Perth Polo Club
The Perth Polo Club is a polo club in Guildford, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia.
Location
[edit]The club is currently located at Kings Meadow on the outer southern side of the historical town of Guildford, on the river flat of the Helena River.[1]
Former grounds include Claremont Showground, and other locations over time.[2]
History
[edit]The club was founded in 1896 and is the oldest polo club in Western Australia.[3] It was set up before the establishment of the Western Australian Polo Association in 1903.[3] The club's founder, Neil McNeil, was a railway contractor, timber merchant and landowner who resided at The Cliffe in Peppermint Grove.[1][3] On 17 September 1896, members of the club met at the United Service Hotel for races to be held on 10 October of the same year.[4]
In its early days, the club was patronized by Gerard Smith, who served as the governor of Western Australia from 1895 to 1900.[3] Michael O'Connor, who served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1901 to 1904, also held office as the club's Captain.[5]
In 1902, McNeil was the President, while the Vice Presidents were Edward Wittenoom and T. W. Brown.[6] Committee members were Everard Darlot, D. B. Ord, P. Law Smith, N. D'Arcy and Dr O'Connor.[6] A year later, in 1903, the club held a ball at the Mechanics' Institute.[7] In 1930, a ball held by the club was attended by William Campion, who served as the governor of Western Australia from 1924 to 1931.[8]
After World War II, with activity and membership in decline, W.G. Bennett revived the club.[1] Together with Stewart Harkness, he also made the decision to move the club from the Claremont Showground in Claremont to Kings Meadow in Guildford.[1]
As of 2014[update], the club president was Neville Stewart.[9]
References
[edit]
- ^ a b c d Official website: History of Polo in Perth Archived 25 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "POLO". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 26 November 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d Horace A. Laffaye, The Evolution of Polo, Jefferson, North Carolina: MacFarland & Company, 2009, p. 42
- ^ 'Polo: Perth Polo Club', The Inquirer & Commercial News, 18 September 1896
- ^ Warren Bert Kimberly, History of West Australia: A Narrative Of Her Past Together With Biographies Of Her Leading Men, 1897, p. 176 WikiSource
- ^ a b Polo: Perth Polo Club, The West Australian, 26 November 1902
- ^ Perth Polo Club Ball, Daily News, 30 May 1903
- ^ Perth: Polo Club Ball, The Australasian, 19 April 1930
- ^ WA Polo Association Archived 5 September 2014 at archive.today