Coin tea marks re-opening of the club's lawns

There was a large gathering at the West Toowoomba Croquet Club lawns, in Rome-street, yesterday afternoon, when a coin tea was held to celebrate the re-opening of the club after several weeks recess to allow the lawns to be top-dressed. Tea was served in the Bowling Club pavilion, which was decorated with strings of small, bright flags, and red and white ribbons, and the tables were beautified with roses, carnations and gerberas, artistically arranged in silver and crystal bowls. Croquet competitions were played on the lawns, which are now in excellent condition, and looked most attractive, when seen from the entrance, across the flowering rose hedges which flank the bowling green adjoining. Mrs. A. T. Parrot (President of the Club) received the visitors in a frock of pearl grey voile, printed in a heavy, red and bottle green conventional design, and finished with a row of small red buttons in the centre of a kilted frilled vest. Her hat of cream crinoline straw was banded with fine silver lace caught in with a black and wedgewood ribbon. Mrs. M. Carmody (vice-president) wore a black crepe de Chine gown featuring an apron flounce of pleated oriental silk, finished with a guipure lace collar, and she wore a mauve hat trimmed with mauve flowers. Mrs. T. L. Fryar (vice-president) chose a floral patterned foulard frock, finished with insertion, and a black hat, and Mrs. W. A. Bain wore a white hat banded with delf blue ribbon with her dainty frock of ivory and delf patterned voile, relieved with plain white material. Mrs. J. M. Johnson (secretary) wore a polished brown lace hairstraw hat with her white georgette gown, and Mrs. Bridgeman (treasurer) was in a white embroidered linen dress, with which she wore a white tagel hat. The Mayoress (Mrs. J. D. Annand) chose a sand printed voile gown banded with coral and a brown Tuscan straw hat. Noticed in the gathering, in addition to those already mentioned, were Mesdames W. Miller, Frank Hooper, E. Villaume, W. Seeley, F. [?C.] M. Burne, Edward Cleary, Gerald [?Smithwick], Norman O'Kelly, H. F. O'Brien, C. [?Fortescue], M. Corbett, J. J. [?Petford], Beirnie Beirne, Edward [?Perkins], Fred M'Leod, W. Barnes, [?Atherton], R. K. Millar, V. [?Langmead], W. [?Cattanach], M'Lean, Stewart, Misses [?Backmann], M'Phie, Powell, [?Rosenbergel], Marjorie Boys, Loretta [?Parrot], Olive Barnes, R. [?Fryar], [?Atkinson], and many others.

The article as it was printed in The Toowoomba Chronicle, 26 November 1926. Scan from Trove, National Library of Australia. (Trove, National Library of Australia)