THE CLUB ROOMS

The Upper Hutt Darts Association and its committees have never been an association happy to sit back and be content with its lot. The committee over the years, have had some wonderfully pro-active members whose commitment to the association has seen it actively look to promote its growth and assets. This now has us in the position we are today whereby the building we currently own 100%, totally unencumbered by any mortgage. This has been a titanic effort by the club as a whole. Both committees and members deserve a lot of praise for achieving this milestone.
Going back to the old days when the club was first founded and began its playing years at the Grosvenor Lounge, it didn't take too long for the committee of the day to have it in a profitable situation and almost immediately they began seeking a suitable investment for the extra revenue being provided by the members.
They settled on the purchase of a section in Mountbatten Grove which they then worked vigorously towards freeholding. This was done through normal weekly dart league and by the commencement of the money type tournaments. Upper Hutt Darts somewhat pioneered these tournaments and it was not uncommon to have up to fifty pairs entered with entrants coming from all around the bottom half of the North Island. This was quite a feat considering the fact that the old Grosvenor was only equipped with two toilets.
After achieving this the next step was to establish a building fund and I'm sure many of us remember the building fund barometer just inside the door of the Grosvenor Lounge.
The associations committee then spied what they believed to be a rare opportunity to move its headquarters to its current location at Awakairangi Park by purchasing a half share of the Upper Hutt United Soccer Club clubrooms.
Many ordinary club members were horrified to see the hovel like conditions that the committee of the day were investing the club's money, and indeed its future, in. However, thankfully for all of us, they had a vision of what could be made out of the eyesore that it was and being very persuasive, managed to convince all members that it was a good move.
At a special general meeting held in the Grosvenor Lounge on 15 June 1989, they put their case to the club and it was passed unanimously by the members.
After initial problems with Wellington Regional Coun­cil over building on top of their stop bank and talk of us drowning in a hundred year flood, work began on our club­rooms. Funded by a large loan, backed by the Upper Hutt City Council and utilizing talents from within the club, the building project was commenced, a task which would have daunted clubs two or three times our size.
With this loan now paid off, we are now in the enviable position of just being left with the job of making conditions and surroundings as comfortable as possible for our members. I am sure that given the history of the association this is a task that will be undertaken with determination and enthusiasm.
NOTE: You will notice from this account of the clubs progress that at no point is there any mention of individual’s names. This has been done quite deliberately, as because there are so many worthy of mention, we would hate to offend any persons whose names may be inadvertently missed in the account