Club’s future uncertain
The Stirling Bowling Club will meet on Wednesday to decide whether it can continue functioning. President Bruce Gold, of Balclutha, said a special meeting had been called because the club had reached a critical level, falling to eight members. ‘‘We need at least 10 members to play in the midweek and weekend competitions. You’ve got to have at least 10 players to call upon.’’ The 115 year-old club is one of 11 in south Otago. Gold said membership at other small clubs such as Finegand and Clinton had also dwindled and were down to similar levels. The 120-year-old Lawrence club closed a few years ago. ‘‘It’s a sign of the times. The way people are working at the weekends, or on Saturdays has affected membership. Also, we’re not getting any young ones through.’’ He would be ‘‘absolutely gutted’’ if it had to close. Gold, 83, is the greenkeeper, and has been involved with the club for many years. ‘‘There’s not a day goes by that I’m not down here on the green.’’ The grass composition is mostly starweed, a dense plant that compacts together, and combined with the sandy, freedraining base, made Stirling one of the quickest greens in Otago, he said. He is part of the south Otago and national greenkeepers’ organisations. ‘‘I’ll still be involved in greenkeeping even if it [Stirling] closes, but it will break my heart.’’ The meeting will be held on Wednesday at 7.30pm at the Stirling Bowling Club, Stirling. Gail Maney was sentenced to life in prison for ordering the murder of a man in 1989. But, she says she never even met him. Stuff and RNZ have teamed up to produce the true crime podcast The eight-part podcast, which is released today, asks serious questions about the police investigation that led to Maney serving a life sentence for murder. Questions are also raised about police tactics to secure witness statements and the reliability of jury trials. Maney was arrested for the murder of Deane Fuller-Sandys after he was said to have burgled her home in Henderson, West Auckland, nine years earlier. Gone Fishing is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or any other podcast app.