Memories of the Yallourn Tennis Club by Murray French

MEMORIES OF THE YALLOURN TENNIS CLUB
By MURRAY FRENCH

Murray French grew up in Yallourn and is regarded as one of Gippsland’s greatest all –time tennis players. Murray’s name has dominated tennis circles for more than 50 years and he has won many titles and championships during his long and auspicious career. In 2015 he was inducted into the Latrobe Sporting Hall of Fame…

"Our first legend is Murray French, honoured for his outstanding tennis career. Murray has been a force in tennis since the 1950s claiming the Latrobe Valley Singles Championships twenty-five times until 1988, a record that still stands. Moving into the veterans' age group, he represented Australia nine times including wins at the World Team Championships and World Doubles Championships in 2007. He was the Australian Captain in 1999, 2002 and 2004.”

Murray was also a brilliant ruckman for the Yallourn Football Club and a story about his career with the Blues can also be found on this website.

Sincere thanks to Murray for recording these wonderful memories of his days at Yallourn Tennis Club. This is his story…

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Yallourn Tennis Club
By Murray French

At about 12 years of age I lived in Latrobe Avenue. Peter Tibballs lived down the road in Meadow Lane. We used to get together and mainly kick the footy and play cricket. Peter’s father was always playing with us and one day he invited us down to the Yallourn Tennis Club. Little did I realise how that moment would start something that went on for the next sixty years. Mr Arthur Tibballs was a wonderful man and a very good tennis player and his enjoyment of the game rubbed off on both Peter and I.

At about this time my Father took me down to watch the local Yallourn New Year Tournament. I vividly remember that we had to pay two shillings to watch the tennis. This would be the only time that I ever saw an entry fee charged to watch a country tournament. I never realised at the time that The Yallourn Open Tennis Tournament was the biggest and best in country Victoria. Time has flown and some of the men who won this event will be remembered by a few, however, I will name some of the Title Holders for old time sake. Ken McGregor, Ron Brophy, Rex Hartwig and Bob Marks all played Davis Cup for Australia; however there were many more wonderful players who played in and won this event.

As a young kid my favourite was Paul Hearndon who won the event six times. At this stage I must apologise to the ladies but as a young boy, my attention was always focused on the men.

It didn’t take long before I became a fully fledged and active junior member at a cost of 15 shillings. I will never forget the kindness that was displayed to me. The place was alive with activity and if there was ever an opportunity, you would be invited to play with the senior players.

Every evening in the summer it would be a race to get home and down to the courts. There would be about forty kids with the same idea and if you weren’t quick enough, you would miss out on a court. Us kids would only have the courts until 4.45pm, then we would have to vacate the courts for the seniors.

When we went to tennis we did have a serious concern - our caretaker, who back then seemed a very old man, who we all called Pop. He took great care in keeping the courts in tip top shape. He would always be bagging and watering and if we did anything to upset his routine, he would chase us and quite frankly, he had us all scared stiff. Looking back he did a terrific job and our courts were always the envy of our neighbours. Can you imagine a tennis club with an on site caretaker today?

I’m not sure of the date but I’ll guess and say around about 1958, it was decided to dig up our courts and replace them with concrete. This was a big move but it was necessary as maintenance was becoming too much. It’s amazing how I can still remember Mrs Carlisle saying that she would have to retire because of the extra wear and tear on her body. I don’t know how old I was at the time but I was so disappointed for her as she was such a wonderful tennis player.

I wish I had the skills to convey to you just what a wonderful place Yallourn Tennis Club was. People had as much fun after tennis as they did on the court. They had these Butchers Fridges in the men’s dressing rooms and they supplied all the necessary requirements for all to have a good time.
We all knew our place and everything was wonderfully organised and everyone just enjoyed themselves. I remember just being there and enjoying an atmosphere that taught me so much.

A highlight of the year would be the three inter-town matches we would play against Maffra, Yarram and Bairnsdale. We would play them once each year and alternate the venue from one year to the next. Places were highly sought after, twelve ladies and twelve men. There were always more players than positions and a place in the team was highly sought after. My how things have changed !

When I first started, Mr Jim Hill would give all us kids tennis lessons each Monday evening. He was an absolute gentleman and a wonderful tennis player and I had the honour of playing in a pennant team with him.

Stan Brown also was a tremendous influence and helped me enormously. Stan organised for me to attend a clinic at Kooyong when I was about thirteen and he gave me ten shillings to help me with the expense. Norm Meadows was also a great friend and partner.

When the juniors started playing senior tennis, we would be placed in a team with a number one man. During this time my mentors were: Bob McDonald, Bob Dinsdale and Bob Crookston.

If only. I often wish if only I had the opportunity to thank all the people who showed a genuine interest and care for me when I first went down to the club. I guess we are all a bit like that. I do try to help the juniors, so I guess that would please them.

I know it is crazy to mention names and I know I will leave some great names out, but here are a few that would be in my Yallourn Tennis Club Hall of Fame:
Max Sparrow, Bob Dinsdale, Jim Hill, Austin Lynch, Bob Crookston, Leon Melbourne, Bob McDonald, Stan Brown, Tom McAllister, Don McAllister, David Nicholson, Jack Carlisle, Dick Hurley and Keith Lawton.
Mrs Lorna Carlisle, Mrs Bowen, Mrs Doris Langdon, Mrs Sonja Bates, Mrs Norma Hutchinson, Mrs Joan Lee, Mrs Donnett, Mrs Jill Bickerton (Carlisle), Corrine Hurley, Mrs Ashmore and Mrs Ashmead.

And of course all our Life Members: C H Kernot, J Carlisle, J Hutchinson, V Gore, H Martin, Mrs Carlisle, J Hill, R Dinsdale, T McAllister and W Johnston.

It was a privilege to be part of this great club and I hope some of the names mentioned will bring back some pleasant memories.

Murray French
July 2015