There are exactly three croquet balls approved for tournament play anywhere in the world. Two of them are made in Australia. One of those comes out of a shed in Humpty Doo, a suburb of Darwin most people know only because of the jumping crocodile tours down the road.

The ABC News clip above covers Paul Manwaring making Dawson croquet balls in his Humpty Doo shed (2018). Also on CroquetVideos.

Paul Manwaring was a school gardener in the Northern Territory, doing plastering work on the side. He went south to Melbourne to visit his parents, played croquet at a local club, and heard that the business making Australia's croquet balls 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. You heat the mix, stir it, mould it, and press it into shape. Three hours later, you prise the ball from its case.

Manwaring ships from that shed to more than 300 Australian clubs, and to clubs in Canada, 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, 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. Most Queensland clubs are already playing with Dawson balls, so for many readers this is the ball you already know from the court.

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

A set costs A$990 delivered within Australia. Stock is currently sold out; contact admin@invictusmallets.com for availability or bulk orders.

The third option comes from Taiwan. Richard Wu's Sunshiny CQ-16 carries WCF approval for 1st and 2nd colours, currently listed to November 2025, with renewal pending. One thing worth noting: only the CQ-16 series meets championship standard. Other Sunshiny models do not. There is no Australian retailer; most clubs order through the Croquet England shop, 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 Association 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?.