About Us
Club History
The idea of forming a tennis club in the Legend Park area was first proposed by Beryl Polhill, a local resident who realised the need for tennis facilities nearby. Beryl placed notices in milk bars around the neighbourhood and a meeting of interested people was held at Beryl’s house on Tuesday 18th June 1974. Cr Graeme Frecker chaired the meeting which 18 people attended and a steering committee was elected with the view of forming a tennis club.
The formation meeting was held at the Syndal Hall on 28th November 1974 and the name “Legend Park Tennis Club” was formally adopted. A lease for the land in Capital Avenue was negotiated with the Waverley City Council and a permit was given to build six floodlit tennis courts. A Legend Park Tennis club co-operative society was formed to guarantee a loan ($20,000) to finance the building of the courts.
The first AGM was held on Friday 21st March 1975 at the Syndal Hall at which George Lawson was elected the first president. David Woods presented the treasurer’s report with a balance of $6,391.17. Membership positions were filled quickly and waiting lists were created with around 400 people waiting to join.
The courts were officially opened on 22nd August 1976 by John Young, President of the Lawn Tennis Association of Victoria (LTAV). An exhibition match featuring Will Coghlan, Bob Carmichael, Colin Stubbs and Alan Stone was played to recognise the beginning of Legend Park Tennis Club.
The club held a meeting on Wednesday 16th August 1978 to establish a midweek committee to supervise and conduct midweek social and competition play. In 1978, the idea for a local tennis competition was conceived by Ron Horne during his term as President of the Legend Park Tennis Club. The Legend Park Tennis Club wrote to tennis clubs in the immediate area seeking their views on forming a local tennis competition. Subsequently the Waverley and District Tennis Association (WDTA) was formed to organise and monitor tennis competitions between tennis clubs in the Waverley district.
The final step in the construction program was finalised on 1st February 1979 when the clubhouse was opened. The club is indebted to Ron Horne who managed to successfully negotiate with the council to have our clubhouse larger than the then ‘standard’ size.
In 1983 a team of young men won the club’s first Victorian Tennis
Association pennant.
In June 1984, the club celebrated ten years since its inception with a function in the clubroom.
The club paid its debts, liquidated its Co-Operative Society and entered another chapter on 8th March 1985 by becoming an incorporated body under the Association Incorporation Act 1981.
The club obtained its first Ladies VTA pennant when a team of women won in 1992.