March 13, 2017
Blackbutt’s tennis courts were officially re-opened on Sunday morning, eight years after the Blackbutt Tennis Club went into abeyance and four years after the 2013 floods extensively damaged the courts.
A group of about thirty Timbertowns residents turned up to inspect the recently resurfaced courts and pay tribute to Lester Schwerin, who had carried out most of the work.
The court resurfacing was funded by a $23,500 grant from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund, and new nets and racquets for the club came from a separate $4700 Get Going Clubs grant.
The refurbished club house was the result of a working bee, with the $1000 cost funded by a cent auction.
But the Tennis Club will have to wait on some extra funding before they can restore the court’s lighting system.
Over the years the light poles had become termite-ridden and the electrical system decrepit, so their replacement is still not fully complete.
The club would also like to upgrade their toilets, which are serviceable but unattractive.
However, the club’s only source of income outside of membership fees and grants is a lucky numbers stand that runs outside the Blackbutt Newsagency, so further upgrades may take a little while yet.
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The tennis club’s remarkable revival has come about over the past 18 months through work by members of the Blackbutt & District Tourism and Heritage Association (BDTHA) and former club members.
When the BDTHA began setting up the Roy Emerson Museum at Nukku Nook, they realised there weren’t any usable tennis courts in Blackbutt – the nearest were at Yarraman, 13km north.
So they began looking for grants that would allow them to reopen the club in parallel with a separate $65,000 fundraising drive that saw a statue honouring Blackbutt tennis great Roy Emerson open in January this year.
At Sunday’s official opening, former Division 2 councillor Deb Palmer said that unlike many tennis clubs whose grounds were owned by the Council, the Blackbutt Tennis Club owned the land its courts were on.
When the club was founded in 1956, members raised money to buy a double-sized lot a short distance up Hart Street from the Radnor Hotel.
But when they offered the money to Les Muller, the land’s owner, he refused to accept it.
Instead, he urged the club to put the money into building the courts, and soon after the tennis club was thriving.
Over the years, though, membership had steadily dwindled as members aged, and the club was put into abeyance in 2009.
The 2013 floods dealt another blow, extensively damaging the courts – and since they were on the club’s land, the Council was not obliged to repair them.
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Noeleen Bird, from BDTHA, said that the process of reopening the club had taken approximately 18 months because of the need to apply for grants, wait for a result, and then carry out the work.
The Council had helped by waiving the club’s unpaid rates for the period it was in abeyance, and continues to help by offering the same rates discount it gives many other not-for-profit community groups.
The work of resurfacing the courts was carried out by Lester Schwerin, who has been a member of the tennis club for 40 years.
At Sunday’s opening, Lester was presented with a Life Membership by the club to recognise his long service and the effort he had put into getting the courts reopened.
Cr Spud Jones, who also attended Sunday’s opening, said had often played tennis at the courts in his younger days.
Sometimes he had played against Lester, and on those occasions usually lost.
Lester, who was deeply moved to receive the award, then cut the official ribbon, after which guests adjourned for tea, coffee and a sausage sizzle.
The club is now accepting new members, and is particularly keen to see younger people sign up.
It is also happy to hire the venue for social events, and interested people can get more details about membership or court hire by phoning (07) 4163-0413.
