The NSW Police Bowling (Lawn) Club Committee:

President: Larry Davis (retired), larrydavis60@tpg.com.au

Secretary: Craig Sleigh (retired), nswpolicebowls@yahoo.com.au

Treasurer: Andy Barker (retired), agbarks@gmail.com

The New South Wales Police Bowling Club will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2024.

The club at its peak had a membership of around 160 full members and 50 associate members.  We now boast over 100 former and current serving police officers as members and 20+ associates.

Club Membership: Annual Membership is $40.00 (Ex & Serving Police) and $20 for Associates.

Should you require any further information or when we are playing next, please do not hesitate to contact us:     nswpolicebowls@yahoo.com.au

HISTORY:

The NSW Police Bowling Club first formed on 13 July 1934 following a meeting held in the boardroom of Police Headquarters.  That inaugural meeting was chaired by a Mr Chinner, and it was determined the club was to be restricted to Commissioned Officers.  The only Non-Commissioned officer at the meeting was a Constable 1/c Schmitzer who was apparently a pretty fair bowler and had a knowledge of green-keeping so he was elected as the ‘honorary coach’.

The NSW Police Sports Federation owned land in Federal Road, Glebe, where the Police Tennis Club had courts.  The annual subscription was set at one guinea, and monthly green fees of six pence were payable.  The Police Bowling Club was afforded joint tenancy with the tennis club and was approved to lay three rinks.

Constable Schmitzer was directed to confer with other green-keepers in the metro area to get the right information on how to lay the rinks.  It was pointed out by a Mr Ferguson that the tennis courts had been poorly laid and that Schmitzer was to oversight the contractor laying the new rinks as he was now considered an expert in the field after his consultation of the other green-keepers.

Work was completed reasonably quickly however the committee of the time agreed to pay 13 pounds to have the new green top-dressed twice before any play was permitted.  Social dances were held during the year in order to raise funds to build the 3 rinks with membership set at three shillings for men and 2/6p for ladies.  On 8th March 1935, Inspector Foster was elected President; Inspector Scott was elected as Secretary (he would later become Commissioner) and Inspector Russell as the Treasurer.

On the 28th March 1935, the three rinks were officially opened by Mr W.H. Childs, Commissioner of Police.  It was a gala afternoon with many officers and their wives enjoying a social game of bowls and a swish afternoon tea being served.  The first official visitors to play on the greens were the Rotarians on the 8th of May 1935.

On the 1st May 1936 Inspectors Pattinson and Brydon approached the Royal NSWBA seeking to become affiliated with the governing body only to be rejected as only clubs with a full bowling green could become affiliated with the Royal.  It seems that there were no outstanding players within the Police Club in those days for at one of the meetings in 1936 it was deemed necessary to inform other clubs that the Police Club was not a club of expert players.

From 1937 to early 1938, there was little activity by the club, with only three social games being held.  In March 1938 the Police Bowling Club returned the green to the sports federation and at the time there were only 19 members, 2 of whom were stationed in the Country.  Its activities continued to decline during the war until, on 16 February 1940, the Police Officers Bowling Club folded. The princely sum of sixty pounds of all monies of the club was handed over to the Police Boys Club.

On 28th October 1954, the inaugural meeting of the Club, as it is conducted today, took place at the Victoria Park Bowling Club.  Inspector Alan Larson was elected President, Roy Lane Secretary and Eric Donald Treasurer.  The agreed joining fee was 5/6p with an annual subscription of 5 shillings.   The club was strongly supported by then-Commissioner CJ Delaney, who became a patron and 79 members registered.

In 1956 the first interstate series between NSW and Victoria was held in Victoria and to help finance the series a levy of one pound was placed on each player.  NSW won the three test series 3-0 and this was to become the forerunner of the Australian Police Bowls Carnival as Queensland joined the following year (1957) then South Australia with West Australia entering the APBC in 1979 as the host State.

 

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