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Story: Bowls, pétanque and tenpin

Opening day at Grafton Road Bowling Club, 1898

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Opening day at Grafton Road Bowling Club, 1898

Bowlers contemplate their early season form at Grafton Road Bowling Club in Auckland, in October 1898. Grafton Road was the first green opened in New Zealand, in 1862. By the 1890s the game had become relatively popular, especially among older urban males, as seen here. Although quite formally dressed, with some in white trousers, the bowlers had not yet adopted the full 'whites' seen in modern games.

Using this item

Auckland Council Libraries − Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Reference: AWNS-18981028-4-2

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Lindsay Knight, Bowls, pétanque and tenpin – Lawn bowls: game, history and organisation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/37975/opening-day-at-grafton-road-bowling-club-1898 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Lindsay Knight, published 15 November 2012, updated 1 January 2015.

Comments

Leonora Alberts Vilakazi
05 February 2024
Dear Manager what is the minimum vision to needed for one to be recognises as a blind bowler? Regards Leonora