ALAN CARLTON
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Gordon Henry

A: G’day Gordon. It really nice to see you. It’s fantastic to see you and meet you at the Royal Tennis Club in Hobart.  Outside it says royal tennis but inside apparently it’s real tennis. Not royal tennis.

G:  The name was changed. I think within the last ten years. Anyway from royal tennis to real tennis.

A: How has that changed the game?

G: It’s changed the game in no way what so ever.

A: Has it changed the way people think of the game?

G: People who don’t play still tend to refer to it as royal tennis but the players will correct them and say it’s called real tennis now. And that discerns lawn tennis because royal tennis was the original real tennis.

A: Well I actually play tennis. We call it tennis. Not lawn tennis. We don’t look on this tennis as being real. To us it is royal tennis. 

G: The story I was told is it was called royal tennis because of King Henry 8th who used to play and because of his affiliation with the game it took on the title of royal tennis. It was originally played probably in the 12th century in monasteries and the street with the hand and then in the 15th century they began playing with racquets.

A: At the moment we are close to the Royal Hobart Hospital which I don’t think King Henry 8th ever went to.
Ha, ha, ha.

A: When you are working does royal tennis ever come into that. Does it affect your work at all? Does it help your work?

G: It affecting me in my early days because I was very tired from the night before.

A: Which doesn’t happen nowadays.
Ha, ha, ha.

G: When you are young you can get away with anything.

A: Apparently we are not as young as we used to be.

A: Anyway when you are playing you are doing something physical. That’s good. That makes you physically fitter. Helps your work. That’s good.

A: Also I get the feeling royal tennis is a good social activity. Helps you socially.

G: When I first joined in 1991 this club was extremely social club. Not only a sporting club. I used to play pennant probably twice a week and we would have a three course dinner after pennant and invariably get home about three in the morning.

A: Cooked here?

G: Yes. Cooked here and we went to great lengths to put on a good quality meal.

A: Three courses?

G: Yes three courses.

A: Jeepers. Three courses. I was going to talk about physical health and you are talking about three course meals.

G: In those days it was a social club because there was really good eclectic group of people. Yes I got down to a good handicap. I put a lot into it. You have to be fit to play the game well. Because you are running. Court sprints. It can be a very physical game but depends on the level at which you are playing.

A: What are that basic rules of royal tennis?

G: Same scoring as tennis.  The same points, games and sets. Night pennant best of three sets.

A: Can the ball bounce only once?

G: The ball can bounce twice.  King Henry 8th was biggish and moved around the court slowly.

A: We not going to say that to his face.
Ha, ha, ha.

G: No. He made the ruling that you had to see where the second bounce was. All these marking on the court come into play. The game is a mixture of squash and chess.

A: The amazing thing about this tennis club in Hobart is it very central, everybody goes past it. The building is beautiful and historic. Everybody knows the building and hardly anybody has actually played the game.

G: We only have about 80 active members.

A; When you work do you talk to your patients about royal tennis?

G: Yes. I have a few pieces of art. I had some racquets on the wall and a cartoon and generally speaking with the patients I’ve had for a life time they are aware of my extra-curriculum activities. They know me and I know them. And people are always interested in royal tennis.
​
A: Yes. I’ve noticed that. 
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  • Home
  • Photos
    • photos >
      • All Saints Church
      • Anglesea Barracks
      • Art Mob
      • Boer War
      • Botanical Gardens
      • Brooke Street Pier
      • Brunswick Hotel
      • Campbell Street
      • Castray Esplanade
      • Cenotaph
      • Constitution Dock
      • St David's Cathedral
    • photos >
      • St David's Park
      • Elizabeth St Mall
      • Elizabeth St Pier
      • Franklin Square
      • Hadley's Hotel
      • Hobart GPO
      • Hobart Congregational Church
      • Hobart Rivulet
      • Hobart Town Hall
      • Holy Trinity Church
      • Heading South Sculpture
      • Hutchins Old School
    • photos >
      • Kunanyi / Mt Wellington
      • MacQuarie Street Primary School
      • Maritime Museum
      • MacQuarie Wharf
      • Parliament House
      • Penitentary
      • Railway Roundabout
      • Regatta
      • RHH
      • Royal Visits 1868 1901 1920 1927 1934
      • Royal visit 1954
      • Salamanca Place
    • photos >
      • Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
      • Theatre Royal
      • Victoria Dock
      • Saint David's Cathedral
      • Saint David's Park
      • St George Anglican Church
    • Street art: photos >
      • Bidencope Lane
      • Criterion Collins Liverpool Streets
      • Elizabeth Street North Hobart​
      • Kemp Despard Streets
    • Streets: photos >
      • Argyle Street
      • Barrack Street
      • Bathurst Street
      • Brisbane Street
      • Brooker Highway
      • Campbell Street
      • Collins Street
    • Streets: photos >
      • Davey Street
      • Elizabeth Street
      • Goulburn Street
      • Harrington Street
      • Hunter Street
      • Liverpool Street
      • Macquarie Street
      • Murray Street
  • Places
    • Places >
      • All Saint's Church
      • Anglesea Barracks
      • Atheneum Club
      • Baha’i Centre
      • Boer War Memorial
      • Brook Street Pier
      • Brunswick Hotel
      • Boats in the docks
      • Constitution Dock
      • The Drunken Admiral
      • Franklin Square
      • Gas Works
    • Places >
      • Hadley's Hotel
      • Heading South Sculpture
      • Hobart GPO
      • Hobart Synagogue
      • Hobart Town Hall
      • Holy Trinity Church
      • Hunter Street
      • Ingle Hall
      • Old Wool Factory
      • Ordnance Stores
      • Parliament House
      • Penitentiary
      • Princes Park
    • Places >
      • Princes Wharf 1
      • Scots Memorial Church
      • Saint David's Cathedral
      • Saint David's Park
      • Saint George Anglican Church
      • St Michaels Collegiate School
      • Supreme Court
  • History
    • History >
      • Tasmanian Timeline
      • Early Tasmania
      • Mid Nineteenth Century
      • Late Nineteenth Century
      • 20th Century
      • Tasmania’s aborigines
      • Convicts
    • People >
      • John Lee Archer
      • William Bedford
      • Andrew Bent
      • Louis Bernacchi
      • James Blackburn
      • William Bunster
      • William Buckley
      • Thomas Bromfield
      • Luke Castray
      • William Champion
      • David Collins
    • People >
      • John Colvin
      • Charles Darwin
      • Governor Eadley
      • TT Flynn
      • John Franklin
      • Lady Jane Franklin
      • Charles Gaylor
      • Haig: Elizabeth and Andrew
      • Henry Jones
    • People >
      • James Kelly
      • Robert Knopwood
      • Lachlan Macquarie
      • Douglas Mawson
      • Charles McLachlan.
      • George Mure
      • Pearce: Henry and John
      • Robert Pitcairn
      • Poulett-Harris
      • Reid: Arthur and Alison
      • James Clark Ross
      • Ikey Solomon
      • Phillip Smith
      • Abel Tasman
      • Mark Twain
      • AJ White
      • Andrew and Elizabeth Haig
  • Community
    • Hobart Marathon Festival
    • Hadley's Hotel
    • history is not set in bronze
    • Wooden Boat Festival 2019
    • What do you think of Hobart?
    • Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
    • The Mountain
  • Walking Tours
    • Dave's Walking Tour
    • The Tench Walking Tour
    • Botanical Gardens Circuit
    • ​Alfred’s feeling religious walk
    • Battery Point Sculpture Trail
    • Lachlan gets to the point
    • Street art: Luffy paints the town
  • Blog
    • healing through living
    • This website
    • about another website
    • Acknowledgement
    • Contact
  • The Full Complement
    • Alan Carlton
    • Daniel Frank
    • Paul Barrington
    • Jodi Sutton
    • Jodi Sutton talks about mistakes
    • Jodi Sutton: The phone
    • Ann Heath
    • Maddie Atkins
    • Karen Wong
    • Jo-Anne Cherry
    • Jo-Anne Cherry: Retirement
    • Errol Kilov
    • Garry Owen
    • Katherine Janney
    • Jacques Cawood
    • John Chung
    • Gordon Henry
  • Songs
    • Forty Years Ago
    • Tomorrow
    • Clouds in the River
    • I Woke Up
    • Hold My Hand
    • Cornelian Bay Boathouses
    • Dance on the Deck
    • Eucalyptus Globulus
    • Kick and Spin