The Bendigo Golf & Bowling club has a proud history, several members assisted Peter & Jan Williams with putting together an excellent members calendar to mark our centenary in 2001. Below is an extract of this great keepsake:-

Extract from the centenary Dinner invite
(Dinner was held on August 18, 2001):-

This extract also includes many of the historical photo's that Peter and Jan sourced from many of our members.  If any members do also have other photo's that they would permit the club to display on this page, please feel free to contact Darren O'Leary on 0439 601 737 or email olearys AT bigpond.net.au. (of course replacing the AT with the normal @ with no spaces )

This Publication is dedicated to members who have Voluntarily given their time and effort to ensure the success of the club over the past 100 years.


Thank you


The Bendigo Golf Club Centenary Committee would like to thank the State Library of Victoria, The Bendigo Advertiser and staff of North Central Goldfields Library for their help with this publication.


The Committee would also like to thank the many members who have assisted with both the publication and the centenary events.


Thanks also to Ivan Pope who has done so much to preserve the history of the club.


Thanks to staff of The Terrace Print Service who have designed the calendar.


I would also like to thank Ruth Smith, Murray Mayo and Victor Cahill for their help and knowledge.


Peter Williams


Published by the Bendigo Golf Club and co sponsored by:
Danny and Mary O'Brien Bendigo Bolts and Fasteners 
Jamie Cooke and Chris Wilkinson Drummond Golf - Bendigo.

On August the 22^nd 1901 the Bendigo Advertiser carried the following story:

Bendigo Golf club - Brief History
The paper was correct in stating that golf had been played in and around Bendigo for some time as there is a great deal of evidence to support the statement. The evidence suggests that golf was being played at Tom Glover's private course at Marong, at Raleigh's at Tandarra and at Putman's property of "Woodbury." As well a weekly competition was held on Wednesdays - a half holiday at the time - at Fitzpatrick's of Eaglehawk. But it was W.H.Sagar who played at "Woodbury" and Ben Roper, the owner of the Turf Tavern who established the six hole layout on land owned by Roper. A number of players from the other private courses were attracted to the Epsom layout and it was this nucleus of players who established the first official course in Bendigo.
The club quickly grew both in players and in followers. Townsfolk would journey out to the golf links at Epsom to 'watch the golf '. A clubhouse was erected on Roper's property but the Turf Tavern was - as it was to remain for many years - the unofficial clubhouse. The first annual tournament was held in 1909 and it attracted some 600 entries. Land was leased from the Racecourse Trustees to further extend the course and this association with the Bendigo Jockey Club continues to this day. In 1910 Dr Hedley Ham a local golf enthusiast moved into the Turf Tavern and with Ben Roper set about establishing six holes on the racecourse reserve. On the original layout some public thoroughfares including the Echuca Road cut through the course. Tee shots were delayed until traffic had passed. It became obvious that for the club to prosper a better layout was required. In 1914 the club purchased 76 acres freehold around the present clubhouse. The cost including the house on the land was £1224/19/0. The house was extended and transformed into a clubhouse at a cost of £365. The official opening was held on the 10 June 1914 - members and guests were welcomed by the President Mr R.A. Rankin.	August the 21st 1901. The opening shot. the Mayor of Bendigo, Simeon Ryan drives off the first tee to open the Bendigo golf Club. (Reproduced with permission of the Bendigo Advertiser and La Trobe Newspaper Collection, state Library of victoria)
The 'smooth career' predicated by President Sagar however was to suffer its first setback. Just over two months after the opening of the new course war broke out in Europe. Members joined the Services, tournaments were canceled and the army occupied the racecourse. Land adjacent to the present 7th green was used as a training ground to replicate the trenches of the western front. More worrying to the committee however was a request from the Commanding Officer of the Military Camp to requisition the new clubhouse as a military hospital. The committee, although wishing to help the military in any way, refused the request on the grounds that the clubhouse was an unsuitable venue for a hospital! Financially the war's main effect was on the cancelation of annual tournaments for the duration of the war. The club relied heavily on income from the annual tournament to support the day to day running of the club. But the club continued its course development programme. By 1917 the course was some 5529 yards in length and had a bogey rating of 77.
Set to play. This group of lady members sit for the camera before commencing their rounds. circa 1914. (Reproduced with permission of the Bendigo Advertiser and the La Trobe Newspaper Collection, State Library of Victoria)	The period immediate post war saw a sharp increase in membership. So much so that in 1923 lady membership was closed and a waiting list created. The lady membership was restricted to 100 members. This figure was varied over the next few years but the imbalance in lady members to males was a constant irritant to the committee. It wasn't until 1935 that males outnumbered lady members of the club. The on going tension between the committee and lady members was a constant theme in the minute books over the period. As early as 1909 lady members were being rebuked by the committee for wearing' pointed heeled shoes' and thus doing 'great damage to the fairways'. If the rebuke was disregarded then the committee considered it would 'have to exercise its prerogative of asking offenders to resign'. It is quite interesting to reflect though that at the club's official opening the tea was provided by Mrs Sagar. It seems that a reading of the club's history would indicate that without the ongoing and untiring support of its 'lady members' it is extremely doubtful that the club would have survived 10 years let alone 100 years!
One other group mentioned in the Advertiser's report - the caddies - have sadly been consigned to history. But they too featured in the early history of the club. Their remuneration, how they were employed, when they could play a round of golf themselves, even where they stood to be hailed to carry the bag all exercised the committee. Initially a caddie received 1/- per round but in 1922 this was increased to 1/6. An ongoing debate with the Epsom Progress Association and the Bendigo Sunday School committee concerned the employment of caddies on a Sunday. After much debate the committee decided that with due deference to the Sabbath that caddies could however carry the bags on a Sunday. In 1924 the committee opted to approach the Education Department with a request that pupils from Epsom Primary school be released from school to act as caddies over tournament. The Education Department response was to direct the request to the White Hills Catholic school. As well a copy of the request was forwarded to the secretary of the Epsom Progress Association for their response.	Caddies all. This photo from the now defunct Australasian shows a group of caddies huddled around a fire awaiting the call (circa 1930)
A club house on our land. 1914 and members and guests stand outside the first clubhouse on freehold land. The house standing on the property was renovated for 365 ponds. (Reproduced with permission of the Bendigo Advertiser and the La Trobe Newspaper Collection, State Library of Victoria)	By 1946 the 'caddie question' was not one of seeking the approval of the authorities to release caddies but rather there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm from anyone to caddy at all. The committee's response was to request the club professional to advertise for caddies but this was only a temporary measure and like the feathery ball the caddy at club level at least has been consigned to history. The period after the war though was a time of both expansion and then unfortunately contraction. In many ways the golf club mirrored Australian society. A country that had lost so many of its young men in the war was keen to recover its previous vitality. In 1927 a new club house was proposed and Hume and Iser were the successful tenders. At a cost of £1095/15/0 the clubhouse is still remembered fondly by older members.
When it burnt down in 1977 a large 'element' of club culture was destroyed with it. But the clubhouse was not the only achievement of the twenties. Membership increased, the course was improved - plans were even drawn up by Alex Russell, golf architect, to construct the full 18 holes on golf course land. If the 1920's were a time of optimism the 1930's were a time of severe hardship.
A decade of disasters....  1972 - 1982....flood, fire, hurricane and drought. Fireman survey the scene in the aftermath of the fire which destroyed the old clubhouse. Financial repercussions resulting from the fire were to plague the club for the next twenty years.	Women members salvage crockery in the aftermath of the club house fire. Men also played a part of the clean-up after the fire. First things first, stock from the bar is salvaged for reuse.
The Great Depression witnessed a declining membership and then the world was plunged once more into war. It is depressing reading the minutes of meetings held through those war years. From a base of 130 full male members in 1939 only 54 were registered by war's end. The associates declined from 126 to 38. In the annual Report of 1943 President Hill summed up the feeling:" During the year many more of our members and associates enlisted in the fighting forces or left the district to engage in war work .... we trust that the time is not too far distant when they will be able to return and again enjoy the facilities which we are trying to preserve for them." It is possible to feel both the despair but also the will to ensure that the club survived for the future.
Over the years Bendigo Golf Club has hosted some top international players both professional and amateur. Players of the calibre of Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Harold Henning, Peter Thompson, Norman von Nida and the remarkable Babe Didrikson, a gold medal winning Olympic athlete who became one of the top women golfers of her generation. Here one of the best Bobby Locke shows his skills to an appreciative audience circa 1950	Immediate post war years have been described as the comfortable years. People wished to return to normalcy as quickly as possible. It was also a time of great progress at the golf club. From that low figure of 54 full members of 1943 twenty years later full members numbered 293 and total membership was 615. The club with a burgeoning membership began to plan major developments. Some decisions were good and some more problematic. In the early 50's money was spent on purchasing land to offset the leased racecourse reserve. Roper's land as it was called was some 35 acres opposite the present 6th green. However because the club needed a new tractor in 1958 this land was sold. Although the club made a profit on the sale future events would make it a less than wise decision. But a year earlier in 1957 the club made its first constructive steps to be a year round course. It commissioned H.V. Morcom a golf architect to make a report on transforming the course into a grass greens course which with at least semi automatic watering would enable golf to be played on a year round basis.
The club house however was in urgent need of replacing as the increase in members rendered it unsuitable. An extraordinary meeting was held on July 28th 1961 to vote on whether members wanted grass greens or a new clubhouse. The result was grass greens and year round golf. But although in principle support for grass greens was given the issue was not resolved until a further extraordinary meeting in November 1962. At a cost of £12500 the greens project was approved but as well a buoyant committee proposed a new clubhouse. All up a total outlay of £25000.To finance the proposal a debenture scheme was introduced and although successful in raising funds the proposed clubhouse was put on the backburner. Some members queried all aspects of the scheme and comment from other local clubs was less than positive. An official of one club suggested that second rate grass greens were inferior to sand greens! Frank Gerber chairman of the greens committee and a driving force behind the project was quick to respond through the pages of the Advertiser on both the quality of the proposed greens and the fact that ' sand was after all only a substitute for grass'.	Another mayor another defining moment in the Golf Club's history. Mayor of Bendigo Cr. A. S. Craig addresses members and guests at the opening of the grass greens. sept 7th 1963. (Reproduced with permission of the Bendigo Advertiser and the La Trobe Newspaper Collection, State Library of Victoria)
By early 1963 two new dams had been built, the watering system installed and the greens were ready for planting. The enthusiasm can be summed up in this circular put out in the week before the opening of the 1963 season "100 Hours to G - Day! Do you realise that it is now less than 100 hours or 4 days to G- Day - the GREATEST DAY in the history of our Club? On Saturday next, 27th April, our course will open for Golf - NEVER TO CLOSE AGAIN!" In retrospect the enthusiasm wasn't misplaced. The decision to install grass greens not only gave Bendigo a golf course the equal of any in the state at that time but more importantly secured the future of the club.
The Ladies Committee welcome Babe Didrikson (Centre) to the club circa 1938	At this point it is opportune to reflect on the fact that until the development of grass greens golf was a six month a year proposition. Around October each year the golfers would pack away the clubs and many would then turn to the pursuits of bowls or tennis. In January 1914 when the freehold land was purchased approval was given to build both a tennis court and a bowling green. The tennis court seemed to have various locations over the years but certainly the present fifteenth fairway was usually the preferred choice. The advent of bowling on the course has a more interesting history. It seems J.H. Abbott who served as captain of the golf club for twenty years had had some problem with the bowling club he was involved with so he decided to establish a new club. His move was immediately successful as the bowling club won its first pennant in 1916. It is impossible to cover the history of the bowling club in this overview but through the years the bowling club has been successful in both men's and women's competition. It is also pleasing to record that in the season just completed, the men have won the right to play A1 Pennant again.
The enthusiasm generated by year round golf when the greens were officially opened by the President of the VGA Mr. David Martin on the 7th of September in 1963 was reflected in membership figures. Within ten years the club had exceeded 900 in total. The clubhouse was inadequate for such numbers nor could the club expand its course layout. One solution was to move to a new location and serious thought was given to relocating the club to the Longlea area some 9 miles out of Bendigo. A straw poll of members convinced the committee the move was not popular so instead the committee resolved to improve the existing layout and build a new clubhouse as part of a three stage development. An extraordinary meeting of the club gave approval for stage one to proceed and in October 1976 the tender was let to Davey, McGregor and Grabasch.
The first stage basically the upstairs lounge bar with a lower concourse was completed and the building opened by Miss Flora Mackay the longest registered associate member on' the 3rd of July 1977. The club was really in a strong position with a total membership base in excess of a thousand members. And then disaster struck. On the night of the 13th September 1977 fire completely destroyed the old clubhouse which was to have been used for social club functions and outside receptions. Insurance monies did not cover the cost of replacement so that the club had to move ahead with extra extensions to the new lounge bar. To finance the building fees were increased and levies were introduced on all members. Unfortunately extra costs were also incurred in a contracted dispute over the awarding of the tender. The introduction of levies and the resulting furore saw membership slump from its previous high to a figure around 600. Although the levy on members is often stated as the major cause in the decline in membership other factors were also involved. Other clubs in the area developed grass green courses and just as importantly golf began to lose its place as the fastest growing sport in the country. People simply had more options in their choice of leisure activity .	A completed round. 1928 Tournament. Players check their cards while the caddy with arms folded is either silently querying the accuracy of the count or more probably wondering about the remittance.
1928 Tournament and players in the mixed foursomes pose for the camera before playing their round. the annual tournament apart from being a good money raiser for the club was a major event on the social calendar attracting players from throughout Victoria and the Riverlands.	Moreover the club seemed to have upset the gods. A hurricane swept the course uprooting some 300 trees in January 1979, earlier in the 70's major flooding had damaged greens, and in the summer of 1982/83 a prolonged drought did severe damage to the course. If the gods were unkind then near neighbours added to the club's woes. In 1982 the Jockey Club decided it wished to redevelop the track to accommodate a chute for its 1200 metres races. The end result was greater expense for the golf club with the alteration of two holes and the loss of another on the racecourse reserve. Kevin Hartley the course architect also redesigned two holes and constructed another on the freehold land so that the course today has 13 holes on freehold and 5 on the racecourse reserve. The new layout however resulted in a better course.
The 1990's can be termed both a period of progress and regression. The club installed a new watering system which should have had an immediate beneficial impact on the condition of the golf course. Instead the opposite occurred. Disease affected several greens and extra costs were incurred in relaying these and correcting the problems of the watering system. However the club now has turned the corner. Debt is under control, membership numbers are closing on the 700 mark and playing numbers are also increasing. More importantly under good management the course has improved dramatically. A tree planting programme is being implemented, a solid plan of course improvement is being undertaken so that as the club moves into its second century it does so with high hopes for the future. However the prediction made by President Sagar of a 'smooth career' for the club on the that opening day in 1901 was perhaps over optimistic. Any activity which is subject to the elements or is under the control of man can never be expected to run smoothly.	A golf club is more than a game of golf. Here members celebrate at a recent Christmas Party. It would be interesting to see if future generations are able to pick the low marker in this group.
It could be any golf day in any year. A score to celebrate or rounds wined, bets won or bets lost. Players putt out on the 18th green.