THE much-admired premises the Gold Coast Table Tennis Association calls home was a long time in the making.

The club had functioned in a variety of drop-in venues since 1967 and its quest for a permanent stadium didn't really gather any momentum until 1991..

Martin Rogers was secretary of the club and when he and his wife Lin, the treasurer, accompanied teenage son Martin to the Wide Bay Open in that year, the seed of an idea began to take form.   Their visit coincided with the launch of the Bundaberg Association's impressive new arena and identified the need and potential for the Gold Coast club to embark on a similar venture. 

At the time local activity was limited to two nights a week in the Labrador State School hall at Turpin Road.  Persuading some of the more conservative members of the Gold Coast committee was not immediately plain sailing.   Foundation stalwarts Agnes and Barry Herbertson had diligently accumulated funds over the years but it took Martin and Lin some time to convince the club's officers that this was the project the Gold Coast had to have. 

In due course members got on board with the concept of a dedicated seven-day operation and Martin contacted Ray Stevens, Mayor of the Albert Shire (still a few years away from its eventual amalgamation with Gold Coast) to make a submission for help with obtaining suitable premises.   He was directed to Shire secretary Terry Moore who listened to the club's request and the answer came in the shape of permission to set up on Crown land at Harper Street, Molendinar, as well as the offer of a peppercorn rent and a 10-year interest-free loan to assist with building works.

As fund-raising took on new urgency and quotations for site works and construction plans were acquired over time, the project remained very much a work in progress until 1994, with new president Robert Matheson leading the charge.    

Robert took up the challenge. After a delegation met with the Mayor Ray Stevens who said we could occupy the present site, a good imagination was needed to see it come to fruition. 
Mayor Stevens had the huge D-9 Bulldozer from the Molendinar Refuse Centre cross the road and level out the site. Robert then set about obtaining quotes to build Stage 1 to accommodate 6 playing courts with kitchen, office, and bathrooms. Robert signed a contract with Ranbuild to build our Stage 1 premises, several members went guarantor to make up the full contract price in the form of a loan with Suncorp Building Society. 

And so it was the project came out of the ground. We asked the concreters to do a particularly good job as it was to be the only playing surface for quite a while. Eventually lino tiles were installed and this felt like luxury. 
It was many years before Taraflex the international Table Tennis flooring was installed this not without challenges.

Finally, the build was completed late 1994 without much fanfare, the Mayor opened it. We were all so relieved that we had achieved building a centre of our own. No more setting up and packing up tables and barriers at shared rented facilities.

Of course, we were able to expand and add Stage 2 in 2010 thanks to long serving member and architect Mathew Jones and his team.

A great improvement on Stage 1, Stage 2 included the entry lounge where players and their guests could relax, eat, drink, and be merry. A much needed storage room was incorporated and the club now boasted 14 playing courts, all having Taraflex flooring installed. The grand stand seating accommodation was also greatly expanded in the addition.

We eventually added Solar Power with 144 panels and paid them off in record time. This enabled us to install Air Conditioning which we could now afford to run thanks to the solar power.

These facilities are today enjoyed by everyone thanks to the foresight and hard work of the prime movers in Martin & Lin Rogers, Robert Matheson, and Barry & Agnes Herbertson as well as the committee of the day. A huge thank you to all involved.

Thank you to Mick Coughlan, Martin Rogers in particular and Robert Matheson for the input and recollections in compiling this history of the club.
 

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