West End Croquet Club

Starting out as the South Brisbane Croquet Club in 1902 (please see history below), this unique community venue located in Musgrave Park has been extensively renovated and re-launched for community use. The Management Committee of West End Community House, now known as Community Plus Queensland, led the croquet club hall project over six years from 2009 to 2015, including the coordination of major fund raising campaigns in the local community to fund the renovation. After many years of dedicated community work and fundraising the West End Croquet Club was re-launched in 2015.

who are we?

Community Plus+ Queensland is a community development organisation in Brisbane’s inner-South. We coordinate West End Community House, Yeronga Community Centre , Annerley Community Service, QSTARS Tenancy Advice Service and West End Croquet Club.

Community Plus+ creates welcoming and active spaces where people can meet their neighbours, access support and work together to create positive change in their community. We do this by linking and resourcing local residents, community groups, schools and businesses.

Why hire?

Located on Cordelia Street in Musgrave Park, WECC is one of the rare remaining community venues in the area. The venue is available for community use and for hire to other interested people for a variety of uses including:

Community markets
Meetings, parties, celebrations
Live performance & entertainment
Art space and art exhibitions
Croquet, sports, family and community activities
Conference and training space.

History

The South Brisbane Croquet Club began in 1897 but the original clubhouse burned down in 1959. The current building was completed a year later and has recently been refurbished to it's former glory for the use of all people as a community venue.

Some Historical photos below of the former South Brisbane Croquet Club are courtesy of Trove.

G.H. Gordon and L. Henderson finalists of the 1906 Queensland Croquet Championship at Musgrave Park South Brisbane 1906

Group photograph of Queensland croquet players Musgrave Park South Brisbane 1911

Prize winners of the Queensland Croquet Tournament at Musgrave Park South Brisbane 1912 (1)

Semi finalists in the croquet mixed doubles tournament at Musgrave Park South Brisbane 1911

A HISTORY OF THE CROQUET CLUB COMMUNITY Venue PROJECT IN MUSGRAVE PARK.

The South Brisbane Croquet Club was started in 1902 by Josephine Papi and other locals.
The Club finished up in the early 2000’s and then for some years Croquet Queensland had the place.
In 2009 the City Council granted a lease to West End Community House (WECH), now Community Plus+ Queensland, and in 2014 extended it for a further 10 years.
Community Plus+ decided to renovate the small, existing 1957 building as a fully accessible community space. A six year journey then followed involving the raising of $270 000 for major building work.
The required works included opening up the small building, the removal of asbestos, levelling the floor, construction of a large roofed deck with broad seating stairs leading down to the lawn, the provision of disabled access car parking and a universal access ramp to the building. Heritage, environmental and sustainability issues also had to be addressed.
The building work was carried out by Ken Ittensohn Constructions in the first half of 2015.
The venue is being well used, having already been hired out to local community groups for three months before the official opening on Friday 27 November 2015.
Between 2010 and 2012 some 42 local individuals, groups and companies had donated almost $100 000 to the 40K’s in 40 Days Campaign, run over three years. $1000 was a common donation, often given each year. This enabled a serious commitment to be made to the required works.
A Development Application was lodged with Council involving hundreds of hours of pro bono work before, during and after Council’s rather slow approval of the DA.
Local professionals who carried out major pro bono work were Don Marshall and Andrew McKenzie, architects responsible for design from ThomsonAdsett, Peter Marquis-Kyle with heritage advice, Michael McKinnon on landscape architecture, and Megan Traynor-Boyland with project management.
Special mention must be made of Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), later Jacobs. A committed team raised large sums of money for the project and devoted hundreds of pro bono hours to detailed planning and engineering work. Graeme Smyth provided very great assistance during the construction.
In 2012 the Annual Meeting of SKM raised $25 000 for the project giving the project further financial security to proceed. Special assistance was also provided with graphics and publicity.
Grants totaling $75 000, targeted towards sustainability and universal access issues, were received from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund and Brisbane City Council.
In 2015 the final fund raising effort was launched. Pledge A Plank involved the sale of wooden planks in the access ramp engraved with names or messages. By opening night some 110 planks raising $25 000 had been sold to local individuals, families, groups, streets and businesses. Special thanks to local residents Norma Morgan and John Ransley for their generous support. The success of the Pledge A Plank campaign enabled the works to be completed and the venue to be available.
Thanks to many locals whose support of fundraising covered 80% of the money required. The generous financial support of Jackie Trad, Terri Butler and Cr Helen Abrahams is acknowledged.
Councillor Abrahams was with the project from start to finish, contributing freely with her time, finding extra resources, liaising with Council and solving problems along the way.
Many other locals provided valuable assistance along the journey with the project including Joe Hurley, Robert Allan, Steve Capelin, Clarence Fraser, Brenton Thomas, Annette Moroney and David Howie.
Mary Maher set up and chaired an energetic fundraising committee, consisting of Tim Quinn, Marilyn Trad (who also organized the brilliant opening night), Natasha Mulcahy, Aphro Nichles, Judith John, Jason Grant and Jim Gleeson. This committee steered the highly successful, Pledge A Plank campaign.