Mount Lawley Golf Club - The first fifty years (1928 - 1978)

The following chapters are excerpts from Mount Lawleys Book 'Mount Lawley Golf Club - The first fifty years (1928 - 1978)'. Click on the chapter title to view the text.

Chapter 2 : Depression and War

The opening years of the 1930s was a period of severe testing for our fledgling Club, as the full impact of the Great Depression began to be felt by all.

Financial strain was considerable for a number of reasons. Firstly, there was the repayment of a loan of 1,500 pounds from the Perth Road Board, which had been borrowed to build the Clubhouse; a wooden structure completed early in 1930 which was just in time to house the Annual General Meeting of that year. There had been arguments as to the wisdom of undertaking this building project, some members felt that all available resources should be devoted to the development of the course, but there is no doubt that the graceful building was a great morale booster when completed, adding a comforting air of complacency and permanency to the links.

A second drain on Mount Lawley's slender purse came in 1930 with the decision made to affiliate with the Western Australian Golf Association. Again, this caused heated discussion at committee meetings because of the expense of meeting the per capita fee to be paid to the Association. However, the move was eventually agreed upon and the first two delegates to the Association were Messrs. A. Bond-Baker and H. W. Glick.

The other major cause of financial strain during these years was the problem of declining membership. Whereas, earlier years had seen a steady rise in potential players, the minute books of 1930 to 1932 were notable, because of their recording of long lists of resignations. Obviously, belonging to a Golf Club became a luxury, which many members felt they could no longer afford, and by March, 1932, the total membership had dropped to 200 (81 gentlemen, 95 ladies, 11 juniors, 6 non- players, 4 country members and 3 absentees).

The difficulty of stopping falling revenue, which this decline in membership caused was further compounded by a decision to try to "stop the rot" and drastically reduce membership fees from 7/10/0 pounds to 3/10/0 pounds. The accounts showed that the 1,380 pound budget of 1931 was asked to stretch to a most uncomfortable length. Evermore stringent schedules were drawn up every month to cope.

The Club survived the tribulations of these Depression years and development was for a time, more or less at a standstill. The course remained largely unchanged for some years, its maintenance still very much dependent on the voluntary efforts of members. Despite these problems, play was pursued enthusiastically and in 1931 the Club Championship was inaugurated. It was won for the first three years by J. Hollands. In 1931 Mount Lawley entered the W.A.G.A. pennant competition. Pennants had in the proceeding years been dominated by Royal Fremantle and Cottesloe, and in fact, it was many years before Mount Lawley broke through, with a "B" pennant in 1940.

Regular competitions of other kinds were also introduced during these years the St Andrews' Shield; and Open Men's Foursome, conducted on the knock-out principle, with trophies for the winning pair, instituted in 1933; the Soldiers' Cup, first played in 1935. Harry Glick remembers it as "a rather wild and woolly event", in which an aircraft flew over the course dropping flour bombs in paper bags over all and sundry; and the Birthday Cup in 1934.

By 1935 the worst years of the Depression were over, and evidence prevailed of a growing feeling of optimism. In that year the annual General Meeting empowered the committee to raise 2,500 pounds to complete the 18-hole course which would mark Mount Lawley's "coming-of-age". The move to have Learoyd Street closed at the boundary of the then existing area was successful, in order that it was possible to plan the additional holes without having to play over a road.

Naming of the holes was the task of a special sub-committee, although everyone took part in discussions and many submitted suggestions. Apart from other hole- names mentioned previously, new names included "Clootie's Elbow" ("Clootie" is Gaelic for "the devil") and the "Redan" after famous holes on Scottish courses. The "Redan" was notable for having originally had two bunkers faced with railway sleepers. These were eventually removed, because of the danger presented by a misjudged approach shot! "Bunker Hill", "Western Bend" and "Boomerang" were named for their particular physical characteristics. The "Commonwealth" had a unique green in the shape of a map of Australia, while the "Pines" was skirted by the Scaddan pine plantation.

"Trap" was so named because of the risk involved in attempting to play over the tops of the trees directly on to the green - the penalty for failure was heavy. Finally the "Plateau" was given its name because the original green was built up from the level of the fairway to a height of about three feet. Thus the original 18-hole lay-out was:

1. The First
2. Clootie's Elbow
3. Boomerang
4. The Commonwealth
5. The Pines
6. The Redan
7. The Trap
8. The Plateau
9. Half-way
10. The Rushes
11. Over the Hill
12. The Long Straight
13. The Paperbark
14. The Pumphouse
15. Bunker Hill
16. Western Bend
17. The Roadway
18. Home

In 1936 an S.S.S. and par of 74 (with preferred lies, which were to be retained for many years, on and off, in an effort to protect the course) were established, with par being reduced to 73 in 1938. Considerable progress was made in the mid 1930's, and a series of devoted grounds committee members, over the years worked enthusiastically, amid continuing financial strictures limiting the pace of development. The Club profited considerably when Mr Nelson Fergusson joined the club in the late 1930s. He recalled at that time that the course was still very rough, sandy and patchy. Rabbit scrapes dotted many fairways, and "you could easily do a ball in one hole". The greens composed largely of couch, and top dressed with horse and sheep manure, were

It is indicative of Mount Lawley's limited resources at that time that topdressing material for the rest of the course came largely from two rubbish dumps on the course, so that broken pottery, pieces of iron and so forth tended to be scattered down the fairways.

Despite these shortcomings, golf's popularity began to improve and Mount Lawley's membership figures began to recover, so that in 1938 the first mid-week competition was held. The outbreak of war brought this gradual recovery to a sudden standstill, and once more the Club was plunged into financial difficulties. As expected with this decline membership numbers again, began to decline, forcing the Committee once more to reduce subscriptions. The problems created by the consequent drop in income were compounded by the inevitable wartime shortages, both of manpower and materials, which made the maintenance and running of the course an endless head- ache.

The war also produced an interesting problem unique in the Club's history. Japan entered hostilities at the end of 1941, posing a new and far more immediate threat to Australia's security, and military authorities in all States began taking all possible steps to hamper an invading force.

The many long and (more or less) flat fairways on golf courses were marked down as potential airstrips, and early in 1942 trenches were dug at intervals along all of Mount Lawley's longer fairways. The committee of the time did take pity on players faced with this remarkable hazard and at this time it was decided to make a local rule "allowing players to lift a ball out of a trench and place it in front not more than two clubs' length nearer the hole".

World War II also deprived Mount Lawley of the services of its professional when early in the war Charlie Snow was taken as a prisoner of war. Before the war he had contributed tremendously in helping Mount Lawley through a long and difficult establishment period, and he was welcomed back warmly to the Club after the war years.

Although the war years at Mount Lawley were in many ways a time of great difficulty and sadness these years were not without their pleasant memories. The course was often crowded with Service personnel on leave, and many new friendships were formed. In recognition of this contribution to the war effort, the Australian Military Forces presented the Club with a certificate recording the A.M.F.s thanks for the generous extension of privileges and facilities to its personnel.

Another good thing to come out of the war was the annual Christmas Cheer. This competition was originated just after the war in order to get rid of "old grog", much of it of doubtful quality and origin which had been purchased in necessity during the war years. In this, our Jubilee year this event remains one of the Club's most popular events.