Two of Dunedin's elite bowlers will be remembered at the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Taieri Bowling Club this weekend.
Bill Cousins was a master tactician and one of the best fours skips in the history of Dunedin bowls.
He won 14 Dunedin titles and is the only male bowler from the Taieri club to represent New Zealand.
Taieri was formed in 1886 and was the third bowling club in Dunedin to open.
Bill Carswell joined the club in 1888 and established a formidable record over the next 46 years.
The New Zealand bowling championships were first held in Dunedin in 1914 and Carswell won three official titles - the singles in 1924 and 1934 and the fours in 1922.
But an unofficial national tournament was held before this and Carswell won the singles in 1892 and 1899, the pairs in 1892 and 1902 and the fours in 1888, 1891, 1902, 1907 and 1908.
The other New Zealand representative was Janet Swallow, who played three games for her country against Australia, Ireland and Scotland in 2001.
She was an accurate lead in her early years and won the New Zealand fours title in 1998 and was runner-up four years later.
Taieri's best male bowler in the past 25 years was Dave Archer, who won the New Zealand pairs title in 2007.
The club started the past 25 years in style by setting a world record of 100hr 1min for continuous bowls to enter Guinness World Records.
The team played 651 ends and the eight players in the two fours teams each delivered 20 tonnes of bowls.
The club has performed consistently in interclub competition and has won the Holmes Feathers and Bridgman Plate four times and the junior sevens six times in the past 25 years.
During that time, it has been the headquarters club for five New Zealand championships.
The last was held this season, when Alistair Keith's Taieri four reached the semifinal.
The club membership in its centenary year was 187 and it is 149 today.
This is a remarkable effort during a time when most bowling clubs in the country have lost many members.
One of the most loyal club members over the last 125 years has been Charles Burrell, who received his 50-year badge last year.
Jack Starkey and Bob Wylie received their 50-year badges in the centenary year of 1986.
Taieri Bowling Club
125th anniversary
Tonight: Get-together from 6pm.
Tomorrow: Interclub bowls and anniversary dinner (guest speaker Dr Dave Gerrard).
Sunday: Anniversary tournament, 10am to 3pm.
