Saturday's event for a Dubbo sporting group's 100th anniversary this month is on hold until members can come together to organise a new date.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dubbo's croquet club is instead going to celebrate the occasion "COVID-style".
Muller Park Tennis and Croquet Club president Patricia Shanks said they had organised a Zoom hook-up with members so they could mark the occasion on Saturday.
During September the Daily Liberal will continue to profile club members and significant moments.
First president
Mrs TD Palmer - Florence Elizabeth Palmer nee Fuller
Mrs T D Palmer was president at the formation of Dubbo's croquet club in 1921 and played a major part in the development of the group.
She held the position of president for 33 years, the longest-serving committee member in the club's 100-year history.
An extract from Against All the Odds by Bryan Fuller, published in 2016:
Flo met her future husband, Thomas Draper Palmer whilst staying with Ada and Billy Baird as Thomas, a cattle dealer, was also a native of Dubbo, having moved there from Bathurst.
They got married in April 1898 at Dunmore, Kiama.
Flo and Tom started their married life living at Corodgery, a house (no longer standing) in Fitzroy Street Dubbo given to them by her father.
Whilst living there, they had six children: George Thomas 'Bryan' (1899), Norman 'Nap' (1900), Floss 'Tib' (1901), Marj (1903), Alison (1905), and Ruth 'Bon' (1910).
Apart from raising the family, Flo became very involved in various organisations in Dubbo. She was a keen church-goer and very involved in the CWA, Red Cross and Hospital Auxiliary.
She was instrumental in establishing the croquet club and was its president for many years.
Tom bought more blocks of land around Dubbo and by about 1918 they had around 3000 acres in the area.
At about this time, they moved to "Holmwood" an old house on about 500 acres on the southern outskirts of Dubbo. This house is still in the family and is occupied and has been well maintained by Flo's youngest grandson, David Gavel and his wife and family.
Flo and Tom lived comfortably at "Holmwood" until 1934 when Tom died suddenly, aged 67. Flo stayed on at "Holmwood" with her two unmarried daughters until she passed away in 1954.
She was especially fond of and lived by the following words of Stephen Grellet:
"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing therefore, I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News