Curtain
Falls on 75 Years |
 In our first 75 years the New Zealand flag flew at 32 World Championships,
five Olympic Games and two Commonwealth Games. Thirteen touring parties of world class
players visited New Zealand, along with five other international teams of only slightly
lesser standing.
31 women and 33 men became New Zealand singles champions. Three of them were champions
more than seven times.
34 district Associations affiliated to Table Tennis New Zealand over the 75 year period.
Countless thousands of individual players participated at club, interclub and
inter-Association level.
The era ended when 2008 drew to a close. In 2009, we celebrated.
Canterbury Hosts Early Celebrations
It was fitting that the annual Veterans Championships at Easter should be the setting for
one of our two 75th Jubilee celebratory events. The tournament had begun in Auckland in
1987 and some of its regular competitors have been in the sport for more than half the
life of TTNZ.
This year’s championships were held in Christchurch. The task of organising the
Jubilee celebration was largely in the hands of Alan and Cathy
Moore with support from Lynley Barker. The central event was a
Dine and Dance held at the conclusion of the championships and attended by around seventy
guests.
Alan Moore was Master of Ceremonies. And Alan was also in the limelight
when three members of his family (Eric, Malcolm and Steven) joined him to
provide the dance music. The repertoire of this unique single family band ranged from old
time favourites to rock’n’roll.
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A 75th Anniversary cake was ceremoniously cut by Trevor
Flint, a man featured frequently in this Chronicle in his peak playing days
(early 1950s), through the term of his coaching career (from 1968) and yet again when he
was made a Life Member in 2000. |
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A giant table tennis bat which had been manufactured to celebrate our 50th
Jubilee in 1984, and signed by guests attending those celebrations, was on display.
Long-time Canterbury stalwart Bob Prisk (pictured with wife Joan
- nee Cox) made another for the 2009 event and that too was signed by all in attendance.
It was later transported to Whangarei to be autographed by guests at our second
celebratory event. |
L/R: 2009 Bat, normal size, 1984 Bat
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Northland Event Brings
Celebrations, and Era, to a Close
A laid-back, country atmosphere prevailed at the second function to mark our 75th Jubilee.
Held in Whangarei on 14 November, it was buoyed along by Master of Ceremonies James
Morris - himself a central figure in New Zealand table tennis since 1970 as a
player, promoter, administrator and coach. |
| TTNZ Chairman Ron Garrett took the microphone for the
more formal segments which included the induction of six new people into the Hall of Fame,
the election of four new Life Members and the launch of a 25 year segment of this
Chronicle covering the years from 1984 to 2008. |
L/R: James Morris, Ron Garrett
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The crowd numbered just under 100 and included at
least seven former New Zealand Champions, a plethora of high-level officials past and
present, and a wide representation of present-day and former players and supporters. It
was a great mix, and a great atmosphere.
As the Jubilee dinner progressed James presented a nostalgic decade-by-decade summary of
the 75 years. Alan Tomlinson shared his memories and encyclopaedic
knowledge in a guest speech detailing New Zealand’s participation in early World
Championships. |
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Old movie footage of Russell Algie and other
early stars was shown, followed by the cutting of another 75th Jubilee cake – this
time by former Executive Director Merv Allardyce. Merv qualified for the
honour by being in the unique position of having attended all three TTNZ Jubilees (25th,
50th and 75th). As the evening drew to a close well-earned praise was expressed for the
organisational skills of the Northland officials, led by Brent Davies and
James Morris. It was well after 11.00 when James took up his ukulele, the
words of Auld Lang Syne were projected onto a screen and the entire crowd linked arms and
joined in.
Table Tennis New Zealand’s 75th Jubilee was over. |
L/R: Yvonne Fogarty
Versus
Colleen Atchison (nee O'Carroll) |
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75th
Celebrations