Beryl & Theo Crowley Memorial Day 2024
In marked contrast to the chilly and damp conditions which greeted players in 2023, participants in this year’s Theo and Beryl Crowley Memorial Day were met with bright sunshine, blue skies and the promise of some real heat – something we have seen very little of so far this summer.
Each February, players gather from near and far (there was even a team from Hong Kong this year) to commemorate and celebrate the wonderful contribution Theo and Beryl Crowley made to the Pakenham Bowls Club over a period of many years. They were both life members, as is their son Gary (Crow) a long time servant of the club who carries on the family tradition. The Crowleys were not just icons of the club – they were an integral part of the foundation on which it was built. The bottom (Eastern) green was named in Theo’s honour.
As usual, in addition to a sizeable group of locals and the mix of players from other clubs, Gary’s nephew (and Theo and Beryl’s grandson) Peter Jonas, came up from Trafalgar for the day and there was also a contingent from Port Welshpool (always well represented), in recognition of the relationship created between the two clubs when Gary’s brother Geoff (dec) established an outpost of Clan Crowley in that town and later became a life member of its bowls club. It was pleasing to see a sea of colour with both greens almost filled.
Three games of ten ends were played with most participants treating it as a fun day while others almost took the event seriously – at one stage a skipper was even heard calling for an umpire – not exactly in the spirit of the event. In the end however, the light hearted approach was clearly the stand out winner.
There were no sheep stations on offer, although the Crowleys were quite generous with their sponsorship, providing prizes for outright first, second and third as well as best first, second and third game winners (not winning a major prize). Last year there was only one three game winner – this year there were five.
As usual, Gary Crowley acted as MC for the day, ably assisted by Peter Jonas. Gary is not getting any younger so he did have a sizeable sheaf of papers to aid his memory but he had trouble reading his own writing at times and Peter had to interpret – he and Peter took some time to remind their audience of the family’s history and assdociation with the club and to thank the many volunteers who had helped make the day possible and of course, all those who had turned up to play.
As is customary on this day, Faye Ritchie and her band of helpers provided a splendid afternoon tea which kept everone occupied while the organisers worked out who were the winners for the day and President Gian and his assistant drew the raffles (which, given the number of excellent prizes on offer, took an inordinate amount of time). Again, it was pleasing to see that members of the Crowley family who are not bowlers also attended for the presentations and a family get together.
The overall winners for 2024 were a composite triple: Jen “Chookle” Bainbridge (Pakenham), Victor Scicluna (Rosedale) and Paul Phillip (formerly Hoppers Crossing, now Pakenham). There were two triples for the day due to a team pulling out at the last minute. Second prize was collected by Peter Bott, Lindsay Stevenson, Charles Harris and Gwen Fabris while third went to Ned Courtin, Tina Courtin, Vince Bevilacqua and Luis Aguilar.
Well done to tournament director, Brian Norton and all the other volunteers who helped make this another successful event. This was the thirty-ninth “Crowley Day” (Gary must have done a countback as it was thought that last year was the thirty-ninth). Hopefully, next year being the fortieth, every one will turn up again to enjoy what will be a major milestone.
Des Leigh