It started in a garage in Kingscliff with eight interested players and soon grew to a team of 18 – but 50 years later the Kingscliff Hockey club is now 18 teams and still going strong.
The club celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a dinner on May 26 (and maybe even the announcement of a second Olympian the following month).
For founding father Merv Edwards it is like yesterday.
“It so happened there were certain people I got to know that had also played hockey,” he said of how they came to meet up in a Kingscliff garage.
“One of those was the local service station operator Eric Davis and there was Frank Auger the plumber and a few other locals.
“This was only a small sleepy holiday and fishing village back then – it wasn’t very back then. There were about eight of us in the garage that day and we discussed setting up a side to help take some of those young fellows off the street corners,” he laughed.
A few months later they’d found enough players and by the following year they were playing in the local hockey competition. In fact they did so well they won B grade in their first season.
Not that they had any home games or even anywhere to train in town.
“We trained up at the Cudgen recreation ground under three street lights that surrounded the ground,” he laughed. Now the club trains at a ground named after Merv in Wommin Bay Road and boasts teams in all grades from juniors to men and women.
The women’s club was formed in the mid 60s and the two clubs didn’t amalgamate until the 70s-80s.
Merv, whose children, grandchildren and even a great grandchild, have now played for the club – although with four generations of many other local families, said for a small club “we haven’t done badly”.
The club has produced one Olympic Gold medallist – Merv’s grandson Nathan Eglington along with a whole swag of Australian team members including current men’s team member Jason Wilson as well as women’s reps, Letitia Warlosz, Lorelle Morrissey, Karen Slockee and Gabby Nance.
He said the club has also produced a lot of Queensland representatives over the years –particularly in the junior ranks starting with Kevin Young in the early days right through until now.
The Fiftieth anniversary dinner will be held on Saturday, May 26, at Cudgen Leagues Club, Wommin Bay Road, Kingscliff at 6.30pm.
Tickets are $25.00 including appetisers and main meal. The theme is green, white and black and dress is semi-formal. Please RSVP by May 5 (to the below number). Attendees must be over 18yrs, past and present members welcome. Please notify any friends or family that you may know.
Hockey will be played on Saturday, May 26, at the Kingscliff Hockey Fields, Wommin Bay Road, Kingscliff, so please come down and cheer on all the current Kingy teams. There will be a bbq and drinks available for purchase on the day.
All enquiries to Ross Salmon by phone 07 5524 6204 or email: kingscliffhockey@gmail.com.
