It is not known who first had the idea of a Ladies' Recreation Club, although at least two names have survived - those of Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. March In a letter from Mrs. Kathleen M. Tabor we are told: "I was in Hong Kong as a child at the time of the opening of the Club, and my mother, the late Lady Jackson, wife of the Chief Manager of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, was one of the promotors".

Once the land had been granted to "the ladies of Hong Kong" for a "Ladies Recreation Ground", there was a difficulty.

In Britian, the Married Women's Property Act was passed in 1882, allowing a woman to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and to sue as an individual in her own right. However, the law was not amended to allow that in Hong Kong until 1906, nor could a married woman enter into a valid contract. The solution, therefore, was to appoint male trustees of the Ladies Recreation Club.

Gentlemen were associated with the Club from the very beginning. Among other tasks, they could obviously serve as trustees, for not until 1938 was the Club incorporated.When the Secretary wrote to the Surveyor, P. W.D., on June 29th 1883, she submitted the names of Messrs. Thomas Jackson, C.D. Bottomley and F.D,.. Sassoon as proposed trustees. These were accepted, and at the end of that year, the first Crown Lease was issued to them for I.L. 898. It was for 75 years, at a Crown Rent of $1 per annum.

The lease of Inland Lot 898, in care of the Trustees of the Ladies Recreation Club, began on 25th December, 1883, Christmas Day