Gonville and Castlecliff confirm bowling club merge

Gonville Bowling Club president Joe Huwyler and Castlecliff Bowling Club life member John De La Haye seal the merger with a handshake.

Two clubs with over a combined 200 years of tradition will join together as the Gonville Bowling Club members made a unanimous vote to formally merge with the Castlecliff Bowling Club at their AGM last weekend.

Castlecliff BC, on its last legs in September 2017 until an online campaign helped lifted the membership temporarily for the summer season, had gone back back down to just 15 members, not enough to remain viable.

The announcement came last week that the doors would be closing for good at their Manuka St property, after the club hosts its official centenary celebrations on November 24.

With the remaining Castlecliff members now able to move to the Gonville BC clubrooms on Caius Ave, the Gonville president Joe Huwyler said the new merged entity will combine the two club's names.

There was a meeting scheduled yesterday to discuss the future of the Gonville-Castlecliff Bowling Club, and Huwyler said a 5-6 person working group has been appointed to handle the transition.

"This is just working through the finer points – subs, uniforms, constitution.

"The proceeds from the sale of the property, that's one of things the working party will be working on."

The tender for the Manuka St property is being handled by Bayleys real estate agent Lyn Wickham.

Castlecliff members can continue to play on their greens and use the clubrooms through until their centenary celebrations, which will now double as the club's official closure.

"They will know before then what the outcome of the tender is," said Huwyler.

The current Gonville BC club is in its 108th year, and had strengthened numbers in 2017 when another club – the Gonville Women's Bowling Club – closed its doors and the membership transferred over.

Some of them joined the new committee, with activities set up to include bingo and cards every Tuesday afternoon during the winter months, short mat indoor bowls over winter and housie on the last Friday of each month, followed by a pot luck dinners.

Knowing that Castlecliff was striving to survive into their centennial celebrations, Gonville invited the members to participate in their roll ups, paying a minimal green fee.

Castlecliff BC dates back to April 1918 when Mr T Nixon put an advertisement in the Chronicle seeking interest.

It was officially formed at May and named Westbourne Bowling Club after 1-4 Manuka St was purchased at 50 pounds per section, opening for play in December.

Four years later the club was renamed Wanganui West and by 1935 it admitted women, though with restrictions on when they could play.

The women soon formed the Castlecliff Women's Bowling Club.

In 1937, Wanganui West changed its name to Castlecliff Bowling Club and late men's and women's clubs were incorporated under that name.