would always finish a sentence with a raucous laugh which would only add to the confusion.

I  had the “pleasure” of playing Billy many times, and as he was one of our low handicappers, it would turn out to be quite a marathon. Billy would mumble to himself right through the match and would let out a belly laugh if he happened to “jag” a net cord or edge, which he often did.

Billy was still going strong when I left the club in ’83, and I was delighted  to see that he actually won 3 double club championships, in ’84. ’86, and ’90. He partnered (who else) Arthur Williams in the first two, and must have been very nearly 80 years old when he won in ’90. Fantastic.

THE 80’s

Coming off a highly successful decade in the 70’s, the 80’s became an extremely challenging period for the club.

By ’83, for many reasons, there had been a significant exodus of members. That strong contingent of dominant players that emerged in the second half of the 70’s had disappeared.

By the end of ’83 there was not one former or current singles club champion still at the club. Coupled with this, a large “vacuum” in regard to “Administration” of the club had also emerged.

So why was this so?

Many of the younger brigade who joined the club in the early 70’s, were now married with young families and often with demanding careers. Some also moved out of the area as their families grew. Something had to give.

In addition, quite a few of the “older” members who had been a big part of the club through the ‘60’s and ‘70’s remained passive members but didn’t feel able to participate in club activities directly.

It is fair to say that the overall “standard” of play had diminished considerably and a re-building period was essential for the future of the club.

The club was extremely fortunate to have one “Arthur Williams” who almost single handedly kept the club moving forward.

As I wasn’t part of the club past ’83 myself, I can’t really comment on the balance of the decade and will leave that to others to narrate in time, hopefully.

Having said that, I was delighted to see on the honour roll that Arthur Williams finally broke through in 1984, winning the first of 5 consecutive singles club championships, 24 years after he joined the club.

THE COMMITTEE

Like most clubs, a handful of the same people generally put up their hands to help run the club. The table tennis club was no exception.

The committee consisted of:

President

Vice President

Treasurer

Secretary

Captain

Publicity Officer

Ordinary Committee members (no limit)

It is difficult to be precise about who did what, particularly in the 60’s, but here is a very indicative list:

President

Fred Quested was the President for the period ’61 to ’64.

Ted Grainger was the President in ‘65.

Arthur Williams took over this roll in ’66 and held the position continuously until 1976

Bruce Roberts was president for from ’77 to ‘80

Arthur Williams was President from ‘81 to ‘83.

Treasurer

Ted Grainger was Treasurer for the period ’61 to ‘65

John Penrose took over this roll in ’66 and held the position continuously until 1978

Mal Hall was treasurer for 5 years from ’79 to ‘83

Secretary

Syd Grant was Secretary for the period ’61 to ‘65

Geoff Hennessy took over in ’66 and held the position until at least ’83.

Captain

Francis Fortune was Captain for the period ’61 to ‘65

Bob Chapman took over in ’66 and held the position until ‘74

Bruce Roberts was Captain in ’75 and ‘76

Arthur Williams was Captain in ‘77 and ‘78

Graham (Pommy) Eyre was Captain from ’79 to at least ‘83

Publicity Officer

I understand that ‘Geoff Black” held this position from the early 60’s through to the early 80’s, as his contribution to the administration of the club. Geoff was a quiet, unassuming man, never attended a committee meeting in all that time but always had a “report” for the club magazine without fail.

Committee Members

In addition to our “office bearers”, there were many “behind the scenes” members who gave up their time to help the cause of keeping the club moving forward.

In addition to others that have already been acknowledged, names like Perc Hancock, Phil Peyton, Mark Bishop, Paul O’Neill, Terry Blaikie and others I am sure I have missed or forgotten.

On the first Monday night of every month the committee would meet. Meetings were held at a different committee member’s home each month. Apart from business at hand, this was (yet another)

social event and a good excuse for a few beers with your mates. Everyone would turn up with the standard “foam esky” with a 6 pack inside and the host was responsible for supplying a bottle of club port to have with supper (begrudgingly provided by the wife of the host)

DISTRICT COMPETITION

The Cronulla RSL competed in the St George and Sutherland Shire Table Tennis Competition on a regular basis during this period.

Teams were normally entered in A, B & C grades. The standard was very high. Our club had success in the minor grades on a number of occasions but never won an A grade championship during this period, despite going close a few times in the late 70’s.

Competition nights at our club were held in the “Annex”, an area at the rear of the lounge area. Most sub-club presentation nights were also held here.

Sometime In the early 80’s comp night moved downstairs into the sports bar area, where the indoor bowls mats would be rolled up and a table was set up in that area.

A number of “clubs” in the Sutherland/St George area participated in the district competitions, including St George Leagues, Cronulla Leagues, Miranda Builders and Business Men’s Club, Heathcote Returned Services Club, Kogarah RSL.

But there were many “teams” whose venues were far less elaborate than at a licenced club. Scout/Community Halls, Rumpus Rooms, Garages etc were quite common.

I recall on one occasion Arthur Williams, myself and Perc Hancock were playing a “B” grade match at someone’s home at Cronulla. They had a table set up in their lounge/rumpus room. At one end of the table, about 6 feet away was a huge glass window and at the other end was a wall about the same distance away. Now both Arthur and myself liked to stand back quite a bit from the table while playing. We both looked at each other and we asked our “opponents” if they had insurance cover, not just for the glass but also for Arthur and myself.

They agreed that Arthur and I could play all our games at the other end of the table.

Another “challenging” venue belonged to a team respectfully referred to as “the 3 old ladies”. They had a table set up in their garage at Bardwell Park. There was literally only about two feet of room at both ends. This was considered very “strategic” by the ladies as all three stood glued to the middle of the table, using wooden paddles with pen grip.

One of these lovely ladies was the world renown “Dorothy (Dot) De Low”, who was still playing competitive table tennis right up to the time of her passing at age “103”. Dot played in many international events in her 80’s and 90’s. What an amazing woman.

Fortunately, bat standards came under close scrutiny and regulation in the mid 70’s. There were many “hybrid” bats being developed which were way outside the norm. Firstly, wooden bats/paddles were banned around this time from all competition play. There was also a type of bat that would pop up from time to time in competition. In essence, it would have what was defined as “reverse nipple”. This meant that the “nipples” on one side of the bat were not straight up but were slanted toward the handle. On the other side of the bat the “nipples” were slanted in the opposite direction, ie the top of

the bat. This had the effect of imparting two completely different types of “spin” on the ball whilst the player  appeared to play the same shot. The player would also spin the bat in his hand during each point so his opponent did not know what to expect. Fortunately, these bats were also banned.

For some strange reason our club used “Barna” table tennis balls whilst the rest of the “world” used “Nittaku”. There were quite a few “heated” discussions on comp night when visiting clubs insisted on using their balls. The club finally switched to “Nittaku” balls in the mid 70’s.

There were many very talented players in the district competition. Names like Geoff Nesbitt, Neville Russell, Dave Beaumont, Ray Smith and an emerging talent who was only 14 in the mid 70’s, his name was Wayne Heginbotham.

Dave Beaumont was one of the infamous Beaumont family who played with Kogarah RSL Table Tennis Club. The whole family participated, Dad Bob, Mum Thelma, Sister Michelle, and a few more cousins and uncles.

Dave was a great player but was very much averse to losing a match. If you had the better of David in a match he would try and disrupt your concentration by going to the bathroom half way through a game, or, as he did on one occasion when I was playing him, he stopped play mid point and complained that someone had tampered with his bat, so he sat down and proceeded to “re rubber” his bat there and then.

The district association would also run tournaments from time to time which our club participated in with some success.

MONRO TROPHY

Each year the various “sub clubs” would compete against each other for the coveted “Monro Trophy” Each sub club would host an event in their particular sport and all sub clubs would compete. Points were awarded – 3 for first place in each event, 2 for second in each event and 1 for third in each event.

There were 10 sub clubs and therefore 10 events each year. The team with the most overall points would win the Munro Trophy for that year. The events were scattered over the whole year.

The competition was indeed fierce with large crowds gathering at the various events to cheer on their champions.

The sub clubs were:

Table Tennis

Billiards & Snooker

Golf

Indoor Bowls

Outdoor Bowls

Swimming

Fishing

Rugby League (Quoits)

Darts

Toastmasters

During this period, the table tennis club used to dominate the Monro Trophy winning the overall title many times and far more than any other sub-club.

We were very fortunate to have a lot of “talent” in many other sports within our membership. John Harvey and another member John Wilson were both scratch golfers so we triumphed at that event many times. We also, amongst the younger members, had some very good “A” grade snooker players, and excellent swimmers.

We were also regular winners in the “toastmasters” event, with skilled public speakers like Bruce Green, Alan Bourne, Paul O’Neill and Phil Peyton leading the charge.

Also during this period, the table tennis club was the only sub club who was undefeated in its own event.

OUR CLUB

Despite the wide gap in ages, the table tennis club was a very social group, many members forging long and close friendships with fellow members.

There were often many social events held outside of playing table tennis. A golf day was held on the last Sunday each month and was very well attended by members, wives, partners and girlfriends, culminating with a BBQ back at someone’s home.

Thursday nights were very competitive but also very social.

There were also many other social gatherings, dinners, weekends, trips away enjoyed by many of the members.

The social integration between our members I think was the catalyst that made our club so successful during this period.

Our club management were also very “strategic”. They would always offer “honorary membership” to whoever was secretary-manager of the memorial club at the time. Through the ‘60’s and early’70’s that was “George Moore” who lived next door to the club. His successor “Bob McKinlay” came on board as well, which meant the table tennis club were always “well looked after”.

In addition, John Penrose was a senior ATO executive, and nobody wanted to get on the wrong side of the “tax man”

When I left the club toward the end of ’83, there were no “female” members of the table tennis club, even though associate membership had been opened up for women by the memorial club sometime around the mid to late ‘70’s. I also recall that women who served during WW2 were pushing for “full membership” of both the sub-branch and memorial club which was ultimately granted.

Just like it was for “sons of members” those early days of membership of the memorial club were challenging for the women, trying to fit in to this “male dominated environment””

I will never forget a particular day when I was playing snooker in the downstairs games room. Here you had 5-6 snooker tables all full, lots of smoke, drink and plenty of rowdy chatter. A real “men’s domain”. If you want to play a game and the tables are full you have to put your initials and badge number on a blackboard on the wall and wait your turn.

On this day, a woman walked into the snooker room and commenced to write her initials and badge number on the board. You could have heard a pin drop as the whole room stood still. When finished she turned around and walked back into the bar area. The noise returned and the snooker games continued. A new era was born.

Again, I don’t know when and who was the first female member of the table tennis club, but I suspect it was quite some time after I left the club.

However, looking at the table tennis club website today it is fantastic to see the strong female presence and participation in the club at all levels.

If “Rose” and “Peggy” were alive today, they would be extremely proud and pleased.

Finance/Administration/Communication

All the sub-clubs had little or no financial support from the memorial club, except for some initial funding for set up and equipment.

So essentially, the sub-clubs were left to their own devices to run and grow their club.

Each Thursday night the treasurer would put together and bring along “raffle prizes”, consisting of boxes of fruit and meat platters. The profits from these raffles would primarily fund our presentation night meal and prizes as well as other running costs for the club, including new equipment.

Annual membership fees would help defray these costs also, and some of our “passive” members would sometimes make generous donations to help the cause, which was much appreciated.

If you were really financially strapped, and needed new equipment, in our case, like a new table, you could make a formal application for funds to the memorial club secretary-manager, who would submit it to the memorial club president/board for consideration and ruling.

Success rate on these was generally fairly low unfortunately and the process quite arduous.

Of course, there were no personal computers, mobile phones etc in this period. There was no internet, and therefore no such thing as “emails” or “social media” outlets like “Facebook”. Nor were there “websites” or “Blogs”

There wasn’t programs like “word” or “excel” or other types of software applications to “automate” the administration, promotional and communication process. In essence, everything was manual.

What we had back then was the “Red Journals”.

Foolscap, hard cover red journals, consisting of 100 lined and numbered pages. These facilitated all financial, administrative, and operational functions of our sub-club “activity”.

The secretary had about 4-5, one for the committee meeting minutes, one for AGM’s and special meetings, one as a register of members, one to record formal correspondence in and out, and one for all internal and external contact details.

The treasurer had a few – one for the monthly financials, one for the annual accounts and audit, and one to record and control membership fees.

The captain also had a couple – one for the Thursday night draw, and another for recording the handicaps progressively for all members, as well as recording the basis of the “handicapping system”.

The standing “rule” to protect the integrity and preservation of all these relevant documents and records both past and present was:

“When an “officer” of the committee retired or completed his term, he would hand over to the incumbent officer all “journals” in his possession relevant to the position he held, including those he inherited from his predecessor”

It was the responsibility of each officer to keep these “journals” in a safe place until the day came to pass them on.

I remember clearly when John Penrose “handed over” the treasurer role to Mal Hall in ’79. Being mindful that John had been treasurer for 14 years. Now Mal and John lived quite close together and Mal rang John and said he was going to walk around and pick up the “books”. John burst out laughing and said “have you got a truck?”

The same would have applied to Geoff Hennessy who held the position of secretary for at least 18 years that I am aware of. Geoff would fill two minute books a year at least, along with the other journals he used and maintained. I pity whoever took over from Geoff.

I have no idea at what point in time the “journals” were discontinued. But the quantum of journals at that point must have been unbelievable.

I can only imagine the stories that they would tell today, but alas I suspect they ended up in “land fill” quite some time ago.

WHO WAS THE BEST PLAYER?

The question as to who was the best player during this period has been asked often.

Having won 9 singles and 10 doubles club championships over a 17 year period, JOHN PENROSE was the standout.

Were there players who “at their prime” could have beaten John “at his prime”? The answer is most likely “yes”, but not as often as he beat them.

A significant event which had a profound and lasting effect on our table tennis club was the sudden death of John Penrose shortly after Christmas in 1981. John was only in his early 60’s at the time and still an integral part of our club.

John was a legend, and was much loved by all at the club, as was his lovely wife Rose. His contribution to our table tennis club was significant in so many, many ways.

 A true gentleman, champion bloke, and dear friend.

WHO ELSE MADE A DIFFERENCE?

You always run the risk of forgetting someone when you are asked this question. There are many members whose names appear in this paper who worked tirelessly for our club over such a long period.

However, there are a few members who, I believe, in addition to John, deserve a special mention during this period:

Geoff Hennessy

A great club man who was our secretary for many years. Geoff was a “calming influence” and had an ability to “defuse” debate and get things done. He was also a real good bloke.

Geoff Black

Commonly referred to as “nature’s gentleman”, Geoff was our publicity officer “forever”. Geoff had a great sense of humour and was always a strong influence around the club.

Ted Grainger

Ted was our treasurer in the early 60’s and later on became our “honorary auditor” for many years, and would always “MC” our presentation nights.  Ted also assumed the role of club “referee and umpire” and always umpired the club singles and doubles championship final each year. No arguing with “Lord Ted”. Another great club man.

ARTHUR FRANCIS WILLIAMS

It is only fitting that I leave the last piece of “history” during this period as a dedication to a man who was the heart and soul of our club during this period and would continue to be so for many years beyond– Arthur Francis Williams.

Arthur was the rock that the club was built on.

Arthur was a “large as life’” character who only knew one way to do things – flat out!

Over more than 30 years, Arthur played a leading roll in one form or another to help grow and sustain the club he loved so dearly.

If you had never met Arthur, he was a “wiry” tallish man with a booming voice, a thin face and long nose.  Probably his greatest “claim to fame” was that wonderful crop of hair. He would always have it slicked back and flattened so not even the most vigorous of games would pry it loose. There was a standing order amongst members that if you could disturb just one hair on Arthur’s head during a match you would get a free schooner. No one ever collected.

Arthur was also a very good tennis player, and he applied the same “style” of play to his table tennis game.

 Arthur had no backhand and no desire to use one, unless absolutely forced to do so. He would stand well back from the table and “run around” on to his forehand on every point. As a result, Arthur would cover many miles in the course of a game, moving way back and forward and also “extremely” wide on both sides. All this would happen at break neck speed to avoid having to play a back hand shot.

Essentially, this rendered Arthur as an extreme “health hazard”, and in today’s WHS terminology, “high risk”.

To put it into perspective, there was no netting or barricade either between each of the 3 tables, nor at either end or on the outsides.

If you were unfortunate enough to play a game on the table next to Arthur at the same time it was almost a “dead cert” that at some point in the game (and often more than once), Arthur would come crashing into you, with both of you more often that not ending up sprawled on the floor.

Or if he went to the outside, he would often end up crashing into one of the tables of some of our poor unsuspecting members, who were likely just relaxing enjoying a chat and a beer. I even recall on one occasion Arthur ending up behind the curtain on the stage at the top of the dance floor during a game.

 In that period of time, the club still had waiters and waitresses, who would move around the floor taking drink orders. Almost every week Arthur would demolish a full tray of drinks (and the staff member carrying them), wearing most of it on himself.  It got to a point where Arthur would bring a spare shirt and towel with him on Thursday nights just in case. Arthur also gave our first-aid kit a regular work out.

I think Arthur may have been the major reason why the table tennis club was eventually moved downstairs into the sports bar, and were made to erect nets around the tables.

I am not sure when Arthur finally called it a day as part of the table tennis club, I am sure though that he would have “kept in touch” with the club even if he was unable to participate. I note he won his last doubles club championship in 1996, aged 75.

I was saddened to hear that Arthur passed away in 2012, aged 91. His lovely wife Peg passed away just one month later.

It is highly likely that Arthur was the last of our clubs “pioneers” from the ‘60’s to pass away.

CONCLUSION

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to make this small contribution to the history of the Cronulla Table Tennis Club, a club that holds a special place in my heart.

To be able to share stories about the many wonderful people associated with the club during this period is both an absolute pleasure and a privilege.

Hopefully this piece of history will stand to preserve their memory in perpetuity.

I am delighted to see the club is still thriving to this day in its new home at Kurnell. Congratulations and thank you to all who continue to make this happen.

I hope this paper puts a small smile on your face and gives you some insight into what went on in “your club” way back then.

Below are some photos from “our era”.

BRUCE ROBERTS – JULY 2023

Some of the “gang” from the table tennis club enjoying an Easter weekend in a chalet at Thredbo, courtesy of John Penrose, who had an interest in the complex. We went there many times in the 70’s, this one was 1977.

The man himself, Arthur Williams is standing over the table in the cream/grey jumper, with wife Peg seated next to him. Bob Chapman with the grey/silver hair, is seated on the other side of the table next to Heather, his sister- in- law.

Seated in the foreground, gazing out the window is Rose Penrose.

Other members of the group are scattered around the room, whilst a small contingent would be on “kitchen duty” getting our dinner ready, under the strict supervision of John himself.

(Apologies for the poor quality photo which I took)