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 Five : The Ladies

Preceding pages have traced Mount Lawley's history from a chronological, and also from a more or less masculine point of view. This, in a sense, is rather misleading, as from the very first the Club's lady members have made an invaluable contribution to its life and development. Indeed, women were among the most enthusiastic supporters of the idea or forming a Club and for many years there were almost as many ladies as gentleman members. (In fact, as statistics quoted earlier, showed, at one point during the Depression, there were more lady members). A current member Mrs Dale, who was actually a foundation member, recalls being sent a prospectus in 1927 (she was at the time living in Bunbury). She agreed to join and sent in the required half subscription of Two guineas, and after returning to Perth in 1928, became an active participant in Mount Lawley's gradual but steady growth.

Mention has been made of the tremendous efforts of early members towards getting the Club on it's feet, and in these the ladies were well to the fore, joining week-end "working bees" to clear scrub, plant grass and trees and weed fairways.

During these early years, Moutn Lawley was, of course, a very much smaller organisation than it has since become, and the inevitable segregation of ladies' and men's interests which has developed was not so much evidence. Ladies were thus more prominent in the day-to-day running of the Club's affairs. However, as the Club grew it became apparent that the interests of the lady members needed specific attention, and just after the war the ladies'committee was established, with Mrs Sargent as its first President. This Committee has continued to co-ordinate the ladies' affairs, in particular the organisation and running of competitions. Any profits from these events have usually been contributed towards some needed item of Clubhouse furniture.

A particulary well-remebered member of the Ladies' Committee was Mrs Edna Clemenger, who served as its Vice Preseident for many years. She instituted a number of fund-raising schemes, and also provided many competition trophies over the years.

Mount Lawley's lady members have throughout its history been keen and often very successful golfers. The allowance of full lady members was gradually increased to its present level of 200 (it is notable that Lady members at Mount Lawley are full members with voting rights) and vacancies have long been extremely rare. Play also increased in popularity when Ladies' Day was changed from Friday to Thursday which was generally found to be more convenient. 

Mount Lawley has done well in the ladies' pennant competition over the years, with Mrs Flora Brownfield (nee McCoulter), who has won the Club Championship eleven times, and was the first Mount Lawley member, lady or gent, to represent W.A. in Inter-State golf, undoubtedly the most prominent star.

Mount Lawley has also taken its turn in sponsoring the State and National Ladies' Championships, including the Golden Jubilee Championship meeting of the Australian Ladies' Golf  Union in 1971. As always, the preparation of the course and the running of the event itself were highly commended by all those involved.        

The ladies' have also, of course, been prominent in the promotion of the Club's social life. They strongly supported the move to extend the Clubhouse in the early 50s, as many felt the slow growth in membership figures was largely due to the inadequate facilities which severely limited the possible size of any function. After the extensions were completed, Mount Lawley's social life flourished, due in particular to the efforts of Mrs Eve Ibbotson as a member of the Social Committee.