About Us
Our History
Our Club was established in 1925, with the heritage listed clubhouse built in 1938. It is one of the few art deco styled sporting pavilions remaining in Perth.
Nedlands Tennis Club had its origins in a group of keen tennis players who had been playing social tennis on two gravel courts at the home of Mr G R Brown on the Esplanade opposite the Nedlands Park Hotel. In 1925, when Mr Brown decided that he was going to sell his home and move to Melbourne, several of the regulars discussed the possibility of forming a tennis club. To this purpose, a public meeting was called on 24 June 1925 at Broadway Hall, the site of which is now occupied by the Broadway Fair shopping centre. Sixty seven people attended the meeting and it was resolved to form the Nedlands Park Tennis Club.
Why Join Nedlands?
We are a fun and vibrant tennis club with more than 350 members. We play on 9 hardcourts and 17 grass courts. All 9 hardcourts are under lights for playing at night.
We are always delighted to welcome new members for playing social and/or competition tennis.
The original site of the Club was on land belonging to the Claremont Road Board, which was located on the Esplanade, very near to where the Nedlands Yacht Club now stands, near to what was known as the Dalkeith vegetable gardens. The land was made available to the Club provided the members cleared the land of the bulrushes. This was done over about three weekends and four gravel courts were subsequently laid on this site.
At that time the Club’s finances were insufficient to employ labour so the Committee, together with a few of the keener members, would attend the courts after work to water and roll them. In the darker evenings of winter it was necessary to have lighted hurricane lamps at each end of the courts to ensure a straight line in rolling.
The Club played on these gravel courts for the next few years. However, it proved difficult to maintain these courts due to the windy conditions which eroded the courts and necessitated constant attention. Accordingly, the Club approached the Claremont Road Board and sought a site on the corner of Bruce Street and Gallop Road where the present Club now stands. Colonel Bruce had given this land to the residents of Nedlands.
The Road Board was divided in its views as to what should happen to this land. However, due to the persistence of the then Committee and after many legal difficulties, the Club eventually secured the site where it stands today. Sufficient land was obtained from the Road Board to build ten courts plus room for a further six courts. When the Club moved to this site, the clubhouse was made of boughs and afternoon tea was made by boiling the billy on an open fire.
Over the years the Club is fortunate to have had many loyal, enthusiastic, hardworking and dedicated members who have made the Club what it is today.
Information regarding the history of the Club was obtained from notes made by Mr VA Fenn, a foundation member of the Club, Mr H Lange and from a book entitled ‘Nedlands: From Campsite to City’, written by Mr AE Williams.
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