The Woolston Club is a multi-functional entertainment centre set on 18 acres of award-winning landscaped gardens and sports grounds on Hargood Street in Woolston, Christchurch, overlooking Garrick Park. It is at once a family restaurant and bar, a sporting platform for everything from bowls to boxing, a music venue for Christchurch artists and bands, a stop for shows from across Australasia, and a conference centre with ten function rooms available for private hire.
Dining centres on the Rusty Bumper Bistro, open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am for bistro and cafe selections, with a Roast Carvery on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Whitford's cafe is open every day from 11am, serving freshly made cabinet food and barista coffee, while Whitford's Bar is the social heart of the club - home to theme nights, pub quizzes, poker, housie, pool tables, a gaming area and a full service TAB.
Anyone is welcome to dine, enjoy the weekly entertainment or book an event, with membership optional but rewarding: $35 a year brings discounts on all food and beverage, access to sporting grounds and facilities, cheaper room hire and reciprocal rights at Clubs New Zealand clubs. With function spaces for groups of 10 to 400 and deep roots in the eastern suburbs since 1956, it remains a proud sporting and community leisure hub.
Spread across 18 acres of award-winning landscaped gardens and sports grounds on Hargood Street, and looking out over Garrick Park, the Woolston Club is one of Christchurch's eastern suburbs' great all-rounders. It is at once a family restaurant and bar, a sporting platform for everything from bowls to boxing, a music venue for Christchurch's artists and bands, a stage for shows from across Australasia, and a conference centre with ten function rooms available for private hire.
The club began as an idea at a Woolston community meeting in 1953, when the Woolston Working Men's Club was first proposed and a founding committee elected. The original building - then called Ward 8, now the Kellaway Bar - was officially opened on 22 December 1956, with the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr R.M. McFarlane, cutting the ribbon. In 1974 the Courtyard Bar & Restaurant opened; it is known today as Whitford's Bar. More than sixty years on, the club stands on 18 acres of award-winning gardens and sports grounds and remains a proud sporting and community leisure centre for the eastern suburbs.
Food is central to club life. The Rusty Bumper Bistro serves bistro and cafe selections in a cosy family dining environment, open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am, and the Roast Carvery takes over on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 6pm. Whitford's cafe is open every day from 11am with freshly made cabinet food and barista coffee - the perfect spot for a long lunch with friends, whether you settle into the cosy bar or, when the weather plays ball, the outdoor seating area overlooking the child-friendly play area.
Whitford's Bar is the heart of the club. Theme nights, pub quizzes, poker nights, wargamers and housie keep the calendar full, artists from across Australasia perform at the club, and there are pool tables, a gaming area and a full service TAB for sports fans.
Sport runs through everything here. The club overlooks Garrick Park, where local football, cricket and touch rugby teams play throughout the year, and the Sporting Pavilion makes a great vantage point to cheer them on. Members play petanque and quoits on the outdoor courts in summer, then move indoors in winter to the snooker, billiards and 9 ball room, where competition-standard pool tables await. Fourteen sub sections cater to interests from billiards, snooker, boxing, cards, fishing, football, golf, pool and wargames to gardening and travel.
Membership costs $35 a year and unlocks instant discounts on all food and beverage purchases, weekly members draws and promotions, access to all club facilities and sporting grounds, discounts on room hire, and reciprocal visiting rights at Clubs New Zealand member clubs. And you don't have to join to enjoy it - anyone is welcome to dine, catch the entertainment or book an event.
For event planners, the choice is unusually broad: ten function spaces suiting groups of 10 up to 400 people. Options run from the boardroom, meeting room and snug lounge to the huge sports bar and outdoor area, the Kellaway Bar and its garden area, the Rusty Bumper Bistro, the Top West Community & Sports Pavilion, the bowling club and the mezzanine. The club hosts weddings, birthdays and celebrations, corporate conferences and trade shows, and funerals and wakes. Room hire is priced among the most competitively in Christchurch and includes setting the room to your exact requirements, from theatre-style seating to banquet dinners, with tailored bar and catering packages and dedicated wait and bar staff.
The Woolston Club operates under a club liquor licence, which means alcohol is served to current financial members and signed-in guests. If you are bringing visitors, sign them in at the guest sign-in stations, and don't be surprised when bar staff ask to sight your membership card or app QR - it's a condition of the licence. Every transaction also accrues 5% back as loyalty points. A neat and tidy dress code applies: no singlets, dirty work boots, offensive slogans or ripped clothing. The club office is open 11am to 4pm, Tuesday to Sunday, and the membership year runs from 1 September to 31 August.