About our clubs

Oratia Bowling Club – established 1943

Oratia Bowling Club has been nestled in the Oratia valley since its incorporation on 1 December 1943.  For over 70 years, the club green has resounded to cheers and sighs as the bowlers aimed for the jacks. Several successful games have been played, the club has been held in high esteem for its bowling prowess. The names on the honours board tell the story of Oratia; Nola, Sunde, Parkin, Whittaker, Simich, Allen, Marinovich, Tally and Vranjes are just a few.

The valley was settled in the 1860s by Dalmatian immigrants making their homes and livelihoods in the yellow clay with orchards of apples, plums and grapevines. Many notable families had settled in the valley. Descendants of Captain Theet, the Harre family, the Parr family carry a legacy of strong families that are still present in the valley today.

The club was built on land was purchased in the 1940s - only half the size of the existing club.  A new extension was built in the 1980s, doubled the size of the clubhouse and provided a new kitchen and bar facilities. Hard work and community commitment the club was for the enjoyment of the Oratia community.

During its heyday, the club was thriving and growing, as with similar bowling clubs around the country, social trends meant aging and declining membership. This trend has impacted Oratia over the last decade membership fell so did the ability to maintain and upgrade the premises, despite the best efforts of the remaining club membership.

Recently, the club has seen a resurgence of interest from the local community. The value of the bowling club is not only in the benefits of a sporting fixture but as a community hub where locals of all ages can gather and enjoy each other’s company. The club is open to wider use and has regular club functions and private events. Renewed interest in the club has meant delayed maintenance and much-needed repairs are now underway, with further improvements planned and community working bees are in the pipeline.

We are managing the challenges of Covid 19 lockdowns - various subsidies and financial support secured have maintained the club through these times.  There is still much to be done. Our executive committee is committed to ensuring Oratia Bowling Club will once more be a vibrant and successful club for future generations to enjoy.

For further membership information, roll-ups and our calendar of events, please go to our Facebook page or website, or email the club.

Contributed by Chris Stone
Oratia Bowling Club

"The Greatest" at first pro event...

Imagine, if you will, a line-up at Papatoetoe of bowlers who include national title-holders Phil Skoglund, Peter Bellis, Nick Unkovich, John Murtagh, Robbie Robson and Ian Dickson.

Those very same stars did in fact play at the Club in 1981, in the country’s first professional tournament, the Air New Zealand Singles. It was also the first world open bowls tournament held in New Zealand, attracting a contingent from Australia, England, Scotland, Canada and America.

The overseas players were Rob Parella, John Snell, Barry Salter and Bobby King from Australia; Peter Line, England; David Gourlay, Scotland; Graham Jarvis, Canada and Francisco Souza from America.

The other two who made up the New Zealand eight were Karl Arnerich and Peter Bryant.  It was a ‘Who’s Who’ of bowling with a vengeance. Tournament manager and three times Papatoetoe president Allan Wood to this day speaks of the event as a fantastic experience.

The Club benefited by about $5,000, but there was also a much bigger return than money.  It put Papatoetoe on the map among the bowling fraternity.  One newspaper report at the time described the entry as the greatest collection of bowlers ever assembled on one green in New Zealand.

The tournament offered prize money totalling $5,000 with $3,000 going to the winner.  But, as the same report said, it had to be won the hard way – by one man proving himself the best of 16 hand-picked players.

It’s history now that Peter Bellis did just that, in the same year in which he became national singles champion.  He won the Papatoetoe tournament from Barry Salter in what anyone who saw it will say was a thrilling final.

Contributed by David Shackleton
Papatoetoe Hunters Corner Bowling Club