Waratah Golf Club

Waratah Golf Club is the oldest golf club in Newcastle/Lake Macquarie. Founded in May 1901, the first clubhouse was located in Dangar Park, Mayfield. The name came from the Waratah Reserve where games were originally played. In 1919, 102 acres of land was purchased near Cockle Creek Railway Station and work began on the new premises and golf course in 1920.

The land, covered in lantana and ti-tree scrub, took months to clear but the location was superb, situated on the northern end of Lake Macquarie and framed by Cockle and Brush Creeks. Bullock teams were used to plough the fairways and members worked with their bare hands to shape greens and plant grass and trees. A specialist was employed to design a first-class golf course with tree-lined fairways and water features. Green keepers have lovingly tended the course over the years, and stories are told of the stench of fresh manure being spread over the ploughed fairways. Many trees were planted to create what is now a beautiful course. The original clubhouse was destroyed by fire in 1956, and has been re-built and renovated a number of times. The clubhouse now also hosts weddings, conferences and ,other community events.

This work by Lake Macquarie City Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License