It was the Whitianga Senior Citizens annual indoor bowling competition for the Benjamin Robert Skinner Cup. It is best known as the Buffalo Cup because the teak timber from which the cup was made was recovered from the HMS Buffalo shipwreck in 1936.
The cup was made in memory of Mr. Skinner who desired to emigrate to NZ but died just before the family departed. The family was aware that the HMS Buffalo had been built in India and that it lay in the Mercury Bay, and requested that a piece of the wood recovered be made into a memorial cup to be used for an annual accomplishment prize. For the last ten years or so, this cup has been used for the annual Senior Citizens’ Club Indoor Bowling Tournament.
Competition is intense for the cup. This year’s winning team was Ken Lack, Elizabeth Temple, and Dot Codyre. There was a competition of a different kind for those who are garden enthusiasts. People choose a prize flower from their garden, and it is displayed to enable everyone to vote on which of the flowers is their favourite.
This display gathers great interest as there is some waiting that occurs at bowling competitions.
For those who aren’t bowlers, there are about three tables of card players. The Whitianga Senior Citizens Club offers lots of choice and a good afternoon tea.
The day of the Buffalo Cup competition invited a formal photo of the Senior Citizens members. Front row: Heather Walker, Yvonne Lawrence, Jan Harvey, Maureen Lack, Dot Codyre, Elizabeth Temple, Jocelyn O’Connel, Pam Phillips, June Glendenning, Pat Fisher, Adrian Tedder. Back row: Judy Adams, Colin Everett, Bev McAllister, Ian Raynel, Shirley Marshall, Ray Bray, Jill Barclay, Betty Russell, Joy McGregor, Tom Riddle, Sandy Morris, Ken Lack, Lionel Lawrence (President), Tina Romijn, Val Thompson, Gary Kilmister, Lesley Willis, Gary Douglas.
Winner of the ‘Peoples Choice’ flower – Yvonne Lawrence, right;
Far right, Colin Everett, his two sisters – Pat Fisher, Yvonne Lawrence with husband, Lionel Lawrence. Lionel is the President of the Whitianga Senior Citizens.
