A History of the Alexander Park Tennis Club

 This Information is from the Alexander Park Tennis Club Website:

Alexander Park Tennis Club has always been a neighbourhood club for families, as well as a breeding ground for competitive adult and junior pennants teams. And it all started in 1932, while the State was still in the grips of the Depression. That year, a Mr Noel Brady considered that a tennis club would be a great asset for the residents who had recently built homes in the newly developing area of the No. 4 Estate, Mt Lawley. Supporters for the venture soon joined him and together they were successful in persuading the Perth Road Board to allocate an area on the reserve where the club now stands. 

 

Originally 14 grass courts were put down and were maintained by the Perth Road Board. However, there was slight problem – the courts had been laid out incorrectly. Fortunately, Norm Barrett – later the Club’s first men’s singles champion – was able to persuade the Perth Road Board of the error and the layout was corrected to today’s configuration.

The Chairman of the Perth Road Board, Mr Harry Shearn, MLA,officially opened the AlexanderPark Tennis Club on 17 October 1935, when bonnets and long trousers were still part of standard tennis attire.  This photo was taken on that historic day. 

 

Club championships have been held every year of the club’s existence, except for five years during the War. Many of the club’s members have met with success in the WA State Championships and   State in interstate tournaments and some have even played at Wimbledon. In 1954, a junior club was started with play on Sunday mornings in order to give the juniors under the age of 15 years the opportunity to practice and develop their game.

As the club continued to grow, it became clear that the off-court facilities were inadequate, and amalgamation talks began with the adjacent bowling club. The talks broke down but later in 1987, after many years of declining membership, the bowling club committee voted itself out of existence and the remaining members amalgamated with the Mt Lawley club.

 

This paved the way for the City of Stirling to invite the tennis club to take over the Alexander Park Bowling Club facilities and the official handover took place in June 1988. The then Board of Management under the presidency of Ken Brown set about renovating the bar, club rooms and grounds to better suit the needs of a tennis club. With financial assistance from the City of Stirling and a lot of volunteer labour from members, the entire complex took on a new character. Four new grass courts and two synthetic grass courts replaced bowling greens. And under the management of Bill Bond, the Bar became the focal point for members to socialise and many successful social functions, with membership rocketing to an all time high of 580.