To give you a sense of the history and personality of the Australia Croquet Company, here is a copy of a thank-you letter they published back in 1994.
(1994) AUSTRALIAN CROQUET COMPANY 18 YEARS DOWN THE TRACK.
On lst July 1984 Bryan and June Dawson officially commenced trading as the Australian Croquet Company, having purchased the 8 Year old Company from Bill Smith's widow, Faye.
On this, our lOth Anniversary we would like to take the opportunity of saying "thank you" to all those people who have been involved with us as our official agents and supporters. For those of you in the know, the list does read like a WHO's WHO in our sport. Unfortunately we have said goodbye to a couple of people along the way who have gone to that big croquet court in the sky, so I will not be putting "the late" or "departed' after their name as their influence continues on. In many instances there have been spouses/partners who have also worked hard on our behalf and our thanks go to them also.
ORIGINAL AGENTS NSW NSW Q'L VIC VIC VIC TAS WA SA CANS. Vincent Sparkes, Norm Ransley, Ron Sloane, Stan Roberts, Val Brown, Jack Read, Bob Harewood, Jack Robb, John Tyrrell, Lewis Mercer, John Wilson, Betty Haupt, Joe Hallinan, John Eddes, Therese & Trevor White, Roy Donley, Shirley Hallinan, Max McLean, Jean & Glen Mann, Nerida Taylor.
The Long Service Award goes to Bob Harewood from Western Australia who has been with us since Day 1. Good on you Bob!
Along the way there have been others, although not agents, whose support and advice have been invaluable. These include (alphabetically) Tom Armstrong, Jean Armstrong, Australian Croquet Association, Rod Brown, Pat Chambers, Barry Chambers, Creina Dawson, Molly & Cliff Fenwick, Bruce and Beverley Fleming, Stan Hall, Bob and Dot Kilminster, George Latham, Aggie Read, Carolyn Spooner, and Mark Senior.
Without the support and genuine care of these persons we would not have been able to face the awesome challenge of pitting ourselves against the long established overseas products. We now truly believe that we faced that challenge well and contributed towards raising the level of quality in equipment world-wide, as well as making a complete range of croquet equipment readily available to Australian Clubs.
We would like all readers to know that all our equipment is made here in our Workshops by Bryan and where possible we buy raw materials that are Australian made. As we enter a new decade we will continue to strive for excellence and voice our appreciation to those Clubs and individuals who use our equipment.
A sincere thank-you to everyone who has supported us over the last decade and we look forward to being of continuing service to all Croquet Clubs and Players.