Members lament the demise of their much-loved TC

It’s Friday night; raffle night at the Wollongong Tennis Club. In the past the place would have been chockers. Buzzing. But not this Friday. It‘s probably been 15 years since the “TC” had that Friday night buzz.

The empty seats between the bar and the restaurant at 6pm on a Friday night – once the biggest night of the week – say it all.

Just over a week ago, club members received news most of them knew was coming. Despite a long struggle through the Covid years and the redevelopment of world-class tennis courts next door, the board reluctantly called last drinks on the TC “due to ongoing financial hardship”.

Wollongong City Council is now assessing the future of the building which is in its control.

Former club president and life member Gail O’Connor said the club has been in decline for more than a decade.

I caught up with Gail, a regular at the club on raffle night, to try to make sense of why this institution has been forced to close its doors at the end of this month.

Gail is a second-generation supporter of the TC. She served as president for eight years and 20 years in total on the board.

Her late father, Keith Hummerston, was also a past president and life member of the club. In his day, the place was a thriving social hub.

More than tennis

“There’s an old saying,” Gail said, “that there’s much more to the TC than just tennis.”

She recalled the halcyon days when many other sporting groups called the club home. It was the place they gathered after training and their weekend games.

Keira Cricket Club, White Eagles Soccer Club, Weerona Rugby, the Whalers Fishing Club to name a few; the TC was their meeting place.

“We even had our own social golf club and fostered table tennis,” Gail said.

At its peak in the 1970s and 80s, the tennis courts at Beaton Park were full, and so was the club.

“We had 27 teams playing Saturday afternoon tennis back then. Eight years ago, we were down to three teams.”

Gail said she wasn’t surprised when members received a letter from the club late last month, saying the club had no choice but to close.

“It was disappointing but not a total surprise," Gail said. “There were a lot of factors leading up to it; a downturn in poker machine takings, there were rising costs, Covid played a part, and finally the construction of the new tennis courts.”

Gail said immediately after the pandemic, work started on the $17-million tennis court upgrade. For more than two years, the area around the club was a construction zone. The club lost car parking outside, which impacted patrons and revenue. But Gail isn’t looking for someone to blame.

“It was just a foregone conclusion that it had to close, unfortunately.”

Eighteen months ago, with the club in financial difficulties, it merged with the nearby Wiseman Park Bowling Club in an attempt to stay afloat.

“If we hadn’t had that amalgamation, we probably would have closed much earlier,” Gail said.

Time to reminisce

The TC holds fond memories for so many locals. Many are dropping into the club to reminisce with friends and family before they call last drinks on 29 August.

Steve Wood from Keiraville recalls playing tennis on the old courts with his family as a 10-year-old.

“I remember coming here as a kid back in the 70s when the building was made of corrugated iron. The council gave us the land but the community built it.

“I had my 21st birthday here in the old hall and that was 40 years ago."

Darren Smith also remembers the good old days, when the club was “the unofficial home” of his Keira Lions Cricket Club when he was club president.

Having taken up the latest sporting craze, pickleball, at Beaton Park in the past six months, Darren only recently started returning to the club. He’s disappointed the TC’s days are numbered. “It will be a real loss to the community.”

Another past president of the TC, Craig McKenzie, had the tough job of trying to keep the place alive through the pandemic then the disruptive upgrade.

“The reason it’s been struggling is simply that not enough people were going there any more,” Craig said. “These are difficult times for small clubs. If you lose people it’s hard to get them back. It’s very sad.”

“Wisos had a crack. They made a genuine effort to make the club work.”

A keen tennis player, Craig recalls a time when the club thrived. "It was so good to be able to walk off the courts and have a drink and a feed with your mates. It was an iconic venue in town.”

“A lot of members put their own money into it,” Craig said.

Volunteers spent thousands of hours improving the courts and the tennis club building. “But they never owned it because it was on Council land,” Craig added.

He thinks Council now faces a dilemma, as Beaton Park has some of the country's best tennis courts but no club.

“It’s very disappointing. Soon we will have all those new courts but not have a venue. How can you run a tournament when there’s no facilities?

“What they should have done as part of the total redevelopment is bulldoze the building and rebuild the club on the road where it’s more visible.”

Samantha, from Mount Pleasant, says Beaton Park and the TC are a big part of her life. She takes her two children to the club after swimming at Beaton Park. She is also taking tennis lessons.

“We love coming here and I hope they do something quickly,” Samantha said. She hopes Council’s new master plan for Beaton Park might include a modern, new clubhouse.

Her mum, Jen, visiting from Adelaide, always drops into the TC when catching up with family. “The social aspect of this place is so important to the community. I’d like to see someone put their hand up and say 'let’s keep it going'.”

Club members Steve and Alison said they were “very disappointed“ to hear the club's days were numbered.

Alison is from a family of tennis players. “I spent a lot of my childhood here. It’s very sad. It’s a huge part of the local tennis community’s history.”

“It’s a shame it has to close,” Steve said. “It’s a great facility. It serves much more than people who play tennis. There are people who play basketball and athletics, a wide range of sports. It doesn’t make sense really.”

'Our ancestral home'

Ron Johnston has been a member of the TC for more than 50 years. He has fond memories of heading to the club regularly with his teaching friends for a beer and putting a couple of dollars in the pokies.

“However, the real delight was my long involvement with Keira Cricket Club. I was president for 16 years and we regarded the TC as our ancestral home," Ron said.

“I spent many wonderful hours there after matches and we had annual trivia nights and our junior and senior presentation nights there every year. We fully appreciated the relaxed atmosphere at our favourite club.”

Ron’s son Mark Johnston has been a member of the TC since he turned 18. “In fact, on the day I turned 18, I had a beer here with my school mate, Ashley Fisher, after we finished our HSC Economics exam in 1983.” (Ashley went on to become a future US Open doubles semi finalist.)

Mark had two stints on the TC’s board, including a time nearly 20 years ago when members knocked back a merger with Collegians who were then looking for a new home at Beaton Park for their football team. That merger didn’t take place.

Mark returned to the board at the start of the pandemic in 2020. He recalls it was a challenging time when Council issued a notice to vacate the premises after conducting a building inspection.

At the time, the club was seeking a 10-year extension on its lease for both the club and the tennis courts.

The club received legal advice, pushed back on the expulsion and rectified the defects to Council’s satisfaction.

The club sought a long-term lease but Council would only offer five years.

“Council seemed to have forgotten how the site had basically been built and expanded by the members from the early 1960s, which had seen the number of courts expanded, lighting, synthetic courts for some courts, repairs for others, plus refurbishments to the club’s bar and function room,” Mark said. “The terms of the lease had the club paying a modest rent, but being responsible for all maintenance and repairs on the building and tennis courts.”

Facing financial difficulties, and with only five years on the site, the club decided to relinquish the tennis courts. Council then launched a major upgrade, which ran overtime due to construction defects and finished early this year.

“The board of the TC were always sceptical about why the Council would want to have these new multimillion-dollar courts with a daggy clubhouse that has no proper shower and change room facilities and a two-storey building with no lift," Mark Johnston said.

“For many years, the members of the licensed club had been frustrated that their money spent on the bar and gaming was being spent on tennis courts that weren’t being used much; and the tennis players weren’t doing their share of providing income for upkeep and repair.

“With low cashflow, the only other assets held by the club were its poker machine licences. The club didn’t think it could exist on the Coledale RSL model of selling all gaming machines and relying on volunteers to run the bar.

“I think a lot of members hope a bar/bistro may emerge at the site in the months ahead. It is not a bad thing if people don’t want to pour money into poker machines, but the ball is now in Council’s court.”

Council looks at options

In a statement, Council said it was “disappointed” to hear of the tennis club’s imminent closure.

“We will work closely with local stakeholders, user groups and the broader community to minimise disruption to activities taking place at the Wollongong Regional Tennis Centre and to reduce potential impacts on future tennis events.

“We recognise that the Wollongong Tennis Club has been a valued community facility and an important gathering place for local tennis players, families and visitors for many years. Its contribution to the sporting and social fabric of our community has been significant, and we acknowledge the concerns this announcement may cause for members and users of this venue.

“Council will assess the implications of the closure and explore options for the short and longer term future of the facility. Further updates will be provided to the community in the coming weeks as information becomes available.

“Complete Tennis which looks after court hire and offers comps and coaching programs, will continue to operate as normal at the Beaton Park site,” the Council statement said.

Gail O’Connor said members were planning a big farewell later this month to mark the end of an era, but she won’t be there. “It would just be way too much for me,” she said.