Auckland Polo Club

The Auckland Polo Club is a historic polo club in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded in 1888, it hosts many national and international tournaments, including the annual BMW Polo Open.

Auckland Polo Club. Polo at Clevedon.

Location

It is located in Clevedon, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.[1][2] The Wairoa River flows nearby.[1]

History

It was founded in 1888, making it the oldest club in New Zealand.[3][4][5] It is affiliated with the New Zealand Polo Association.[6] It is a reciprocal club with the Guards Polo Club in England.[7] There are five polo grounds.[1]

Sir Maurice O'Rorke, who served as the fifth Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1879 to 1890, was the Captain of the club.[8] Other early players included Thomas Morrin, Major Geoffrey Buddle, E.C. Meysey-Thompson, T.C. Williamson, and T. O'Sullivan.[5]

The club has 200 members, 61 of which are polo players.[2] They won the New Zealand Savile Cup in 1976, 1977, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1993.[5] Every year from October to March, the club organizes four matches a week.[1] It also hosts the annual BMW Polo Open Tournament.[9][10]

The club president is Tony van den Brink.[10]

References
  1. "Auckland Polo Club: About the club". Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  2. Clevedon: Auckland Polo Club
  3. Horace A. Laffaye, The Evolution of Polo, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2009, p. 54
  4. Geoffrey Rice, Heaton Rhodes of Otahuna: The Illustrated Biography, Canterbury University Press, 2008, p. 63
  5. Horace A. Laffaye, The Polo Encyclopedia, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2004, p. 22
  6. New Zealand Polo Association: Clubs Archived February 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Guards Polo Club: Reciprocal clubs". Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  8. Chadwick, Joseph (1906). Men of Mark in the World of Sport in New Zealand. Brett Prtg. & Publishing Company. p. 243. auckland Polo Club.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  9. "Auckland Polo Club: BMW Polo Open". Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  10. Georgina Bond, Polo open hopes to inspire resurgence for 'sport of kings', National Business Review, February 23, 2013


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