Historical notes: The old
Pambula Recreation Reserve has a long connection with the town and many of
the organisations that have, over the years, existed in the district. Among
those are the Pambula District Jockey Club, Pambula Pony and Galloway Club,
Pambula Proprietary Racing Club, Pambula Greyhound Racing Club, Pambula
Football Club, Pambula Cricket Club, Pambula Athletic Club, Pambula Rifle
Club, Pambula Sporting Club, Pambula A. H. and P. Society, Pambula Public
School and the Grand United Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity.
The original fifty acres of Pambula’s Recreation Reserve
was dedicated by the Governor of NSW on February 2, 1880, with local residents
Arthur Clarke, John Henry Martin and Charles Arthur Baddeley named as
trustees. At that time, it consisted of Sections 20, 21, 28 and 29,
Allotments 2 and 3 of Section 19 and allotment 2 and 3 of Section 22. The
grants specifically mentioned “…a racecourse, upon which horse-races may be
run, under the direction of any club or association now existing, or which
may hereafter be founded for the purpose of horse-racing…”, “…a training
ground for the purpose of training horses, intended to race….” and “…a
cricket ground, or place at and upon which the game of cricket may be
played…”, as well as “…any other public amusement of purpose which His
Excellency the Governor…may from time to time declare to be a public
amusement or purpose for which the said lands or any part thereof may be
used…” In 1893, further land was added to
the reserve, with Messrs J. H. Martin, C. A. Baddeley and E. J. Cornell being
appointed trustees. In response to an application by the Pambula
Progress Association, a further “…small reserve…” near the jockey club’s
property was dedicated as an addition to the recreation ground in 1900.
By 1885, “…an expensive
pavilion…” had been erected and a writer pointed out that “…Pambula folks are partial to good wholesome
sport and recreation, and it is therefore not surprising that they keep their
pretty trysting ground in good order and provided with the necessary
building…” A local correspondent writing in 1889 said that the recreation
ground contained “…some 50 acres all level as a bowling green, and within
easy walking distance of the town on one side, and the river and boats and
boathouses on the other. Ten acres of this ground are fenced off for cricket
and all athletic sports, and upon which is erected a strong, serviceable pavilion
built by the Government through the agency of the Pambula Progress
Committee.” It is not known where this pavilion structure stood on the site,
but no known evidence of it exists today.
In 1891, in order to minimise flooding on the reserve, an
embankment was raised to prevent the encroachment of the tide. Nonetheless,
located as it was on a marshy flood plain, nothing could prevent the almost
annual inundations. Just prior to the 1891 race meeting, the embankment gave
way, but it was repaired in time for the race meeting that year. A reporter
pointed out “…by next year, with the expenditure of a few pounds the course
can be made equal to anything in the colony.” Tenders were called in January
the following year for “…about 17 chains of embankment on Racecourse” and in
November 1893 Mr. Hamilton was deputed by the jockey club to wait on the
trustees of the reserve “…with a view to having improvements made to the dam
on the course”. The Trustees of the ground had previously made application
for a grant of £100 for the purpose of permanently repairing the dam and
making it capable of resisting floods in the future, and empowered Mr.
Hamilton to spend the funds in hand for the purpose. The same month, the
Pambula Progress Association resolved to apply for a similar grant, pointing
out “…the necessity…at the present time
in order to protect the reserve from being damaged by the tide.” Mr. W. Cole
in 1968 recalled “Because of tidal influences an extensive retaining
wall had to be built and Vic Hart’s father worked on this with his horse and
dray for many months.”
In 1893 £30 sterling was made available by the Secretary of Lands
“…for improvements to the Marsh Recreation Reserve, Pambula” and in 1897, a
further £40 was set aside from the Lands Department’s Park Vote for the
Pambula Recreation Reserve. The same year the Progress Association decided to
request that the Works department have the local road super draw up a plan,
with estimated costs, for draining the ground. In 1902, a special grant of
£15 from the annual State Vote for the improvement of public parks was received
by the trustees of the ground, with an additional £7 received from the same source in 1915.
The cricket club would appear to
be one of the earliest sporting organisations formed in Pambula and was one
of the activities specifically mentioned on the grant for the reserve land.
Pambula was participating in inter-town matches by 1882, and by 1893, the
cricket ground on the reserve was being referred to as “…the old wicket…” Initially,
matches were played on an ad hoc basis, but when the Southern Counties
Cricket Association was established competitions became more organised. When
Pambula first partook in these, they did so in a combined Eden District Team,
playing for the Denham Trophy. By 1899, Pambula was fielding both senior and
junior teams in the Association competition. By
1915, the Pambula Cricket Club had erected a pavilion on the reserve,
although the exact location of this is not known. The wicket was situated in
the area now surrounded by the track fence of the old Pambula race track. Up
until a few years ago, evidence remained of this, but with ongoing flooding,
no trace could be found during a recent inspection of the site. As well as
being one of the first organised clubs to utilise the old recreation reserve,
Pambula Cricket Club was also amongst the first to make the move away from
the old ground. When a new sporting oval was made available by Mr J.
H. Martin in the early 1920's, the cricket club was the first body to put the
new ground to use. They laid a concrete pitch in 1923, and by December that
year had it ready for use. In 1928, the club pulled down their shed on the
old Recreation Reserve, and re-erected it on the new ground, ending more than
half a century of association with the old Pambula Recreation Reserve.
The organisation perhaps most
readily associated today with the old recreation reserve is the jockey club.
Originally a course had been located approximately three-quarters of a mile
from the Roan Horse Inn along the Bombala Road, with the first races believed
to have been held there in March 1858. By 1860, they had become an annual
event, but although this was a popular track, it was not considered
particularly satisfactory. When the jockey club was reformed in 1889, it was
referred to as “…long defunct…” That year, the group made application to the
Government for a suitable racecourse site, and by December 1890, plans were
well under way for horse racing to recommence in the Pambula district. With January 13, 1891 set down
for the event, a holiday was proclaimed for the District of Eden and local
media reported that “…there ought to be a big crowd of visitors.” In December
1891, the club had had “…twenty men at work doing up the new course, which
will be on what is known as ‘the Marsh’…It is a perfect flat, good safe going
and when the present improvements are completed will prove second to very few
courses in the colony. Horse owners
were afraid to send their horses on the old course, but they need not now
have any such fear. There will no
doubt be a very heavy entry for the meeting.” The same month, however, the
club’s annual meeting was described as “…a bloomer…” both because of the
short notice and because the timing meant that those active on the local
goldfields had departed to spend holidays elsewhere. Nonetheless, “The
meeting reflected the greatest credit upon the officials of the club and we
hope to see ere long a £500 prize competed for on this course.” This was the
first year that the Pambula Cup was run,
and also appears to have been the first time races were held on what
was then referred to as “…the marsh, a piece of ground dedicated for
recreation purposes over which the tidal waters exercise an influence.” By
1894, it was claimed that “Pambula club is rather more fortunate than most of
its country cousins in having one of the best courses away from Randwick, and
experienced trainers have remarked that the local course is better even than
Randwick to train on.” In 1897, the president of the club was instructed to
make enquiries in Sydney with regard to a starting machine for use at the
annual races.
By 1898, the jockey club had
begun to look at erecting the buildings necessary for their meetings, but as
with other organisations that used the site, were concerned about
restrictions on removal of buildings from the reserve once they had been
erected. As a result, in 1898, the club purchased between two and three acres
of adjoining private land upon which to erect their facilities. Tenders were
called in October for the construction of a grand stand and saddling paddock
and local builder Job Koerber’s tender of £75 was accepted. In May the
following year, a ball was held to raise funds for the new building and it
was reported after the 1899 annual race meeting that “Improvements,
especially the new grandstand, made for the comfort of spectators” which, numbering
about 650 on the first day and 350 on the second day, was a record
attendance. In 1903 a committee stand and publican’s booth were erected,
whilst the grandstand was enlarged and improved in 1904, again by Job
Koerber. 1927 was a big year for the annual races, with a local newspaper
reporting that “It is expected that between 40 and 50 race horses will be in
Pambula in a few days for the annuals.
The committee are put to test to find stalls for them. It has been necessary to interview
householders for the use of sheds…and steps have been taken to put them in
order. The club will early in the new
year seriously consider the matter of erecting a number of stalls.” Further improvements to the club’s
facilities were carried out in 1937, including concreting the offices
underneath the grand stand and erecting a new observation stand for the
stipendiary steward alongside the judge’s box. Mr. W. Cole recalled in
1968 “Because of the soft springy nature of the track it was a popular race
track with jockeys and trainers alike.
The annual Race Carnival on Boxing Day was always a great
attraction…Pambula Races were always a great district attraction bringing
crowds from as far distant as the Monaro.
Horses used to train for weeks prior to the meeting being stabled at
the hotels and on private properties.
Eventually the local Jockey Club built stables at the top end of
Quondola Street…The Jockey Club was a well-to-do club and put up good prize
money. There was a “smithy” adjacent
to the stables (Cousemacker’s) and a great sight to see the horses and
jockeys going down to the track for their early morning gallop, the sound of
which could be heard all over town.
The Royal Hotel had extensive stables, more so than the Commercial.”
Flooding and tidal inundations were a frequent problem
for the jockey club, with many a race meeting being affected right up until
their recent move to the Kalaru track. It was reported in 1903 that “…The two day’s meeting on December 26 and 27 passed off
very satisfactorily considering that a week previous to the races the whole
of the course was covered with water to a depth of 4 ft in some places on the
running; and no doubt the rumour that was spread to the effect that we
intended postponing the meeting did us a lot of damage…” That year, with
numerous improvements carried out, including raising the low part of the
course, it was reported that almost 1,000 people attended of the first day
and about 600 on the second “…including a large proportion of ladies.”
Horse racing continued at
Pambula for more than 100 years, until the final Boxing Day track meet was
held in 1997. After that, all the district clubs moved their events to the
newly established $5 million facility at Kalaru, ending a long and important
era of horse racing on the old Marsh Race Track as it was originally known.
The jockey club was not the only horse racing
organisation to use the site. Others included the Pambula Pony and Galloway
Club, formed in June 1897; the Pambula Proprietary Racing Club, in 1912; the
Pambula Picnic Race Club, in 1917; and the Pambula Trotting Club, in 1921.
The
Pambula Athletic Club, founded around 1885, was another organisation that was
based on the recreation reserve. The group held their second annual meeting
in March 1886, which was described as “…a
decided success. The weather was all
that could be desired, the attendance fair, and the ground in good order…” A
similar event was organised in 1888, with events such as a maiden plate,
youth’s race, boy’s race, Pambula Sheffield handicap, member’s handicap,
three legged race, hurdle race and flying handicap being held, and “…Sir
Joseph Bank’s rules adhered to as far as practicable.” By 1897, the group had
ceased top function, but in May that year a meeting at the Commercial Hotel
“…unanimously decided that a club be
formed, with a membership fee of 5 shillings per annum…” A report said that a
“…strong working committee was appointed and a liberal programme of sports…
was drafted to be run off on the Pambula. Recreation Ground on the 29th May.”
The first meet, held on May 29, was described as “…a success in every
respect…” With about 250 people in attendance, tracks were prepared on the
racecourse, near the grandstand. The following year, a similar sports day was
held, and by 1900, it had become an annual event. That year the Commonwealth
Handicap was added to the programme and new tracks were constructed, which
were “…in first class order though perhaps a trifle soft...” A 1903 meeting
decided to disband the old organisation and in its stead form a new
association to be called the “Pambula Sporting Club” with the object “…to
give more variety to the programme with the hope of arousing more public
interest in the proceedings...” A schedule drafted for the Easter Monday 1903
meet included both horse and foot racing, but it was found necessary to
abandon part of the programme when it was discovered that horses and their
owners competing at advertised unregistered meetings were subject to
disqualification. Nonetheless, a handicap trot and hack race both still took
place.
The Pambula Rifle Club also occupied the recreation
reserve site during its early years. It started life as the Pambula Civilian
Rifle Club in 1893, and that year, one dozen rifles were issued by the
Military Staff Office. In July a code of rules was adopted and after
receiving ammunition, target practice commenced on a range erected near the
race course on the Recreation Reserve site. Two years later the club was
transformed to become a Volunteer Reserve Corps and in November that year
Lieutenant Bradbury visited Pambula for the purposes of enrolling members.
Regulations stated that men had to be of good physique, not less than five
foot six inches in height, with a chest measurement of not less than 34
inches, had to pass a medical test and take the oath of allegiance. At the
first enrolment meeting, 17 members were accepted. In October 1896, Drill Sergeant Winterton of Bega was in
Pambula putting the local Reservists through a week’s course of drill and
musketry. The following month, about 20 members of the No. 3 Company Bega
Mounted Rifles arrived to give a military display on the reserve and early
the next year, Staff Sergeant Winterton returned to put the local Reserve
Rifle Company through their second course of instruction. By 1899,
the organisation had ceased to exist, but in 1903, a meeting was held at the
Club Hotel for "...the purpose of reforming the Pambula Civilian Rifle
Club". Almost 30 names were submitted, and with more joining soon after,
an announcement appeared in the Government Gazette in May 1904 that formation
of the Pambula Civilian Rifle Club had been approved. In January, Regimental Sergeant Major Messenger visited
to report on the proposed site which originally was to encompass portions of
both the recreation reserve and the town common, but eventually, without
permission from the reserve trustees, the range was moved entirely onto the
common and in 1904 it was reported that “…the local Rifle Club is going to be
successfully ‘floated’…”
Yet another of the many sporting and recreational
organisations to use the old recreation reserve was the local football club.
Pambula's football beginnings lay in a small item in the local newspaper in
July 1896 and following a keen reaction from the community, a public meeting
was called at which it was unanimously decided to start a club under Rugby
rules. Most of those present joined immediately and the first practice took
place on the reserve in August with the club adopting navy blue and white
colours. The only other local football clubs at that time were Bega, Bombala,
Candelo and Yowaka. The latter was formed just a week before Pambula and it
was against that team that the local players had their first official match
in September 1896. With Mr R. Ashworth as umpire, the home team defeated
Yowaka eleven points to nil in front of a about 200 spectators. A return
match played on September
19, 1896 again resulted in a win for Pambula, although this time
with the closer margin of three points to nil. Like other sports, football
matches were carried on in a fairly disorganised manner initially, with the
various clubs arranging their own games until the formation of the first
organised competition in 1904. In May
that year delegates from Bega, Bemboka, Candelo and Numbugga met to establish
the Candelo Football Union, with Pambula applying to affiliate later the same
month. After they were admitted in June, matches became more organised and
were played on a semi-regular basis. Pambula continued playing with the
Candelo Union until 1908, when the Southern Border Football Union was
officially formed with boundaries extending from the Candelo Union's southern
boundary to the Victorian border. The Pambula club then succeeded from
Candelo to become the headquarters for the new union. Local football clubs
initially followed the Rugby Union code, but around the mid-1920's, there
began a gradual change over to league, although for a few years the two codes
carried along together, players participating in both. The first time League
was played on the Pambula ground was in May 1925, in a match between Pambula
and Bega. Then, two months later, delegates met to form a body to govern the
game. The role and responsibility of this committee was to become, in later
years, the same as the Group 16 Rugby League Committee. Group 16 Rugby
Football League itself was established in the early 1930's. In 1933, there
was a redistribution of territory and the Group 16 Rugby League Football
control appointed Pambula as headquarters of a new sub-branch group embracing
Merimbula, Pambula, Wyndham, Rocky Hall, Towamba, Eden and Nullica. Pambula
football club continued to use the Recreation Reserve until about the 1950's,
when they moved to what is now known as Jack Martin Park. For two years
between 1948 and 1950, Eden Football Club's home ground was also located on
the Pambula Recreation Reserve.
Formed in 1902, the Pambula Agricultural,
Horticultural and Pastoral Society arranged to hold a show the following
year, with their headquarters also being the recreation reserve. Estimating
that their first show would cost £300, about 60 names of intending members
were handed in and on September 13, the society met to elect officers. As
with other organisation, the conditions stating that buildings, once erected
on the reserve, could not be removed, concerned the society, so John Martin
Senior offered to let the organisation part of his paddock adjoining the
reserve at nominal rent. Tenders were awarded to J. A. McDonald (£22/10/-)
for yards and Job Koerber (£90) for the pavilion, the latter continuing to
stand on the site today. The A. H. and P. Society also made use of the jockey
club’s grandstand and the paddock adjoining it, as well as the race track,
whilst the judging ring, parade ground and show jumping were all in the
centre portion of the track. Yards for cattle, pigs and other livestock were
also erected over the years and in 1923, tenders were called to lay a floor
in the pavilion. Once again, that of Job Koerber’s for £75/10/- was accepted and in 1937, he
was further awarded the contract for alterations and additions to the same
building. By 1939, the Pambula Show Society had begun planning a move to the
new town Pambula sports ground (now known as Jack Martin Park) and the Imlay
Shire Council applied for a grant to assist with relocation of buildings.
However, World War II intervened and it was to be more than thirty years
before the move was realised. At the opening of the 1971 show, Mr Maugher MLA
and Mr Tom Lewis, NSW Minister for Lands, announced a $5,000 grant to the
society to finally achieve the long planned relocation from the old Pambula
Recreation Reserve to the new ground closer to the township. 1975 finally saw
the first show at its new home.
From the early 1930’s, a number of local greyhound racing
enthusiasts trained their dogs on the reserve and in 1937 a Greyhound
Coursing Club was formed. In March that year, the jockey club granted use of
their course for the new club’s events, but finally, with the many rules and
regulations that had to met in order to secure a license, the idea fell by
the wayside. Nonetheless, local dog owners continued to use the ground for
training purposes, racing their animals at various other courses including
one that operated at nearby Bega.
Over the years, portions of the recreation reserve were
also leased to local farmers for grazing purposes, whilst the venue was also
used for a range of other social and cultural activities, including school
sports days and picnics, Oddfellows Lodge functions and town gatherings,
picnics and parades. This long running association is being continued today
through its use as a wetlands reserve and passive recreational facility.
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