After 12 years in the role, our long-serving Treasurer Caroline Townsend Green is handing over the reins this year, and while that lengthy record of service would be more than enough for most … not our Caroline.

Caroline and her indefatigable husband Barry Simpson have done a massive amount of work for our club over the past years, when they have turned up from their home in the UK to ‘summer over’ in Wellington.

Caroline and Barry have built or re-built most of the club, with no apparent limits to their willingness to help, their energy, and their practical skills. They built the current kitchen, all the lawn shelters, and remodelled the current toilet area amongst many other things.

We (and they) will never forget their ‘blue period’, when they dismantled, repaired and repainted all the blue lawn carts.

They have helped manage and host the corporate events and they have helped with the garden maintenance. Caroline swinging a hedge trimmer is a sight to inspire awe.

They have also been of invaluable help to the game of croquet, our play, and our tournaments at Kelburn. They have always been willing helpers with the skilled, precise, and time-consuming task of setting out the lawns again after maintenance and shifting hoops.

Caroline and Barry are both accomplished AC players as well as GC and have won many tournaments. Both are also qualified referees – who are essential to our sport and in very short supply.

Thank you, Caroline and Barry, for all you have done for the past 10 years. We look forward to seeing you again in the spring.

Below: Barry Simpson, Mary Stevens, and Caroline Townsend Green.

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Article added: Saturday 27 May 2023