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Season 09-10

Season 08-09

Season 07-08

The clubrooms as you see them now have come a long, long way from the original old tractor shed that Ross

Ardern remembers when he first joined the club in the early 60’s.

“Before the development there was a canteen and little kitchen right in the middle. You went in the door,

turned right and stepped down, there was a dirt floor with old couches and chesterfields scattered around. A

few rats were running about also. There was a bit of a shower on the side with a change room and toilet. The

ladies used the toilet, the guys went round the back.”

A short time later, Bev Williams was offered a house, which was on a section in New Lynn. Les Mitchell,

who made the offer said the club could have it for free but it had to be moved in two weeks as Sleepyhead,

the owners of the house, were going to build a factory on the site.

Bev continues, “An emergency meeting of the club was called to see if we could do anything about this and

with great enthusiasm everyone got into gear. We needed and obtained Council permission to at least put the

house at the park on blocks while the bigger details were worked out. One week later a working bee was held

and the house was sawed in half from the roof down, the large brick chimney was dismantled and everything

stripped ready to be transported to Phyllis Street. The folks in New Lynn had never seen anything quite like

it, bodies everywhere. The girls kept everyone fed and watered and it was amazing how well it all went.”

After receiving the required approvals and permits from Council came the working bee’s and the fundraising.

Ross Ardern recalls, “After football, me and a couple of other guys would drive to the ground, sleep in the

car, then early next morning start working on getting the clubrooms into shape. Gordon Gage was a chippy,

Don Williams, Arthur Brear, Tony Reilly and others I can’t remember were regulars. It became a communal

thing and if you didn’t turn up you got your ass kicked. There was great team spirit. Once the Council put

change rooms, showers and toilets in, it made a lot of room, we had a lot of good do’s there.”

Extensions followed in 1973 and additional alterations over the years have further improved this facility.