Ladies' Recreation Club Historical Archive

1864

“sent to Hong Kong”

- A ball croque'd beyond the boundaries is sent to “Hong Kong” or “up the country.” The owner, with an indifferent grace, stands gazing after it ; and the journey, required to bring it back within the arena, is usually performed with an air of the most profound melancholy, not unmingled with chagrin!

Croquet, 1864, Captain Mayne Reid - Google Books

Quite early on in the history of the Club, croquet became a popular game. Mr. H. J. Armstrong, in the speech he made on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the new clubhouse in April 1955, mentions it:

"Court 3, the site of this clubhouse, was then a grass court big enough for croquet on which overdressed gentlemen in tight trousers and waistcoats, equally overdressed ladies in trailing skirts and large hats, battled their way through the hoops."

His mother, besides her prowess at tennis, was also Croquet Champion in 1910.

 

Another old member, thinking back, mistakenly thought that the club was originally for croquet, although from the China Mail report of the opening, it is clear that tennis was the club's first purpose. However, it does show how important croquet must have been at one time.

Mention is also made by another past member of the many devotees of the game, but "for some reason unexplained, it was only ephemeral." A former member, Mr. P. Cassidy, mentions that "Mr. Paul Hodgson, in his straw boater, was the unexpected Croquet Champion for many years."