Ray Steele: Sumner Rugby and Cricket club member on the rebuild of the sports pavilion at St Leonards Park

The iconic Sumner Sports Pavilion is getting an upgrade. 

Both the lease renewal and a full rebuild of the St Leonards Park pavilion have been approved by the Waihoro Spreydon–Cashmere–Heathcote Community Board. 

Lesley Murdoch caught up with longtime Sumner resident and rugby and cricket club member Ray Steele for a chat about the development.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, all I can really say on that side of things.
It's about directly in line out to the sea would
be roughy where it was come from from the beachfront
across from Scarborough there. The history of it bringing it
back was well, I as a young kid, but I
believe the subs those days was a sheet of hardboard

(00:21):
to line the interior of the clubrooms. And that's how
they sort of worked in those days, with volunteers and
stuff like that. So much I.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Wonder how physically, you know, with all the modern hydraulics
that they bring and move houses and big things around
our country, how would they have moved it back in
the day.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, there is a photo of a vehicle pulling it
along and it looked like an old jeep, an army jeep.
That's what was hooked up to and that's what some
of the photos show of it been pulled along heaven
Enab and then around into Selena Square. But what was
underneath it, Well, they would have had the well the

(01:01):
back area would have been on wheels and it would
be like a big trailer. Really, I would say it
was like a big trailer. And that's how they bought
it around so that building.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
That Surf Club building which it was was built in
the early nineteen hundreds, wasn't it. So it moved in
nineteen fifty eight around Steiners Square and hopefully soon it's
going to go. It's going to be demolished. Yes, And
you were on the committee.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, Well, I've been on the committee for a long
time in the club, you know, when I first started
the club back in seventy four plane and I been
on the committee ever since. So I've seen a lot
of changes over the years with the clubroom has been
extended and stuff like that. When the clubrooms was established,
they're sitting up. The Raping Club wanted to be involved
and using it as well, and they had to build

(01:46):
the agreement. Come they actually built the old changing sheds
under the blocker and the end there by the training nets.
They had to build that to be some sort of
part of input to the building. And then it was
shed between the two clubs. For a long period of time,
it wasn't owned by any other than the Creckit Club

(02:07):
owned it, but the Rape Club owned the share block.
But as the years went on they amalgamated together and
worked as a group and two clubs and started to
do alterations and extend and bits of messas like that.
So that's how the clubs, the two clubs that come
together and they established a third club and they with them,

(02:30):
but the three of them called the Sun of Sports Pavilion.
So the Sun of Sports Pavilion actually runs the building
and everything like that, and the two clubs run separate identities.
So the Crackit Club was established in nineteen five ninety six.
Rugby was before that, but they had a building on
the other side of the ground over towards Demon Street

(02:52):
with the toilet boxers in that area, and it was
sort of a little changing room on each team with
an open center.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
So all these years later, fifty two years you've been.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Involved, Yeah, thirty three. I actually started a part of
the Christmas seventy three.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Have you got a playing part in next Thursday's to
twenty fundraiser?

Speaker 1 (03:09):
No, I turned it down. Well, I'll be doing the
ground in the morning and stuff like that, So I
thought they'd commitment to having a good looking wicket as
my number one priority at the moment.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
And probably the most important part to be fair.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yes, exactly the time I've been in the club, it's
going to be a godsend, you know, and a lot
of history going to be underground around that area with
what was there and how it was all established. But
I'd say in time to come, people will forget about
that and moving forward with a nice new building and

(03:44):
I think with a new building coming along, hopefully we
might establish more plans or not established, but hopefully more
plans will come to play for a club which has
got good facilities.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, hats off to you being part of such significant
building and the pristine nature of the pitch, the etsin
Leonard Square and all the work that you do with
the rugby ray.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Steal years sports being my.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Life fantastic, isn't it? What else would you have been doing?

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Exactly? For more from News Talk sed B, listen live
on air or online, and

Speaker 2 (04:16):
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