Courts 1929 to 1985
November 23, 2025
Mayfield Tennis Club Finance 1929 to 1985
November 23, 2025
Early in 1931 a wood and iron shed was erected at a cost of £5.10.0d for the storage of crockery and court equipment.
For the next 45 years succeeding committees considered ways of improving the club house facilities. A sink and a gas stove were added and in 1945, application was made to the City Council for a loan to finance the building of a proper Club House, but this had to be abandoned owing to the difficulty of providing the surety required by the Council.
The 1956 Committee submitted a proposal to members to build a Club House at a cost of £450. In a referendum members rejected this proposal and the project was abandoned. Repairs and improvements were carried out to “the shed” for reasonable expenditure, and it was still standing in 1985 as a storeroom.
Serious investigations began in 1974 and the Annual General Meeting in 1977 decided to go ahead with a proposal to build a brick kitchen, two toilets and a shelter wall. The plans provided for the subsequent addition of a Club Room. The project was completed by October, 1978 at a cost of R6 438 all of which was met from accumulated funds. In retrospect, the 1956 proposal would have saved a lot of money.
By 1984, the Committee were investigating the possibility of adding the Club Room. However, an estimate of R28 000 proved beyond the financial means of the Club.
It is interesting to reflect that from 1929 to 1978, 49 years, the Club depended upon members houses in the vicinity for toilet facilities!
1986 to 2006
Although the brick kitchen was completed in 1978, a gas stove was still used to boil the water for tea and it was only in September 1992 that electricity was connected to the kitchen. A fluorescent light was installed and an electric urn and a refrigerator were purchased for R1 140. This latest technology proved to be a boon to the member on tea duty.
Several other improvements were carried out over the years. In 2001 a fibre glass roof was erected over the veranda in place of the shade-cloth cover, which gave members use of this area even on rainy days (it should be mentioned that certain of the male members preferred crowding into the kitchen with the ladies).
Although the fibreglass roofing was ideal in winter it proved to be very hot for those members sitting on the benches in summer. This resulted in a shade-cloth “ceiling” being fixed to the beams under the roof making it more bearable on the veranda in the summer.
In 2005 louver windows replaced the glass pane at the end of the veranda thereby allowing for a cooling breeze through the sitting area.
That year also saw the men’s “stand-up loo” being upgraded to a “sit down” toilet and wash hand basin.
To enable the member on tea duty to heat snacks, a second hand microwave oven was purchased for R150 in 2006.
As the bougainvillea in front of the clubhouse grew to such an extent that it covered the kitchen roof and intertwined in the Court 2 fencing, it was finally cut down in 1999. This same creeper had been the subject of many hours of debate at several committee meetings.
Burglaries plagued the Club in the late 1990’s with the urn, crockery, cool drinks and tennis balls being stolen. In order to prevent further break-ins a metal security gate was fitted to the kitchen door and chains were locked across the shutters. This proved to be very successful.