J.C. Bryant- 1948
J.C. Bryant was an old North Borneo hand. He first arrived in Sandakan with Australian HMS Fantome, a unit of the China fleet in Hong Kong. He was the wireless operator on board. He was an avid sportsman, being the Navy goal keeper in all matches, played for Western Australia in cricket and captained the Navy team in Australian Rules Football. After his discharge he arrived in North Borneo on 13 February 1920 and for many years worked as a planter. He won the Sports Club’s Championship at tennis, billiards and golf on many occasions. He was appointed member of the Advisory Council on 15 July 1946; awarded an O.B.E. on 2 June 1950 and appointed member of the Legislative Council on 17 October 1950 for a term of 3 years.
It was in 1948 that golf was revived after the discovery of some 60 golf clubs of various types in one of the Japanese godowns. On 23 September 1948 the Jesselton Golfing Society was formed.
TD. Wallace – 1949
Theodore David Wallace, who took the Chairmanship of the club in 1949, was the Attorney-General and member of the Advisory Council to the Governor. He acted as the Governor’s Deputy on 14 January 1948 when the Governor left Jesselton on visit to Sandakan and also acted as Chief Secretary from 18 May to 1 November 1948. He was eventually transferred to Tanganyika on 29 November 1951.
J. Mitchell – 1950 .
James Mitchell was another old North Borneo hand. He came to North Borneo on 23 July 1927 as a iunior accountant and rose through the ranks in Harrisons and Crossfields, sewing as branch manager in Sandakan, Jesselton and Labuan and was promoted to General Manager in l94l. tn the same year he was appointed member of the Legislative Council. He was interned by the Japanese for 3 and a half years in Sarawak. After the war he was appointed member of the Advisory Council on lo October 1946. When the Legislative Council was re-established on 17 October 1950 he was appointed a member. He also served as member of the Legislative Council.
It was in 1950 that post war cricket was revived. During the year some 23 matches were played over consecutive Sundays. The matches between J.R.C. and Sports Club were once again revived.
The Amateur Athletic Association formed on 12 December 1950 to promote athletics on a colony wide basis. 30 clubs and schools became affiliated to it and the Sports Club was one of them.
J.C. Macpherson – 1951
James Cruickshank Macpherson was appointed a member of the Advisory Council to the Governor on 21 November 1946. ln 1950 he became a member of the Legislative Council and was also appointed a member of the Central Town and Country Planning Board.
ln 1951 the Long Cup Badminton Competition was held for the Cup donated to the Jesselton District by Mr Long Yok Sei of Sandakan Ice and Aerated Water Company of Jesselton. The Sports Club participated with 8 other teams from Basel Mission, Tg. Aru, Railway, Tuaran, Tim and Ed A and B, All Saints’ and Sacred Heart.
The 1951 football league marked the successful postwar rehabilitation of football. Altogether 16 teams entered for the league with 6 in the A group and 1O in the B group. The Sports Club team was in A group with Police A, Sacred Heart A, All Saints’ A, Railway A and J.R.C.
During the August holiday weekend in 1951 the Sports Club sent a party of members to Seria at the invitation of the Seria Club. A series of games were played. The Sports Club was beaten soundly by Seria Club in cricket, football and hockey but won in billiards and snooker. This marked the first postwar outing for the Sports Club. The return of the Jesselton Players to the Sports Club marked the postwar rehabilitation of drama in Jesselton. ln 1951 they produced 3 plays in the Sports Club namely ‘Shop at the Sly Corner’, ‘Jane Steps Out’ and ‘Fresh Fields’.
Dr. W.J.C. Neal – 1952
Dr. William James Leslie Neal, M.B., B.Ch (Belfast) OBE arrived in Jesselton on 7 February 1951 to serve as the Director of Medical Services. He was appointed official member of the Legislative Council on 7 September 1951 . While serving as Chairman of the club he went on leave for 6 months on medical ground on 27 October 1952. He eventually resigned from the Services on 19 May 1953. Dr. Lawrence John Clapham took over from him as D.M.S.
The initial meeting in May 1952 of the proposed Rotary Club of Jesselton was held in the Sports Club. After the Rotary Club was chartered on 24 November 1952, the club continued to meet in the Sports Club fortnightly until the opening of the new Jesselton Hotel by the third postwar Governor Sir Roland Turnbull on 12 March 1954. The last meeting of the Rotary Club in the Sports Club was on 11 March 1954. The first postwar St. Andrew’s Night was held in the Sports Club on Saturday 29 November 1952. The Chieftain was J.C, MacPherson. Thereafter the annual St. Andrew’s Night was held in the club.
C.B. Pretious – 1953
Cuthbert Beryl Pretious was a South African who ioined the Swaziland Civil Service in 1927. He was a keen Sportsman and won the Swaziland Men’s Tennis Open Doubles Championship in 1927. As a jockey he rode 8 winners out of 8 races in one day. In 1940 he was transferred to Basutoland and was selected to play for Orange Free State in both cricket and hockeyin theinter-provincialtournaments. He arrived in Jesselton in 1949 and made his presence¤felt» in the local sporting circle. He wasta prominent member of the Jesselton cricket and hockey teams. He was the Accountant-General of North Borneo.
Lodge Kinabalu, which was founded in Jesselton on 26 January 1951, began to hold its meeting in the Sports.Club on 10 February 1953 and continued until 10 August 1954 when the Lodge moved to the Chartered Bank Chambers.
1953 was a Coronation year which was marked by ia week long celebration in Jesselton from 2 June 1953 to the Queen’s 21st Birthday on the following Saturday.
There was the Coronation Football Cup Tournament, land cmd sea sports, and a hockey match with H./vl.S. Macnad. The Jesselton Players staged a Charles Taylor production called ’See How They Run’ in the Sports Club, in which the Chairman C.B. Pretious and wife participated.
A.M. Grier – 1954
Anthony MacGregor Grier arrived in Jesselton on 18 November 1947 as an Administrative Officer serving in the Secretariat as a principal assistant secretary. He sewed as District Officer, Labuan in 1949 and District Officer, Jesselton in 1951. He became the Development Secretary and was appointed official member ot the Legislative Council on 19 May 1953. He became Resident, West Coast in 1955 and later in the year Resident, interior. He was promoted to under secretary in 1956 and was acting Chief Secretary in 1958.
The fancy dress New Year’s Eve party at the club was a successful one. H.E. the Governor was at the club until midnight.
R.W. Stephens – 1955
Richard Wicks Stephens arrived in Jesselton on 21 March 1951 and he was the Director at Posts and Telecommunication.
R. Stoke – 1956, 1957 and part of 1958
He served, in the Electricity Advisory Board in 1955 and was appointed to the North Borneo Electricity Board on 1 January 1957.
A very important event occurred in 1956. One of the special clauses of Lease No. 1556 stipulated that the land concerned must be used for the purpose of European Social Club and Reacreation Ground. The Chief Secretary on 12 April 1956 initiated an amendment to this special clause by deleting the word ‘European’. The implication of this amendment was far-reaching in that the Sports Club was no longer an exclusive European club. It now opened the door for locals to join.
L. Jackson – part of 1958
Leonard Jackson was transferred from Aden to Jesselton on 1 September 1957 as the Director of Public Works. He was appointed an official member of the Legislative Council by the Governor on 4 November 1958.
When R. Stokell left Jesselton in the midst of his third year as Chairman of the club, L. Jackson took over the Chairmanship for the remaining part of the year.
Justice M.R.F Rogers – 1957
Murray Rowland Fletcher Rogers was the Puisne Judge in North Borneo. During his term of the Chairman, the club had to surrender its control over the town padang to the Jesselton Town Board. Lease No. 1556 was surrendered for sub-division and on 21 November 1958 a new lease namely Jesselton Lease No. 1532 was issued to the club covering only 2.67 acres of land. The new lease contained the same special clauses stipulating that “H.E. The Governor to be ex-officio President and member of committee. European non-members of the club be eligible for election as playing members in all or any outdoor games under the management of the club on the Land hereby leased in accordance with regulations passed by the club. The lessees should not without permission from the Government transfer the land or any portion there of hereby demised, or use it for any purpose other than a social club and recreation ground. After a period of 56 years the control over the town padang was taken away from the Sports Club.
A.F Lucarotti – 1960 and 1961
A Scotsman of ltalian descent, Albert Frank Lucarotti was transferred from East Africa to Jesselton on 29 January 1957 as the General manager of North Borneo Railways. He also became the Deputy Chairman of the North Borneo Electricity Board on 1 August 1961.
A new Governor, Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode, arrived in Jesselton on 20 April 1960.
The 1960 School Drama Festival was heldin the theatre of the Sports Club on 25-27 May 1960. Three schools participated in the Junior Malay section and 4 schools in the Junior English section which were held on Wednesday 25 May over three hours. On Thursday 26 May three schools participated in the Senior section – ‘The Hiding Place’ by La Salle, ‘Trial Scene from Merchants of‘Venice’ by All Saints’ and ‘The Grand Cham’s Diamond’ by the Government Secondary School. The Governor attended the performance by the winners on Friday 27 May.
While still on drama the Jesselton Players produced ‘The Rivals’ in the Sports Club on Friday and Saturday 2-3 September. The Penaga Players of the Penaga Club of Seria came to Jesselton and gave two performances of ‘Two Dozen Red Roses’ in the Sports Club theatre on Friday and Saturday 14 and 15 October 1960.
On Saturday 11 June 1960 the Queen’s Birthday Parade was held at the town padang. After the parade there was a celebration party at the Sports Club for those who were in the Queen’s Birthday honour list.
The club had an active year in cricket. A father and children match was held on Saturday 28 August 1960, when vacationing children joined their fathers for a match. On Sunday 29 August the golfers from the Kinabalu Golf Club played a cricket match against the Sports Club which the latter won with 76 runs for 7 wickets against 68 runs. On Saturday 10 September the Sports Club held a barbecue and dance in honour of the first visit of the Tawau cricket team to Jesselton.
E.O. Plunkett – 1962
E.O. Plunkett was the Deputy Commission of the North Borneo Armed Constabulary.
In 1962 there was a proposal to merge J.R.C. with the Sports Club. J.R.C. under its President Donald Stephens was pushing the amalgamation idea by holding an extraordinary general meeting at which mandate was given to the General Committee to approach the Sports Club to discuss the proposed merger. Lucky for the Sports Club, the idea did not materialise. Otherwise the club would have suffered the same fate as J.R.C. which went bankrupt years later due to bad management.
J. Treleaven – 1963 and 1965
Jim Treleaven was a lawyer with Messrs Donaldson and Buckinshaw.
KM Thompson – 1964
KM Thompson was the senior Turg and Young – the well known auction firm the predecessor of Ernst and Young.
