About
Wingate Park Country Club
general history
Necessity is the mother of invention and so it was with Wingate. Early in 1945 a small band of energetic people comprising – Leon Falkson, Edgar Goldblum, Sam Hyde, Harry Meyers and Tommy Unterhalter met to discuss an idea submitted by Edgar and Harry namely, the establishment of a Jewish Club in Pretoria where all persons would be welcome irrespective of their position or creed. These five men then pledged themselves to see that their nebulous dream was brought to fruition, and proceeded to find a suitable site.
In 1947 it was ascertained that the Hamilton’s farm would be up for auction and they decided this would be a suitable site. On the day prior to the sale, a special meeting was called by Sam Hyde and amid much enthusiasm the persons present approved the scheme and all would assist in the raising of funds for the establishment of a Club. Leon Falkson was to attend the auction and was authorised to purchase the land at a fixed peak price.
Leon, using his own discretion purchased the farm for £19 750, having exceeded the entrusted limit – and now ways and means were set in motion to pay for this scheme.
A general meeting was arranged and the following resolutions were adopted:
- “A Club is born and must have a name”.
- It was decided to name the Club after Brigadier Orde Wingate (see below) and was to bear the title “Wingate Park Country Club”.
- The following committee was elected to provide ways and means of taking the necessary transfer of the ground:
- Chairman – S. Hyde, Vice-Chairman – L. Falkson, Secretary – Z.Goldblatt, Treasurer – H. MeyersFour Trustees elected: P. Harris, B. Cohen, L. Falkson and J.S. Unterhalter, who undertook to provide a guarantee to the banks of £2 000 immediately.
- A drive to start immediately to obtain funds for the financing of the enterprise.
( In 1937 Captain Orde Wingate – later Brigadier Wingate of Burma fame arrived in Palestine. He came as a young intelligence officer, but already possessed of unorthodox ideas in strategy, which made his Chindit Campaign one of the most brilliant adventures of the war. Apart from having his own ideas about strategy, Wingate was a fervent Zionist of a mystical band. After an arduous struggle, he obtained permission to train Jewish youths for his “Special Night Squads” and to lead with their help, his own guerrilla war against the Arab gangs.
He played an important part in the events in Palestine and to the Jews he became the most popular Englishman since Balfour. Stories about Wingate made the rounds, but after his death in Burma, grew into legends – and it is to this outstanding man that tribute was paid in naming our Club.)
The fundraising began with a picnic on Sunday 13th July 1947 which was a great success, attended by over 1000 people.
Work commenced immediately and the old farm house (3 interconnected rondavels) which was considerably altered to provide a dining room, cloakrooms, bar and kitchen. A large patio was built around the front of the house and in 1948 a liquor licence was granted to the Club.
Work was hampered by the inadequate water supply and it was decided to drill for a borehole, water finally being reached after drilling to great depths. (The Club now has an extensive water reticulation system and it is interesting to note that the source of the Moreletaspruit is a spring across the entrance road from the 9th fairway.)
Sports & Activities
Riding:
The first section to be established was the Riding Section under the Chairmanship of Sam Frank. A successful Gymkhana Race Meeting was held on 31st May 1948 and later a polo field was built.
Tennis:
In 1948 six tennis courts were constructed under the Chairmanship of I. Freidland. The courts were regarded as the finest in the country. At this stage the total club membership was 185.(At present in 2017 the membership is just over 1000.)
Bowls:
The next section was a very strong Bowls Section, under the first Chairmanship of Mr Josie Schewitz, which was immediately affiliated to the various associations. The Club started with two greens donated by and named after Mr Morris Myers and Mr Selesnick and later it became necessary to lay a further three greens.
Fire:
On the evening of the 14th October 1948 the Club received a terrible blow when a fire completely gutted the old Clubhouse. (It was coincidental that on exactly the same date, 14th October 2017 the 70th celebration dinner was held exactly 69 years later.) At a special General Meeting immediately after the fire, the members instructed the committee to proceed with the erection of a new Clubhouse at a cost of £30 000.
A building committee was appointed comprising: L. Falkson, L. Zinn, J. Lazarus, S. Behr and E. Goldblum. Oscar Hurwitz was commissioned to prepare the plans. Work commenced in August 1950 and at a ceremony on the 21st November 1950 Sam Hyde and Leon Falkson laid the Foundation stones of the new existing building. In the early days the only access was from the Delmas Road but later with the Wingate Park development the present access was created. This resulted in the Club being 10km closer to Pretoria.
Cricket:
In November 1948 a Cricket Section was formed and a cricket pitch was constructed south of the golf course together with a hockey field.
Swimming:
During 1950/1951 a tiled swimming pool was built correctly measured in yards and metres conforming to international standards for swimming and diving. This was on the present covered parking site and the present staff quarters were originally the “Wingrill” cafeteria.
This was a very popular amenity for the Club and for families enjoying a day and lunch at the pool while Dad played golf. It also served as the halfway house for golfers.
Golf:
A Golf Course was essential and in 1950 Mr Tim Guthrie was employed to carry out the scheme. Mr A Tomsett designed the lay-out for an 18 Hole course and Mr Dave Guthrie was asked to assist in an advisory capacity. The Club was most fortunate in obtaining the assistance of Mr Allison, the world famous golf architect who was visiting South Africa at the time. The course was completed and opened for play in April 1951 by a committee chaired by Dotkie Hack. In 1962,Selwyn Schewitz, later to become Golf Chairman, offered reduced rates to the University of Pretoria and so Wingate became the unofficial Tukkie golf course.
A nucleus of Tukkie golfers was formed in 1962 under the administration of Prof. Wim Skinner which soon grew to a regular Saturday 16 players and the group decided on the name “Windvoëls”. The Windvoëls have the record of playing continuously at the Club since 1962 (60 years in 2022) and were led by the founder member Wim Skinner for 54 years until he sadly passed away in April 2016.
Originally the first and second nines were reversed and in the early 60’s were changed to what they are now. A copy of the original score card is attached. The first golf pro was Jock Black who was responsible for the waterhole at the 2nd.
In 1975 John Hayes took over as golf pro and was assisted by George Schwartzel. John Hayes became club manager in 1980 and Mike Schewitz took over as golf pro until 1983 when Simon Hobday took over for two years. Eugene van Wyk and Anton Nel were the golf pros until 1992 when Shane Hayes arrived on the 1st March 1992 and celebrating 30 years with the club in 2022.
Over the years a few changes were made to the course, one was when De Villebois road cut through the course and cut off the 14th tee which was on the koppie south of the road. Another change was the new water feature on the 9th and 18th holes as well as the irrigation dam on the 4th, all of which were designed by Mike Silberman and which he had constructed in 2002.
Road Runners:
A Road Running Club was formed in 1988 as one of the sport sections and now has a membership of 101.
In addition to all the sporting facilities offered to the members, the Club boasted its own Theatre Section as well as a Social Section organised for the entertainment of the Club.