A CENTURY OF TENNIS IN ARARAT

In 2009 Joy Gunston and Nancy Bowen gathered records for an honour board, prepared by Werner Bohner, to be placed in the clubhouse listing club officials going back to 1914. Archived copies of the Ararat Advertiser at the local library have reports on tennis competition going back as far as 1896.

There do not appear to have been organized season draws for district tennis. But there were weekly all year round matches for men and ladies between the Ararat and St Andrews clubs.

From time to time the Ararat team assembled at the mechanics institute to be conveyed on a horse drawn vehicle called a ‘drag’ to courts at Maroona, Denicull Creek, Moyston, Armstrong and Stawell. Visitors from Beaufort came by train and often spent the night at Leopold’s hotel.

From the earliest days the courts have been at the current site. The bottom court closest to the Alexandra Oval sits on land said to have been recovered from mining works.

The establishment of new grass courts or fencing were celebrated with all sorts of novelty events such as ladies foot racing, mathematical games and quoits, with fairly formal afternoon teas and dances to follow.

Advertisements  in the Ararat Advertiser summoned members of the Ararat Tennis Club to well attended AGMs and Committee meetings which took place at the Mechanics Institute,  Shire Hall and local hotels.

Up until 1982 the land on which the complex is sited today was owned by the the Ararat Lawn Tennis Club. By mutual agreement the club ceded ownership to the City of Ararat which then leased it to the club.

However the club retained ownership of the courts, and was to be responsible for their maintenance. Alan Butt, Keith Rowe and Joy Gunston were the club officials at that time.

In the following year four new artificial grass courts with lights were established on the western side of the original clubhouse.

The existing clubhouse, owned by Ararat Rural City, replaced an earlier clubhouse in 1989.

Ararat tennis probably had its hay days in the 1980s and 90s with the Wesley, Shadows, Aradale and Rebels clubs folding into the Ararat Lawn Tennis Club.

In 2005 the club changed its name to Ararat City Tennis Club and in 2006-7 the grass courts at the front were also reworked and surfaced with artificial turf.

Other surfaces were replaced in 2010 (western side) and (southern) in 2015. In 2018 a new fence along the eastern side of the front courts was erected and the remaining grass and hard courts were returned to the city for netball and other uses. The club now intended to maintain only eight courts for competitions, pactise, school functions and Book-A-Court online users.

Below:

Original clubhouse. 1970s

Ararat Tennis Club team. 1890s