The
Lizards Golf Club
Life Members
Here
we recognise those Lizards that have gone above and beyond for the club and
were rewarded with Life Membership
Leon List
As the founder of the
Lizards, Leon was the man who got the ball rolling, Th e club’s name came from
his nickname and in his position as the licensee of the Steyne Hotel he able to
assist with the provision of food, beverages and transport to the fledging
club. It should be kept in mind that when the club first started it was only
just aft er the end of the second world war and there were still shortages of
many things. He had connections in the hospitality trade and was also in
contact with the “right people” around Manly to get the things done that would
help the Lizards prosper.
Colin McClelland
Little is known of Col but
club records show that in the early 60’s he made a significant contribution to
the resurrection of the Lizards. He passed at 74 just shy of the club’s 50th
anniversary celebrations.
George Russell
George served as President in
1964 and was also a leading hand in the revitalisation of the club. His
connections with the Manly Civic Club gave the Lizards a home and new
membership candidates.
Lance Try
Lance Try joined the Lizards
in the early 1950’s, soon aft er the club was formed. He took up the role of
the club’s Plant Engineer, a position that he held until 1976 when he
officially retired but was still called upon for a few years yet to help set up
and tap the temperamental kegs. Lance had a strong sense as to the club’s
history and was responsible for a large part of the recording and the passing
of it down to the newer generations of members. When the club celebrated its
30th and 50th years Lance was at the fore bringing together the older Lizards
with the newer ones and passing on the camaraderie and traditions from the
club’s beginnings. Lance also served two terms as President in 1954 and 1963.
Bill Sheehan
Bill, a long time Lizard and
keen South Sydney supporter was born in 1924 and joined the Lizards around
1957. It was in the early sixties that the club saw a changing of the guard as
a lot of the originals moved on and membership numbers had thinned alarmingly,
in fact 1964 saw them drop to as low as 4. To quote our book The Lizards Golf
Club – The First Thirty Years, “Something had to be done to save the club. The
men with the drive, foresight and knowhow were Col McClelland, Lance Try,
George Russell, Ron Allum, Sandy Armstrong, Harry Crang and Bill Sheehan; and
to them every modern Lizard must give thanks. They canvassed ideas and working
members and from their work was laid the foundation upon which a strong club
would prosper”.
Bill was Club President in
1965, Plant Engineer from 1977 to 2013, Baggage Man from 1981 to 2010 and
Assistant Baggage Man in 2011. It would be fair to say that he would be close
to the top of the list for providing service to the club!
Always good for a laugh, his
favourite saying was to call the Lizards “a pack of pirates” whenever he was
fined, then attempting to garner a pensioner discount by flashing his seniors
card. He was a good golfer but as age caught up with him his playing became
less frequent. A note was made in the May 1993 FOL that Harry Warner had beaten
Bill by two shots in a nine hole ‘oldies’ event.
Despite his playing days
being mostly behind him he never missed a Lizards Day until Feb 2001 when he
was checked in to Wauchope Hospital Intensive Care after suffering a stroke. It
took 5 Lizards to cover for him as Baggage Man! By October that year he had
recovered enough to resume his duties for the club but his attendance became
less frequent. His last visit to the Lizards was to our new digs at North
Turramurra in December 2010 before Bill passed away in 2017.
Gordon Donald
“Postie” joined the club in
August 1965 and was soon donating trophies, standing for positions on the
committee, and also playing some pretty good golf. As his nickname dictates
Gordon worked as a postman in the Manly area and was a well known local identity
around the Corso, his photo featuring in The Manly Daily on a few occasions.
Postie always had a willing story to tell about his war service and his life in
general which was fairly colourful to say the least.
Postie started as Handicapper
in 1967 before having a break, then pretty much went straight to the top
serving as President in 1973 before stepping back to a role as Secretary for
the next two years. It was then that he took over as the club’s Treasurer in
1975 and remained there for over 25 years. Upon entering the shed at Avalon
Postie could be relied upon to be on to be at the right of the Handicapper, on
the third Sunday of every month, every year throughout the 1980’s and 90’s. He
would individually greet the regulars, give a friendly welcome to the
newcomers, take your money and point you to the first tee. He had a way of
getting everyone’s day away to a good start, often before they even knew it.
He had an association with
the Club for over four decades and whilst doing his job he also liked to have a
good time! He made one last away trip to Jamberoo where he really enjoyed
himself, being cart driven around the picturesque Calderwood Golf Course on a
cracking day, before returning to the famous pub bar for a beer aft er the
game. After all the excitement he was a bit “tired” the next day but recalled
that trip down south as “one of the best”. Gordon has now passed, sadly missed
and always remembered.
Paul
Hennessy
Paul joined in 1966 and
served in a wide variety of roles on the committee including Secretary,
Treasurer and was the club’s President in 1972. His connections with St
Augustine’s Boys School of Brookvale saw the teaching staff come to play the
Lizards for several years in some entertaining clashes with victory shared by
both sides. Paul served as handicapper for the visitors and organised their
matches. He remained with the club until ill health prevented him from playing
in the late 80’s.
Bill Epps
As the longstanding editor of
the club’s journal, “The Flat Out Like”, Bill Epps was a most knowledgeable
person in regards to the history of the Lizards Club. Having joined in the
early 70’s Bill was great mates with the previous generation of members like
Lance Try and Bill Sheehan who had been there since the club’s very early days.
In time he was handed down a lot of material from these and other members which
form a large part of the club’s archives. These details about the club were
often reiterated in the FOL over Bill’s 25 year stewardship, particularly on
February’s Foundation/Life Members Days where newer members of the club can see
information about the origins of the club. When the club celebrated its 50th
anniversary in 1996 Bill provided a large part of the club’s records for the
AGM booklet, which have now made their way onto the club’s website via Chris
Mooney.
Bill’s writing in the
newsletter was particularly dry, his grasp of the English language and his
intelligence often saw his quips, remarks and sarcasm go over people’s heads,
often on a Sunday morning when sometimes even the keenest of minds had not clicked
into gear yet. However Bill never fell short of praising those in the club who
were contributing by their golfing prowess or doing things to keep the club
moving along. He also often talked of the doing things “The Lizards Way” when
looking after the club’s interests. By this he always referred to the history
of the club and its traditions when it came to making decisions to keep the
club afloat. As a longstanding and forward thinking committeeman Bill ensured
that issues were addressed and acted upon, for the betterment of the club.
Garry Bird
Garry joined The Lizards in
January 1987. The February 1987 FOL notes it thus: “Having the facade of a
clean cut young man he was duly accepted (as a member) and then sent three
times around the Shed, given a hard boiled egg to ingest plus a pint to wash it
down – by way of some previously unknown ceremonial rite. Ex-President Len Le
Mon, watching from a discreet distance, mused ‘Well, I won’t be joining
again.’”
In July 1995 Garry was
rewarded with Life Membership of the club. Part of his commendation stated ‘In
recognition of his outstanding achievements during his long and unbroken
service since joining.’ Indeed, his service to the club has been ongoing. In his
34-year Lizards career he’s held the following positions: President 1991, 2004,
2020 Vice President 1994, 1996, 2002 Captain Handicapper 1989,1990 Assistant
Handicapper 1988 Secretary 1993-2020 (a record tenure for any position) Caterer
1987 Victualler 2015 to 2017. A quick review of the above shows that the only
year of non-service was 1992, and even then he was Immediate Past President!
Finally, Garry has been instrumental in driving the publication of the book
you’re reading right now celebrating 75 years of The Lizards. He’s been a true
club stalwart.
Andrew Warner
Andrew (Andy) Warner joined
the club in the early 1980’s and as was the case in those days he was soon
given a job and told to get on with it. Andrew started as Caterer and then went
on to various stints as Assistant Handicapper, Handicapper and eventually
President in 1989. He always said that Handicapper was his most successful
position as he won the lion’s share of the annual trophies whilst doing so,
reminding other handicappers following that anyone who failed to do this was
not doing their job properly.
However, Andy is best
remembered for his contribution to the Lizards by way of writing the club’s
“fines” for many years. The idea of “fines” for members for things like minor
indiscretions through to outright stupidity, the point being to raise a buck for
the club while having a laugh at ourselves at the same time. Andrew had a
particular talent for writing out these notes with a dry and sometimes piercing
wit but was able to do so without crossing the line of actually insulting
people, well most times.
As well as being the dobber
and holding other formal positions Andy also contributed to the club in other
ways by transporting less mobile Lizards for the day, attending the Tuesday
night committee meetings and away trips, sponsoring golf days for over 25 years
and offering his thoughts and acting on the club’s direction. Andrew is now
living in Queensland to be close to family and is enjoying his retirement.
Neville (Nifty)
Meredith
Neville Meredith, aka Nifty
joined the Lizards in 1980 and pretty soon established himself as a popular and
vocal member of the club. Not so much for his golfing prowess (he won the
Bradman Trophy in 1982 and was a frequent participant in the Airie’s Choir),
but for his enthusiasm and wit. It should be noted that he did have a purple
patch during the early ‘80s, winning the Club Championship and Handicap
Eclectic titles.
His generosity saw him team
up with fellow Lizards Life Member Bill Epps to create Epps/Meredith Day which
was held in July each year from 1982 to 2016. In later years this day was
celebrated as a memorial to Nifty & Bill and sponsored by Colin Lacey &
Ivan Tiltins.
Nifty was always around
helping to feed us, and was Assistant Caterer in 1982 & 1985-88 until
taking on the role of Club Secretary in 1989. Aft er four years in this role
Nifty decided in April 1993 that a sea change was in order and promptly packed
his bags and moved to the mid north coast township of Lake Cathie near Port
Macquarie. As mentioned earlier the annual pilgrimage to visit him there
culminated in him being inducted as Life Member in November 2002. As the new
millennium progressed his health unfortunately declined and he faded away in
December 2007.
James Small
Jim joined the club in what
now newer members consider “the old days” December 1988, when the club was in
its fourth decade. He was the victualler for many years before moving on to the
top job as the club’s president in 2007. Known for his enthusiasm for the game
and the club, Jim also won his fair share of trophies particularly Father and
Son Days in June where a brood of “Smalls” would descend to give Jim plenty of
combinations in the pairs.
Jim is well remembered as the
first Lizard to provide and transport his own cart to home and away games
usually with the “crownies” not too far away. Jim arranged for away Lizard
games to be play at Mangrove Mountain where he was a member and these games
continued for several years in the 90’s. He was also involved in the transition
of the November trip from Port to the Central Coast and was always up for the
trip to Jamberoo and surrounds.
Jim slowed down with his golf
around 2018 finding the trip from the Central Coast a bit too much but still
keeps in contact with the group.
Manfred Wagner
Manfred Wagner joined The
Lizards in August 1995. He was President in 1998 and first took on the role of
Captain/Handicapper the following year. Unfortunately, a chronic back condition
stopped his playing days in their tracks in July 2004 however this didn’t
diminish his commitment to the club. He had developed a handicapping database
that is still in use today and while he ceased being the match day handicapper
he continued on as Assistant Handicapper (to Neil Winterton) until 2019. He ran
the numbers each month and provided all of the handicap
adjustments, printing of the
scorecards and annual results for The Lizards.
He was recognised as a Life
Member at the 2014 Annual General Meeting and is still providing ongoing
database support for our current handicapper Michael Morgan at the 75th year of
the club.
Neil Winterton
Neil was a regular visitor to
Lizards in late 2000s notching up a pair of Bradmans and a win. Liking what he
saw, he joined the ranks of the Lizards on Foundation/Life Members Day in 2001
and was promptly fined for subjecting the Members to a two-page application.
Not letting the grass grow
under his feet, Neil became Vice President for the 2001/02 season and has not
been idle since then. He went on to serve as President, Assistant Handicapper
before taking over as Captain Handicapper for an astonishing 15 years before
passing the baton on. In fact, apart from the first few months of his Lizards
career, Neil has held a role on the Lizards committee – a truly impressive
stint that was recognised with Life Membership in 2017. A dedicated member who
has picked up two Club Championships and three Lindenberg titles during his
Lizards career (so far).
Neil was also the organiser
of the Lizards official road trips for many years, in particular the Jamberoo
weekend, as well as unofficial golf trips of Lizards down the Murray.
Chris Mooney
Chris first arrived as a
visitor to Lizards in late 1991, liked the style and set about fulfilling the
membership requirements as quickly as possible, becoming a member in March
1992, and has not missed too many events since then. Exhorted by Jim Small to
have a crack at some committee positions, Chis launched into it with gusto
serving as Captain Handicapper, President (twice), Victualler (for nine years),
Vice President and is our current Editor having taken over from Bill Epps LM in
2007. There has barely been a year where Chris was not
helping out in some capacity
and was elevated to Life Member status in 2017.
A frequent attendee of the
Lizards’ away trips, we have Chris to thank (blame?) for the tradition of
wearing Hawaiian shirts for the Jamberoo Saturday night dinners. Together with
fellow Lizard Michael Morgan, Chris has been co-sponsoring the ‘Morgan Mooney
Multiplier’ November event since 1999.
Chris Mooney: a well liked
and respected member with nothing but the best interest of the Lizards Golf
Club at heart.
Michael Morgan
Michael Morgan joined Th e
Lizards in April 1992. Bill Epps, then Editor of the Flat Out Like described
the event: “MM, in his quest for Lizard membership endured an Entrée of raw
onions and steak, a Main of shed laps with a Desert of refreshing Avalon waters.
Given his application and dedication to the task at hand, he was accepted by
the club as a new member.”
Michael was rewarded with
Life Membership of the club, having been voted in in June 2021. He was
initially reluctant to be on the committee saying “It’s just not my style”. Th
e Lizards ignored this, voting him in as Assistant Handicapper in 1993 and nursing
him through to the top position as President in 1996. In his 29-year Lizards
career he’s held the following positions; President: 1996, 2019 Vice President:
1995 Captain/Handicapper: 1994, 2020 Assistant Handicapper: 1993 Treasurer:
2006-2010 Assistant Treasurer: 2012-2019 Victualler: 2013. In the odd years
that he hasn’t been serving the club on the committee he’s been a loyal and
reliable clubman and is right at the top of the list in attendance.
Finally, his golfing
achievement are above average as this selected list of major trophies shows:
Club Champion: 1993, 2003 Handicap Eclectic: 1993-1995 The Lindenberg: 1994,
2005, 2006, 2010.
Brian Ellis
Brian Ellis has been a Lizard
since January 2004 and was inducted as a Life Member at the 2024 AGM held at
North Turramurra GC. Like one of his predecessors Bill Sheehan, Brian is one of
those members that do so much behind and in front of the scenes that the club
would struggle to replace him with anything less than 5 people! He was
President in 2009 after having been Vice-President the year before.
From 2014 to 202 he took on
the role of Assistant Bagge Man to Glenn Castle. The main Baggage Man role is
to ensure that The Lizards are well stocked with cold beer, but Brian was doing
so much more during this period. He constructed and transported our bench
seats, brought along a set of collapsible tables for committee use and from
time to time provided the BBQ accessories. From 2021 onwards he officially took
on the role as Baggage Man and to top it off he manages the collection and
occasional payment of the Hole-In-One insurance. Oh, and he won the Handicap
Eclectic from 2005-2007.
Brian is quietly spoken but
very much respected. A true Lizard!
Ivan Tiltins
Ivan Tiltins became a Lizard in
October 2005 and was the second inductee as a Life Member at the 2024 AGM held
at North Turramurra GC. Ivan’s first mention in the FOL was in June 2004 when
he appeared as the Visitor’s runner-up at Mangrove Mountain. He came second to
Bob Paine on the day but Bob had an advantage – he was the pro at Mangrove
Mountain.
By 2006 he’d been voted in as
Vice-President, a title he held for two years before taking on the President’s
role in 2008. Then from 2011 Ivan took over as Treasurer and has held the
position ever since – 14 years at the time of writing. But it is his proficiency
at golf that is Ivan’s notable talent. In a club of hackers he stands tall,
generally having a handicap in the range of 10-14. He won the Club Championship
in 2013, the Scratch Eclectic in 2010, 2015-17, 2020 & 2022-23 & the
Wooden Eye in 2018 & 2022. All this despite his thinking that our
competition is biased against low markers!
Ivan is one of the
cornerstones of the Lizards committee and is active in many areas, one example
being when he helped set us up with tee times and a meeting area with
management during our forced move from Avalon to North Turrumurra. Ivan is
always willing to offer an opinion but that’s what’s needed, and he’s respected
for them.