Contributed by David Kerr
A RECENT trip to Melbourne enabled a visit to the Australian Sports Museum.
The Museum showcases our diverse sporting culture, in addition to the 1956 Olympic Cauldron and a hologram of Shane Warne spinning a few tales, there are over 95 different sports featured.
However, the nadir for this intermediate player from the Range was that there is next to nothing about the noble sport of croquet.
There is not a mallet, hoop, ball or peg to be seen.
The only reference to croquet was the name Tom Howat amongst many others on the national sports “Wall of Fame”.
In frustration I looked to Google and the World Croquet Federation. It turns out Thomas William Howat was the best Australian croquet player of his generation.
Born in 1912 he won nine Australian Championships between 1955 and 1968, a total which remains unmatched.
But it took him a while to get into croquet, being a middle-distance runner, and a competitive billiards, tennis, golf, chess and bowls player.
At first, the bowls maintained his greatest interest.
However, his wife, Isobel, was a member of Brunswick Croquet Club and, when waiting for Isobel after bowls, he became intrigued by the techniques, tactics and challenges of croquet.
Tom was a natural player and quickly progressed to become one of Victoria and Australia’s leading players. He won the Queensland singles in 1966 and 1970, and the doubles in 1966 and 1972.
Tom’s achievements in croquet were recognised when he was inducted into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
Tom was a left hander with an Irish grip and a distinctive right foot forward, left foot back stance.
He contributed as a player, authority, administrator and coach and rightfully has a place at the National Sports Museum.
Should you like to “move on” from bowls, golf, tennis or billiards and discover the joy of croquet, then please call our club on 0417640704.