Ours is unfortunately a story that many clubs and associations go through, made even harder by living in a transient and remote town. Though we have not yet recovered as a club, we are still in the recovery stage and our focus all the way through has been to pay our inherited debt.
Family has been the binding for this recovery and stems from our father Robert (Bob) Te Moananui who passed away 29th September 2011. Unfortunately it wasn’t until he passed that we came to realise how much the Fortescue Golf Club meant to him so to keep the club alive the call for help went out, we had aunties, uncles, brother, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, friends and strangers helping us – to clean, cook, serve, manage, implement change, help out where ever and whenever needed with the work required to get us through. This is our tribute to dad and will be part of his legacy from us at the Fortescue Golf Club and from within the Newman community.
Our way out has been to hire out the Clubhouse for events and functions. We have a view like no other in town that add that extra appeal to the customer and have hosted end of year Christmas parties, 40ths to 1st birthday parties! As we are a members club, we have also used karaoke nights to boost the social membership numbers. This is very popular amongst the family.
As the past has brought us to the present state of affairs, we have welcomed the help and assistance from the Newman community. I personally have taken the opportunity to attend workshops that the Shire of East Pilbara has offered. We also now have people on the committee that have joined us in our quest to recovery which we originally met through functions. I hope it will be these people that will take us into the future and carry on.
Moving forward we have programs and projects we would like to run. One program with a lot of promise is the Ashburton Indigenous Program as a training venture. A proposal, to bring individuals or a group to the FGC where they will be taught how to mow, whipper snip, care and maintain equipment and keep the course itself up to the highest standard. They in turn will gain work experience and be introduced to the game of golf.
We would like to source funding to build a mini putt putt, there aren’t a lot of family focused areas in Newman and this would be something for the community.
Junior golf – thank you for the sets to start us off. I recently caught up with the young boy’s father (the young boy who captured our attention). I was told that his son was autistic and swinging the golf club was part of his routine when he left the house. Such a beautiful story in itself. I believe it would be challenging but certainly not impossible, introducing the young boy to the game of golf. That too will have its own story to tell if it eventuates.
Women’s golf – again thank you for the sets to start us off – 1 new member so far.
We are not the only club going through hard times as mentioned, Covid-19 has brought new challenges for all and without the support of your members, community and governing bodies, it’s hard to get through. Ask for help, reach out, you’ll be surprised the support you get!
This we have found out for ourselves.
Charmaine
A letter from the Fortescue Golf Club
