Grace Park Hawthorn Club

Not so long ago, in 2014, two grand old clubs of Hawthorn merged to form Grace Park Hawthorn Club in hopes of creating better facilities and greater connections within the community. One of the merging clubs was The Hawthorn Club, a community sports and social club formed in 1902. Originally starting out as The Hawthorn Cycling Club, the venue changed its name to The Hawthorn Club in 1912 when they also moved to the corner of Glenferrie Road and Luton Lane, Hawthorn. The club focused mainly on squash and snooker but also included golf, racquetball, walking and cycling groups.

The other old club was the Grace Park Lawn Tennis Club, originally formed in 1889 with two asphalt tennis courts and wooden pavilion at 6 Hilda Crescent, Hawthorn, not far behind the Glenferrie Oval and alongside the railway line. Numerous great Australian tennis players have been members of the club and they can boast “Grace Park members having won a total of 134 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles”.

The merger of the two clubs saw The Hawthorn Club vacate their premises on Glenferrie Road with their former building, squash courts and all, demolished and now being developed into retail outlets and 64 apartments, aptly marketed as Hawthorn Club Apartments. The merged clubs took up the site of the Grace Park Lawn Tennis Club, however these facilities were not adequate for the two great old clubs joint venture and redevelopment of the club buildings commenced in May 2016.

The redevelopment is now complete and Grace Park Hawthorn Club at 6 Hilda Crescent, Hawthorn is home to; tennis courts, squash courts, gym, snooker room, Pro Shop, bar and function room.

The club is hosting an Open Day Sunday 11 June 1:00pm – 6:00pm. The day will include an opening ceremony at 3:30pm, squash and tennis club championships and the opportunity for existing or potential new members to view the facilities.