Unless you’re a Northlander, chances are you’ve never heard of the settlement of Hikurangi, let alone been to it.

20 kilometres north of Whangarei, even State Highway 1 to the Bay of Islands and beyond has bypassed Hikurangi for the last 20 or so years.  You now have to detour to ‘Hika’ (as the 1,500 locals affectionately call it).  Otherwise, you’ll miss it.

To the outsider, there’s not a lot of reasons to make the detour.  But the Hikurangi Bowling Club is one of them.  It’s a club that’s going places.

“Membership of the club has doubled in the last 2 years,” spruiks Club President, Don Cameron.  “We’ve now got 40 full-playing members and another 20 or so social members.”

“Come back in another 2 years, and I reckon we might have doubled again.”

That sounds incredible.  Particularly as Don and his team at Hika don’t have any magic formula for membership success.

“It’s the old story.  Rather than just sit around and talk about getting members, we actually go out and get them!” he says. “Sure.  We push a bit.  But no one’s ever going to become a member just because you asked them once.”

“You have to be persistent,” says Don unapologetically. ” They’ll love you for it in the end anyway!”

Key to that recruitment drive is making Hika more than just a bowling club. “We’re a community club where people can play bowls.  And socialise.  We get rugby players joining because the bowling club provides the same competitive sport and socialising environment they enjoyed at the rugby club when they were younger.”

“Members like ‘Fescue’ (Alan Goodhew) and ‘Chippy’ (Stuart Clark), who both played rugby for North Auckland, love their bowls and the club.”

“Friday is the big evening here.  We throw open the green to the community for a twilight tournament, then head off to the local pub down the road afterwards.  The hotel supports us, and we support them.”

“We’ve ended up becoming one of Hikurangi’s preferred meeting places.  The Lions Club has their meetings here.  So does the local RSA.  ANZAC Day is big here.  Huge.  It’s great for the bar, and it’s the bar that keeps our head above water.”

But Hika isn’t just about the community and the socialising.  The members also take their bowls seriously.

“The Hika red and black is well known around Northland,” says Match Convenor, Peter Mitchell.  “Particularly amongst the women.  They’ve won the Centre Sevens the last three years in a row.”

“We always have a team every year at the Nationals.  And at Taranaki.  We even had representatives reach the last four at Taranaki three years ago.”

Hikurangi is also home to a legend of the north, the evergreen Gwen Lawson, a member of the club for 50 years.

Manu Timoti, who lives over the road from the club, regularly participates in club and Northland events.  She won the Fours at the 2007 Asia Pacific Bowls Championships in Christchurch with Jan Khan, Marina Khan and Mary Campbell.  She also picked up a bronze in the Triples.  On top of that, she represented New Zealand in the Pairs at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

“But the men compete well too,” says Peter with a twinkle.  “Unfortunately, just not as well as the women!”

From left to right: Peter Mitchell and Don Cameron

“Despite that, the big club tournament is a men’s tournament: the Hikurangi Men’s Two-day in May.  We get teams from all around the north: Opononi, Russell, Kaitaia, Mangawhai.  Even Riverhead, Whanganui, and a sponsor’s team from the Top 10 Holiday Park in New Plymouth!  They keep coming back for great bowls and great hospitality.”

Of course, Hikurangi has had a lot of practice at doing things well.

“The club was established back in 1914,” says Don. “Hikurangi was the centre of coalmining in the north (the first coal mine opened in 1890) and dairying (The dairy factory opened in 1904).  So, it gave the local workers a pastime on their days off.”

“Originally there was two greens, but we sold off one to the council a few years ago, which put a bit of money in the kitty.”

“Since then, we’ve re-roofed and painted the clubhouse, painted the fences, and we’re currently looking at renewing the artificial.  We’ve even set up a committee to explore putting a cover over the green.”

Hika’s success on and off the green, hasn’t gone unnoticed.  “We won ‘Club of the Year’ in Northland, this year.” says Don.

“That win is not just about what we’ve done, but about all the people at the club.  This club isn’t just held together by one or two people.  Everyone pitches in, from taking care of the Facebook page, down to ground maintenance and cleaning ... all the members are happy to take on a role.”

“But more than that.  The members are passionate about the club.  It’s their club.  They’re passionate about wearing the red and black of Hikurangi.  And looking after the club that looks after them.”