By Ian Callen
PART 3 ‘History of Healesville Golf’.
Bryn Jones the President of the Healesville Historical Society writes:
By 1913 things appear to have been going well for the club as they were able to rent a house known as Carlton Villa owned by Mr Henry Clark for £16 a year. It was situated on the corner of Wilson Street and Nicolson Street where French laundry once stood (opposite Habitual Bakers and Coffee Roasters) much later. The newspaper commented a caretaker would always be in charge, enabling the players to “have the privilege of leaving their belongings at the house, which should prove a great boon”. The greens at the time, were apparently, “ in excellent order and the links generally in like condition”.
By 1915 (during the early stage of the First World War) the club was in a position to erect its own clubrooms in the park, and was, therefore able to cease renting Carlton villa. It was announced at that year’s AGM the new ‘golf room’ was in the course of erection. The materials alone would cost £40, but members and friends offered to erect it voluntarily possibly in one day. The secretary undertook to raise some of the money getting five locals to lend the club £5 each. The club of course would no longer have to pay £16 rent for the Carlton villa. Matters were beginning to improve
The 1916 season was officially open on 10th June when various speakers praised the benefits of the game and the facilities now available at Healsville, being added to by the forthcoming opening of the main road between Healsville and Lilydale by the ‘Country Roads Board’. The facilities for reaching this town will be availed to many of the enthusiast’s followers of ‘Ye Ancient Game’.
Gratitude was expressed to Miss McAuley for her continued generosity in allowing play to be carried on across a portion of her ground.
It was pointed out there is no doubt about Golf being one of the most popular winter games. “The followers are worldwide”. In Britain alone, upwards of £3 million are spent on golf balls alone.
There was clearly a lack of sophistication locally, however, which is well illustrated by the holding of the “Approaching over the Bunker” competition. As the local green had no bunkers a clothesline stretching about 5 feet off the ground did the duty.
1917 was was a defining year in the history of the Healesville golf club. Before the opening of the new season, a letter from an irate Miss McAuley appeared in the ‘Healesville and Yarra Glen Guardian’ claiming in two previous issues the paper willfully misrepresented the facts concerning her relationship with the golf club and demanding the Secretary of the club publish her letter to the club in ‘toto’. This heralded a dispute initially over a petty issue, which developed into a personal and even vitriolic contest, each of the participants claiming the high moral ground and accusing the other of not telling the truth.
The core of the dispute involved the taking of wood from Miss McAuley’s property. The claim was the golf club exploited her generosity: “like all generous people get treated-misrepresented and privileges improperly used She claimed. The golf club has not improved my property, the occupation has made it unsaleable…”.
In a letter to Stanley Pearce the Golf Clubs Honorary, she laid out clearly what would allow in the future use of her block.
