Our History
Petanque in the Macedon Ranges had its beginnings when local residents Marilyn and Chinka Steel holidayed in France in the late 1990’s. They were Intrigued by the ball game being played by Parisians and locals, a game played on any available gravel surface.
They had discovered Petanque !
Returning home they investigated the game here and found evidence of many clubs and governing bodies !
But no club in the Macedon Ranges
Before long a small group of players gathered at Buffalo Stadium, and so started the Petanque Club.
The Club were able to move play to the Hanging Rock Reserve and formally became the Woodend Hanging Rock Petanque Club.
Numbers grew, due to the promotion in the community and competition was starting to get a little more serious. In December 2000 WHRPC ran its first Triples Competition which has become an annual event on the Petanque calendar.
The Club enjoyed continued growth and respect from the Petanque world and was granted approval to host the 2006 National Triples. This was a resounding success attracting players from all over Australia, - a great tribute to the tireless efforts of our dedicated members.
The late 2000’s saw the start of our most ambitious project - construction of our Club House at Hanging Rock Reserve. This was a real achievement by all members raising the funds and financial grants together with taking part in construction under the guidance of the late Ian Castle.
Currently the Club has two playing areas or pistes as they are known, one at Hanging Rock Reserve where we play on Thursday’s from 4pm during the spring/summer seasons and where we run some of our Club and Inter-club Tournaments. Our other piste which was acquired in October 2020, is in Woodend at the Old Racecourse on Forest Street where we share the facility with the Woodend Pony Club. Play here is currently scheduled on Mondays from 2.00 pm throughout the year, this facility is also used for Player training and coaching. It is our hope to attract State and National tournaments at this new and well equipped facility.
The Club also runs some interesting competitions at various venues around the Macedon Ranges and a weekend tournament played in the heart of Port Echuca - all lots of fun but the Petanque still gets pretty serious and competitive.
With a membership of over 70 players, our growth continues every year as Petanque becomes a more popular sport in the community and with the population of the region steadily expanding. We promote our sport far and wide, throughout the community in Woodend, in the surrounding townships within the Macedon Ranges area and in areas as far afield as Castlemaine, Maldon, Lancefield and Romsey . We are confident of continuing this success well into the future and invite everyone within convenient reach of our club to come and join the fun.