CockleBayPetanqueClub   Petanque and Politics

The Cockle Bay terrains of which 10 were laid by the Manukau City Council in 1994 (this has since been expanded to 12 by the club). An open day was held to mark the occasion on December the 11th 1994. The council was very keen to include Pétanque in its sports festival held every year in February, and needed terrains.

About The Grounds.

We are situated between The Scout Hall and Windross Restaurant, near the end of Cockle Bay Beach. The playing area is sheltered from most winds and a lovely Oak tree provides shade on hot summer days. The 12 playing areas are well defined, and easy to play on, the surface being a mixture of fine gravel, crusher dust and some shell. (In March 2009 the Council has topped up the surface with a more challenging GAP 20 gravel) very much like the Herne Bay Club. There are well situated seats around the terrains, but most people bring their own chairs and afternoon tea materials.

PS.outside of club designated times members of the general public are encouraged to play or practice on these Council owned terrains in the Cockle Bay Reserve.

M.C.C. has build 3 more Pétanque venues, Papatoetoe, Kawakawa Bay, Huntington Estate (East Tamaki area)& Crowford Park, Picton Str. in Howick.

The Cockle Bay Pétanque club was established on October the 11th 1995.

The Club presently has about 43 members of which six are lifemembers, the majority of are members are 60+ with a number of competitive players for a good mix of play, a majority of them playing each Wednesday and Sunday from 1.30pm (wintertime) at 5.00pm (summertime).

Play generally takes the form of non-competitive social type (doubles) games. 3 games per afternoon/evening with a random draw for a new partner each game. $1.00 per afternoon/evening, with a $5.00 reward for the highest score, $4.00 for the next highest score and so on.

New members and visitors are always very welcome, boules are available for anyone willing to play and coaching is provided By Warren or Alan if requested.

Our Club is affiliated to Pétanque New Zealand.

The Club also organises one open tournament per year, usually on the first Sunday in January, this proves a very popular event with the wider Auckland Pétanque Community.

We also take part in the Annual Auckland Region Interclub competition and National competitions organised by the PNZ, (Petanque New Zealand)

Club member only tournaments are held every once a month, Refer to our Cockle Bay Calendar, different formats like singles, doubles or triples or drawn partners. 3 games are played and a final between the two highest score teams. We encourage club members to make up their own team and compete for Cash Prizes.

To assist with our support for better pétanque, we regularly contribute to the travel expenses of the National Triples Champions (Ladies & Mens) when they travel to compete in the World championship.

History of Cockle Bay Pétanque.

A personal recollection, written by Rita de Beer

Our first contact with pétanque was in the early nineties on a visit back home to the Netherlands.

Quite a number of our relatives, young and old, had joined the local Pétanque Club, and they were all very enthusiastic about the game, we had a couple of games. My hometown is situated close to the Belgium border, where the game had been played for many years, and many dutch people spend their summer holidays, camping in the south of France, where they were introduced to a game of pétanque with the local people. These are reasons the game became very popular with the folks back home.

Back in New Zealand, we were wondering why this popular outdoor game was not known in NZ. The climate was ideal, lots of open places and parks are available where this game could be played.

Although I think that in Europe more walkways and public pathways are covered with small pebbles ideal surface for the game of pétanque, in NZ however they prefer to concrete their footpaths. That’s why I think Devonport’s King Edward Parade walkway comes close to the public open spaces of France.

One Sunday afternoon walking in Cornwall park we noticed some french people playing pétanque in a corner not far from the barbeque area, that was our first encounter with the game in NZ.

The first sign of publicity appeared in the Herald Nov 1993 about a tournament held at Victoria Park for the first time with about 40 players taking part.

One Sunday evening (end1993) we heard something mentioned in the sport section of the six o’clock News. With our curiosity being stirred we called the station the next day and asked where the item had been filmed and who the reporter was. We were referred to Jane Dent the reporter of the pétanque story. She informed us that we should get in touch with a Dr. Campbell Calder from Devonport and he would be able to help us further. Trying to get in touch with Cam proved very difficult, finally after some time got to talk to him and he suggested to come to the next tournament which was to be held at the Puhoi Domain at the Agriculture Show Sunday the 13^th February 1994. Jean Claude Rapon is the organiser, please send a cheque of $10.- p.p. to secretary. I don’t remember a lot of our first pétanque competition, only that is was played on a very rough surface and very muddy surroundings, being an agriculteral show at the same time.

March 1994, I rang the local paper and asked if they would advertise the fact that I was looking for players interested in pétanque (French Bowls) to get in touch with me and possibly set up a club in East Auckland. Because Peter and I liked the game very much but having to travel to the centre of Auckland (Victoria Park) for a game did not appeal to us. I received many calls after that advert but mainly to enquire what was this game of pétanque all about? What is pétanque? Because no one had ever heard of this game before. But one particular phone call stood out, that of Beverly Emson.

She told me, she had been to New Caledonia on a holiday with students from the University for a french language study trip, to boost her french and bought a set of boules, while passing their time at the airport to fly back to NZ, but the set of boules ended up at the bottom of the wardrobe for eight long years! She was pleased to be able to finally use them and learn more about the game. She asked her husband (Buster) if he would like to meet us, but at the time he was more interested in croquet she said. Putting the receiver down I thought this is a phone number I have to remember, because she sounds really interested to set up a club in East Auckland with us.

We got in touch again a couple of weeks later and decided to have a game at the end of Cockle Bay Beach under the big overhanging Pohutukawa, a sheltered flat terrain, covered with some shell, ideal for a game of pétanque. You can get quite easily hooked on the game because it is so simple to learn, you don’t need to be very fit, and you don’t require a lot of equipment or special clothing.

Peter and I had already looked around Cockle Bay for a suitable site, should we be so lucky to get the Council interested at some stage. We had found this big grassed area between the Scout Hall and Windross Restaurant ideal for a future pétanque terrain, maybe 10 terrains. Not realising that it was being used by the Scouts for outdoor games.

In the meantime we entered in several pétanque competitions, or would go to Victoria Park on a Thursday afternoon and join in a game with whoever was there at the time, Chris Priestley was often to be found there, at the time we didn’t realise what a vital part he had played in the early days of pétanque in NZ and the Atomic café. The Café had their own piste and was being used by many enthousiasts every Saturday morning and continues to be so until this day.

The first major event was the North Shore Masters Games held at Victoria Park, March 1994. Participation was beyond expectation, and a good promotion for pétanque in NZ, no doubt Cam Calder had a hand in this promotion and also Gavin Campbell who was involved through the sales of leisure sports goods and pétanque boules. At the same time lots of activities involving pétanque were happening inj Auckland. For us, life without the game was unimaginable from this point onwards!

The next competition (triplettes) was to be held in Auckland at Devonport King Edward Parade 1^st May 1994, Beverly and Buster, still a bit shy in playing the “Big Guns”, would come along to watch and see what it was all about. On arrival the competition were a couple of players short to makeup 32 teams, would Bus & Bev please be so kind…? Beverly and Buster reluctantly agreed to play, at the end of the day they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were hooked for life!!!! Made many friends along the way since then.

While I was away on holiday that year for 3 months in Holland, more people became involved in trying to establish a terrain in East Auckland, Cam sought contact with the Manukau Council Parks and in June of 1994 Beverly send of a letter to Barry Curtis the mayor of Manukau regarding the feasibility of constructing a pétanque terrain. The letter was passed on to the manager of Manukau Parks.

MCC 2.bmp

On my return we had an appointment for a meeting with the Howick Community Board on the 5^{th of} September 1994. Like their North Shore City counterparts, Manukau City was preparing a Festival of Sports in February 1995 and were keen to include as many sports as possible with the participation of as many people as possible from the South Auckland area in the 10 day event. With that in mind Beverly, Buster, Lesley, Tony, Rita & Peter went to the Howick Community Board Meeting, We had about half an hour to sell our idea, during which I showed the steel boules and some info from previously held tournaments at Victoria Park. We highlighted the fact that, if we did not have a terrain to play pétanque on in the Manukau City area at the next planned Festival of Sports, February 1995, we were forced to play at Victoria Park in the Auckland City. The Board members didn’t like the sound of that and immediately agreed to invest in constructing a terrain, Ross Webster, the reporting officer at the time was on hand to explain what was involved to construct such a terrain and at what cost, approximately $2,000.00, to be funded from Manukau Parks, local players to organise the maintenance of the terrain.. That evening The Howick Community Board approved the pitch go in next to the Scout hall at Cockle Bay beach and try it out for one year. A working party will be established to look for a permanent site in liason with the players. The pitch will be 15mx30m with a surface of crushed shell, and shall be available for casual play only-no tournaments.

Local residents had their doubts about the success of such a pétanque club in their neighbourhood, it could just be a nine-day wonder and would add to parking problems no doubt and why next to a restaurant? Wine and pétanque is a lethal mix!!! Isn’t it? The local Scout group were not too happy either, they were about to loose a playing field.

The decision of the Community Board that evening in 1994 to invest $2000.00 has been the best investment for the community ever. Construction on the site began November 1994 and finished the same month. For nearly 13 years now we have played on that terrain twice a week, summer and winter, rain or shine, hundreds of people have enjoyed many games, at it’s peak we had 105 members, many people comment on the beautiful situation by the sea, and when the Puhukawa trees are in bloom at the beginning of December it is a spectacular site.

The Club has kept the terrain in tip top condition, by topping it up with gravel from time to time, the Council has added 2 seats, supplied timber for seating all around the terrain, added 2 more terrains.

11 December 1994 Opening Day. Councillors of the Howick Community Board were invited, Manukau Parks Manger, Ross Webster, Mr Pétanque himself (Cam) and members of the public.

It was a great day, everyone enjoyed themselves and many people signed up to become a member.

We started with a charge of $2.00 per member. After playing for about 10 months, we held a meeting

outside the Scout Hall and the members present decided to become officially a club: “The Cockle Bay Pétanque Club” and we would wear light blue poloshirts with a printed logo on the back. Charge $5.00 per member and pay every playing day $1.00. Not much has changed to this day . We still play twice a week, membership has changed from $5.00 to $11.00 including PNZ affiliation fees. And still $1.00 p.p. on a club afternoon. We play 3 games, anyone who wins 3 games receives a cash price.

Names of people who became a member that first day 11 Dec. 1994: Bev & Buster, Peter & myself, Gwen & James Hunter, Valerie & Edgar Wallace, Trish & Brendan Meyer, Marjorie & Barbara Mclean, Isobel Boyd, Elaine & Bob O’Hara, Marie Moebus, June & John Shane, Peggy Smith, Ken Hall, Debby Butterworth, Jeannette & Cliff Owler, Jill & Rex Wood, Colin Jones, John & Garrick Lloyd, Joan & Don Skidmore, Marie & Vic Fenton, Stan Sexton, the Davis family, and many many more. Most have remained with the Cockle Bay Club, some have passed on to the big Petanque pitch above us, (where we all shoot carreaus all the time), others have created new clubs, like Colin Jones in Papatoetoe, & Marie Moebus in Ngunguru Bay near Whangarei, Others have moved to other places within NZ and are still playing with other clubs.

My fondest memory is of the day when in May 1996 we did enter a charity pétanque triples competition at Victoria Park, Cam Calder had arranged with the local radio station, when we (Peter, Isobel Boyd & me) had to play the final that day against Jean Caude, his son, and somebody else (sorry I have forgotten his name) It was getting late and dark. The final score was to be decided at the last shot, Isobel the only one with a boule left had to get the boule nearest the cochonette otherwise the game would have been over for us, imagine dark, cold, windy, Isobels sight not the best, tension all over….. she placed the boule beautifully next to the coche, fantastic result never to be forgotten!!

October 2007

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