Saturday 22 December 2017 we celebrated our 90th year with a club day and special afternoon tea. Mildred Mallins honoured us by cutting a celebratery cake.

Saturday 15 December 2012 we celebrated our 85th year with a fun afternoon, high tea and planting of a commerative rose bush..

    The Ashbury Croquet Club has always found a way to adapt, regardless of the time or situation.

      On the eve of the club's 85th birthday celebrations, and with numbers at critically low levels, the club is having to find a way to move with the times, just like it has since it first opened its doors.

      The club was formed in August 1927 and officially opened in December that year.

      The pavilion was erected in Ashbury Park near the original home of Captain Belfield Woolcombe, who was one of the leading citizens during the formation of the town.

      There were 40 members. The club continued to grow, with the addition of two lawns in 1933 and the pavilion, which still stands today, being enlarged.

      The pavilion became a focal point for several sporting groups in later years, including the Timaru Archery Club and Hockey South Canterbury.

      The biggest maintenance issue has always been the lawns and surrounding gardens.

      Attracting people to look after the area was done using any persuasion necessary. Club records show in 1945, a Mr Davey was paid in cigarettes for his lawn-mowing and gardening efforts.

      It was a tough period for the club, which was looking to rebuild numbers after World War II.

      Interclub matches had been suspended in 1942 because of petrol rationing.

      Games between club members continued, and bridge and card games were held in the pavilion, with many of them raising funds for the war effort.

      In 1948, a 21st birthday celebration was held for the club and membership fees were reduced slightly to attract new members.

      On January 25, 1954, the Ashbury Croquet Club served as a perfect vantage point, as the lawns were opened to all South Canterbury croquet members who wanted to get a glimpse of the Queen and Prince Philip during their whistle-stop tour of the region.

      The visit saw the couple speak at Ashbury Park, and with the croquet lawns filled with people, the club sold cups of tea for a penny.

      It was 1965 before the club had electricity.

      Subscriptions remained low, even with the shift in currency from pounds to dollars.

      In 1976, fees were raised from $10 a season to $12. They currently sit at $120.

      Mona Walker dominated the club championships between 1973 to 1981 before being upstaged by her husband, Bill, from 1982 to 1985.

      In the past 20 years, the club has had to fight to remain prominent.

      Current president Carole Graham said the sport had had to try to shake its image as a sport for old people.

      With association croquet taking up to 3 hours to complete, golf croquet received a resurgence in popularity as people's lives became busier.
Graham said a game of golf croquet was easier to learn than association croquet and could be completed in 30 minutes compared with 2-2and a half hours for the traditional form.

      The club introduced weekly golf croquet days in 2001.