Country club stalwarts awarded life membership

Doubling the list of ‘lifers’: John Tremaine (left) and Les Rougham are new lifetime members of...
Doubling the list of ‘lifers’: John Tremaine (left) and Les Rougham are new lifetime members of the Mandeville Country Club.
Longstanding Mandeville Country Club members John Tremaine and Les Rougham have doubled the list of lifetime members with their recent appointments to the post.
The club was first formed in 1988 after the loss of the town's church, school and pub.


With nowhere to gather, a sense of community was lost and, after petitioning Dominion Breweries to reinstate the pub's licence failed, the people of Mandeville took the matter into their own hands.


An old shed on the property of Dennis Soper served as the first incarnation of the club, as some citizens in the town objected to a licensed premises being set up as an extension of the community hall.


From these humble beginnings, membership and a groundswell of support in the town grew, forcing an upgrade to larger premises.


The club moved to the site of the old Mandeville pub until two acres of land, where the original flour mill once stood, were donated by Heather McLeod. The current club building was built on the land in late 1990.


The Mandeville Country Club is now an incorporated society with 113 members and four lifetime members.


The Mandeville Country Club provides ‘‘cheap drinks, good fellowship and a place to meet and talk and keep our community together'', Mr Tremaine said.


‘‘Without the local support this club has received from past members, we wouldn't be here and that would be a huge loss to the community,'' he said.


Mr Tremaine is the oldest Mandeville Country Club member.


Mr Rougham moved to the area from Te Tipua 29 years ago and has been a member and supporter of the club from its inception.

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