By PETER KACZYNSKI
ARARAT – The Ararat Bowls Club in the company of 80 guests including the Grampians Bowls Division Board, GBD club presidents or their representatives and veteran past members celebrated the 130th anniversary in the finest fashion.
An afternoon of bowls preceded the official function, but prior to the bowls there was a ceremonial activity that for pomp and formality rivalled January 26 1788, when Captain Arthur Phillip set foot on Sydney Cove and the Union Jack of Queen Anne was hoisted with the usual ceremony.
At Ararat, club president Jim Dunn from a lofty balcony raised the new 130th anniversary flag to the acclamation not of a collection of dumped English convicts, but the 42 bowlers who were keen to start their matches.
Interestingly the design of the Union Flag raised by Captain Arthur Phillip dates from a royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. The flag combines aspects of three older national flags the red cross of St George, the flag of the Kingdom of England, and the white saltire of St Andrew for Scotland.
The Ararat 130th anniversary flag is no less interesting having been technically designed a week ago by member Trevor ‘Porky’ Preston and beautifully made over their lunch times by Ararat’s own talented EmbroidAbility staff.
A competition spider started the day off, and those with the finest touch and taking home the Nancy Pfeiffer homemade chocolates were Bernadette O’Callaghan (Landsborough) and Bob Howland (Ararat), who in typical fashion shifted the kitty to his own advantage and ‘blow the rest of you’.
The bowls got underway and immediately Judy Upton (Lake Bolac), Tom Arnold (Willaura) and Dawn Blackman (Stawell Golf/Bowls) came under the eye of the appreciative audience hanging over the balcony.
Stanley McDonald (Ararat VRI) uncharacteristically was not playing with Jack Veale (Lake Bolac), and appeared to be enjoying a more relaxed game and bowled accordingly, while Veale appeared pale, shaken and rattled after being censored by the Ararat hierarchy for blatantly interfering with the teams when Ellen Werry (Stawell) was not entirely happy with her team placement.
The Victorian selectors arrived unannounced and were observed taking notes. Apparently they were particularly impressed with Marj ‘The Mother Hen’ Harricks (Chalambar), Rex Start (Ararat) who has really mastered the bowlers arm, Jacqui Bishop (Aradale) and in particular Ross McGregor (Ararat) who was playing in his first tournament.
The smell of the afternoon tea party pies and curried egg sandwiches wafted down from the clubroom, and that was enough for Barry Joyce (Ararat) and Leo McMaster (Lake Bolac) to call the games off, and head for the afternoon tea table, for those two there was no such thing as women and children first.
Special guest Cr Paul Hooper Ararat Mayor graced us with his presence and the official proceedings commenced.
Contributions were made by Ann Hunt GBD chairman, Lyn Jacobs Ararat BC Lady President, Jim Dunn Ararat BC President and Ararat Mayor Paul Hooper.
The two best performed bowls teams were deadlocked on their score, so it was left to Mayor Hooper using a secret Rural City formulae to work out who got the spoils. The hot Ararat team of Kerrin Gellie (skipper) Peter Bigmore and June Schmidt were declared winners, with Gary Blackman (Stawell Golf/Bowls), Jim VanRaaphorst (Ararat VRI) and Shirley Green (Ararat) runners-up.
When trying to justify the winners and runners-up decision in our minds, it was thought as soon as Mayor Hooper was made aware that Gary Blackman comes from Stawell, North of the Divide and in the Northern Grampians Shire, he never really had a chance.
To close an enjoyable day president Jim Dunn spoke on the numerous activities, milestones and achievements by the club over the past 130 years, and concluded by inviting all those in attendance to return again in 20 years to celebrate the club’s 150th.
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