May weddings, the Ernie Melville Trophy, and a strong Queensland Eire Cup campaign

Romance is in the air at Stephens! Bubbly, a lovely afternoon tea, pre-wedding cake and a bit of Croquet to boot to celebrate the May weddings of two couples within our club.

Kerry and Sid met on the Croquet court and Dan and Michelle on another medium. Congratulations to the happy couples and best of luck in the future.

Encouraging Division 3 and 4 Association Croquet players has become a tradition with the Ernie Melville Trophy in its second decade. This year the field was small but very enthusiastic. It looked like Mike Mabbutt would claim the trophy but, after several attempts, Brian Rubock took home the Division 3 trophy. Mike had his own reward in triggering to Division 2. Penny Verrall, who was initially unsure about entering, won the Division 4 section. A great effort from all players in beautiful conditions.

Ernie with Penny Verrall (Eildon).

Division 3: Ernie with the winner, Brian Rubock (Stephens).

Go Queenslanders. We are so proud of the Team that recently competed in the Eire Cup, many of whom are members of Stephens.

Under the leadership of Captain, Jacky Lynch (Stephens), Yuni Rowell (Coolangatta), Heather Knight (Stephens), Kathie Grant (Southport/Stephens), Sarah Widin (The Range Maleny), Vice Captain Shane Davis (Windsor), Dave Luxmoore (Burleigh Heads Palm Beach), Chris Borlase (Stephens), Greg Bury (Windsor) and Greg Whymark (Bribie Island) travelled to Perth for an intense 5 days of Association Croquet against a very tough collection of players from the other five states. Unfortunately, we had to leave the Reserves, Bruce Ford and Elaine Berridge (both Stephens), at home.

The Australian Women's and Men's Singles are also held before the Eire Cup. This year, Heather continued this SILVER theme when she made it to the Final of the Women's Singles against Alison Sharpe, the now seven-time winner of this event.

In the days before most of the team arrived, Shane Davis played exceptionally well to upgrade his ACA Queensland Bronze Medal to SILVER!

Shane Davis (Windsor) with his ACA Silver Medal.

Alison Sharpe (NSW), 7-time Australian Women's Champion, with Runner-up Heather Knight, who was also Queensland Player of the Series.

Back to the Eire Cup. At the end of each match, the Team gathered to discuss the day and vote for Player of the Day. Our debutante Sarah, was the clear winner on Day 1 after winning her first Game for Queensland.

Eire Cup debutante, Sarah Widin (The Range Maleny), Day 1 Player of the Day.

On Day 5 Chris Borlase gave us the best finish to not only the day but the campaign. Chris did not know if his game would determine the result of the match against SA, the difference between 3rd and 4th overall. He played some elegant Croquet to eventually peg-out and the rest of the Queensland Team who had assembled by the court went WILD.

As well as receiving many messages from home, the Team was supported by several Queensland spectators including Croquet Queensland President, Michael Eddiehausen, and former state rep and pilot Keith Willamson (Eildon) who arranged his flights on one day so he could be in Perth and drop in. Team cohesion plus good preparation plus support equals a satisfying result.

What is possibly the best part of travelling for Croquet: catching up with Croquet friends from across Australia.

Heather Knight

By Heather Knight. From the Croquet Newsletter, May/June 2026, pages 31-34.