In the summer of 1931 a meeting was held at Mr & Mrs George Harwoods house to form a tennis committee to instigate the building of a tennis court at Paroa.  A formal application was lodged to the Grey County Council for the use of "that block of land on the Rutherglen Road between the two bridges known as Paddy Watsons paddocks"

Three weeks later a "Paroa Tennis Club" account was opened at the Greymouth Post Office.  Over the winter the paddock was cleared of bush and gorse by hand using shovels. grubbers, axes, picks and wheelbarrows.  Subs were set and the club was on its way with two racquets and presses purchased and a set of rules adopted.

Meetings were held at the Paroa Hall with a large committee (sometimes up to 15 vice presidents) plus a managment & social committee.

The summer of 1931-1932 required playing time to be "20 minutes a spell" wuch was the demand for court use!   To mark the end of the season the first of many club picnics was held at Kumara Beach.

A tennis ladder competition with the rules outlined began that first season and the first trophy was competed for, this was the O'Brien Shield won by Miss M Thomson & K Shepherd and presently hangs on the wall in the clubhouse.

At this time, members could only be admitted to the club subject to the approval of the management committee and the club affiliated to West Coast Tennis Association with each member levied 1/-    I wonder what that equates to in 2022?

By 1935 repairs, maintenance and improvements were made to the court and a new net procured.  Kumara, Punakaiki and Runanga Tennis clubs were invited for matches with a return match in Kumara.

In 1937 a new pavilion was built and formal invitations were sent to Punakaiki, Bell Hill, Kumara, Barrytown, Three Mile, Totara Flat and Taylorville for games and afternoon tea.  A second Cup was donated to the club, the Farish Cup presented by Mr Tommy Farish, a local musician & tennis player.

In the 1940s matches were arranged with Gladstone, Taylorville, Cobden, Hokitika, Kumara, Ikamatua and St Columbia.  Mr Honey must have been an early womens rights supporter as he moved that ' St Columbas offer of a match be rejected unless games can be arranged for the ladies too"

In 1943 the club affiliated with the NZ Lawn Tennis Association for the sole purpose of procuring tennis balls.  Tennis balls were white Spalding brand, better known today for making basketballs and gold clubs.  Thirty pairs were purchased for club matches and another 22 pairs to be sold to members at random.

In 1946 the Paroa Tennis Club affiliated with the West Coast Lawn Tennis Association and a junior tennis club was mooted.  However this came with a stern reminder that 'no children be allowed on the court during club fixtures except under the supervision of an adult member'

In 1947 with the burgeoning number of juniors, the idea of a second court was proposed to be built on Mr R Gibbens land.  The juniors were allocated an evening during the week to play a junior tournament for the Swift Cup and held a 'wind-up' in the Paroa hall with Mrs Hughes playing the piano.

By the end of 1949 Mrs James was willing to sell land at 'Land Sales' price to the club for a second court and the club became registered under the 'Incorporated Societies Act, 1908.

In the 1950s more improvements to the facilities were made, an outside toilet (Mark ll longdrop), drums of colefax used to topdress the court, a zip water heater and a cupboard for trophies.  A committee was formed with Mr R Gibbens as Chairmen to oversee the building of the second court.

In 1956 the War Memorial Court (Number 2) was officially opened in memory of EE Anderson, L Burger, P Paterson and HE Sumner, club members who lost their lives in World War ll.  

During the 1960s the visits of country clubs began to wane with the exception of Reefton, Ikamatua and Whataroa.  the Whataroa & Paroa clubs enjoyed many games over this decade with the Andrew Clark & Charles Gunn Memorial Bowl contested which remains in the Paroa Clubhouse waiting a further challenge from Whataroa.  Matches closer to home (Karoro) and WCLTA graded interclub games dominated the calendar and Junior tennis was becoming well established.  Anzac services were well attended at the War Memorial Court accompanied by a bugle.  A visit to Kirwee Tennis Club was planned, a fixture which has lasted over 50 years!

In the 1970s players were still required to cross a road bridge over a creek to move between the two courts.  When Shantytown ws being developed the bridge became too dangerous for foot traffic.  Two hardwood beams (stringers) were acquired for a footbridge at the creek side of court 1 to link the two courts with a foot track.  The County Council wanted to remove the road bridge & divert the creek so a large culvert was placed at the end of court 1.  This caused problems for the club with erosion of the side of the bank so many working bees were held to build a concrete wall to stabilise the road and make the area safer for parking.  

In 1977 a special meeting was held to discuss the installation of court lights and the commitee worked every Sunday over the winter months from 9am to 12noon putting up the lights, fixing the fences, painting the walls and  by 1979 it was time to install new toilet facilities to replace the long drop.  

In preparation for the Golden Jubilee celebrating 50 years of Paroa Tennis Club in 1981, an extensive overhaul and modernisation of the pavilion began.  The Memorial Court was also requiring attention and a herculean effort by volunteers over fifteen weekends saw the court surface rebuilt with the laying of a road carpet (bitumen), fences replaced, BBQ area built and volley board moved with raffles held at the Paroa hotel every weekend raising $4500 to fund these repairs.

In 1982 the WCLTA had eleven clubs entered in the competition Blackball, Runanga, Karoro, Reefton, Ngahere, Greymouth, Cobden, Hokitika, Hokitika United, Westport & Paroa but by 1987 the headline in the Grey Star was "WCLTA at crisis point".  Today we have three clubs competing in the Interclub competition - Paroa, Hokitika and Grey United.

In 1983 floodlights were installed on the Memorial Court.

1985 saw the number 1 (bottom court) renamed the Richard Honey Memorial Court, such was the respect the club held for this man.

At the end of the 1980s Paroas Mystery Bus Trips began and WCLTA had a revival of interest organising 'Whitebait Wimbledon" in Mackay Street and Paroa Tennis Club hosted a New Years Eve night tennis tournament with BBQ breakfast.

The bottom court had a sawdust surface laid in the 1960s which required regular resurfacing which was done by warming up an emulsion then hand spraying it over the court.  Sawdust was laid over the emulsion then rolled and excess sawdust swept off.  This was done in sections so the emulsion didn't cure and lose its stickability.  The whole court was then painted with roof paint similar to the astroturf colours on courts 2 & 3 today.  This job took the men all weekend with morning and afternoon teas and lunches provided by the ladies.

The 1990 AGM had 32 people in attendance to discuss the upcoming Diamond Jubilee plus the need for a third court.  It was decided there was only room for a singles court alongside the Memorial Court and this court was named the Richard Gibbens Court.  At this time the bottom court was becoming very slippery when wet due to the painted sawdust surface so a hot mix was applied by beynons.  

During the mid to late 1990s much work was carried out at the courts including rock protection work, ne lights installed, pipe & chainlink fences plus block work and seating and a retaining wall built of hundrens of tyres.  When the pavilion was re-roofed an old coin (sovereign) was found and replaced for the next roofers to discover.  The connecting of floodlights on court 3 with a meter box enabled the Winter Woolies competition to begin.

In the early 2000s the number of juniors continued to increase up to three sessions with 20 to 30 children in each!  This put pressure on the facilities which resulted in a new clubhouse being built.  The clubroom was officially opened by MP Damien O'Connor, Mayor Kevin Brown & Patroness Doreen Honey in 2002.  A roofed pergola and BBQ area were built next to the newly refurbished old clubrooms.

In March 2005 a celebration was held to mark 40 years of the Kirwee exchange.  With membership growing the decision was made to increase the size of the singles court by cantilevering it out over the creek with extensive concreting being required.  This was funded jointly by Paroa Tennis Club and Grey District Council.  The newly extended court was astroturfed, a mobile net installed and Chris Cowan, a helicopter pilot, flew the lighting poles into position.

The above history of Paroa Tennis Club is taken from the 80th Reunion  book compiled in 2011 by Julie Rae & Tania Stoop with the assistance of the Reunion Committee.  Theres much more to read, and pictures to see in the book which is kept at the Paroa Club Rooms and many photo memories in the albums too.