The three croquet balls: Dawson, Invictus, and Sunshiny

Three croquet balls appear on the world list for tournament play. Two of them are made in Australia. One of those comes out of a shed in Humpty Doo, in rural Darwin, on a dusty street just down the road from the jumping crocodile tours.

An ABC News clip shows Paul Manwaring making Dawson croquet balls in his Humpty Doo shed (2018). You can watch it on CroquetVideos.

Paul Manwaring was a school gardener in the Northern Territory, doing plastering work on the side. While playing croquet in Melbourne with his parents, he came across the business that made Australia's croquet balls, and found it was for sale.

The owner was Bryan Dawson, a legendary player who had created the formula and been trying to sell the business for years. Manwaring bought it. He spent a week with Dawson learning the craft, then moved the whole operation north to Humpty Doo.

The process is built around a secret plastic recipe. The mix is heated, stirred, moulded and pressed into shape. Three hours later, the ball is prised from its case.

Manwaring ships from that shed to more than 300 Australian clubs, and to clubs in Canada, America, New Zealand, England and South Africa. He is, as ABC put it in 2018, one of only a handful of people in the world doing this.

The current ball is the Mk III, released in 2024. You can tell it from the older Mk II by a hand-drawn black circle inside the Dawson 2000 lettering. New moulds are being commissioned, and the marking is a stopgap. It is WCF-approved for 1st colours until November 2026, and for 2nd colours until April 2027.

A set of four costs A$550 delivered within Australia, with a 4-5 week manufacturing lead time. Tertiary colours are available at the same price: off-white, aqua, orange and maroon.

The newest arrival is the Invictus, made in Melbourne by Robert Fletcher. Fletcher is the world number one in Association Croquet. He designed this ball himself, alongside his Invictus Mallets brand. The company was registered in July 2024, and the ball received WCF and Croquet England Championship approval in October 2024.

A set costs A$990 direct from the maker, plus postage. Stock is currently sold out. Contact admin@invictusmallets.com for availability.

The third option comes from Taiwan. Richard Wu's Sunshiny CQ-16 is approved for 1st and 2nd colours to February 2029. Only the CQ-16 series meets championship standard. Other Sunshiny models do not. There is no Australian retailer. The ball is sold through Croquet England, where a set of four comes to roughly A$774 before international freight.

At a glance, the three current options:

Dawson Mk III: A$550/set delivered, 4-5 week lead time. dawsonballs.store

Invictus: A$990/set, currently sold out. Contact admin@invictusmallets.com

Sunshiny CQ-16: approximately A$774/set plus international freight. Via Croquet England (croquetengland.org.uk)

All three carry current WCF and Croquet England approval. If you want to compare notes with other clubs, or find out whether anyone in Queensland has played with Sunshiny or Invictus balls, there is a thread open on ClubHub: Which balls does your club use?.