The South Taranaki Club has been part of Hāwera life since 1912, and today it operates from modern premises at 43 Caledonia Street — rooms the members are plainly proud of, relocated there in August 1996 from the old High Street site below the water tower. With a membership of well over 2,300, it bills itself as South Taranaki's leading social club, and it has the facilities to back that up.
At the heart of the Club is Caledonia, its restaurant, offering an excellent meal and a selection of wines at very competitive prices. The dining room seats seventy-plus and is open Wednesday to Sunday evenings from 6.00pm, with lunchtime meals also available Wednesday to Saturday. Wednesday is roast day, with the Club's popular roast special served at both lunch and dinner. Beyond the kitchen there's a casino room with 18 modern gaming machines linked to a jackpot, a TAB facility with racing TVs and a betting pod, an outdoor social area with TV monitors, and entertainment on most Friday or Saturday nights.
Sport runs deep here too: four full-size snooker tables, three pool tables, table tennis, darts and indoor bowls indoors, with adjunct sections for outdoor bowls, golf, fishing, the South Taranaki Tourers and the over 60's. Members' nights are a fixture — Thursday and Friday jackpot draws with a Friday Happy Hour from 6.00pm to 7.00pm — and a 12-seater courtesy coach runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for members and guests.
South Taranaki Club has been part of Hāwera life for more than a century. Founded in 1912, the Club spent its first eight decades in premises on High Street below the water tower before moving in August 1996 to its modern home at 43 Caledonia Street — rooms members are plainly proud of, and which the Club says will take it well into the future. With a membership now numbering well over 2,300, it is one of the district's leading social and indoor sports venues, and its motto — "The Place To Be!" — is worn lightly but taken seriously.
The Club's restaurant, Caledonia, is a proper dining room with seating for seventy-plus, open Wednesday to Sunday evenings from 6.00pm and for lunchtime meals Wednesday through Saturday. The kitchen sticks to generous club classics — the kind of plates the Club likes to photograph, such as a hearty lamb shank and a famously "yummy" burger — backed by a selection of wines at prices the Club describes as very competitive.
Wednesday belongs to the roast. The Club's weekly roast special is served at both lunch and dinner, and it has become a fixture of the Hāwera week in its own right. Caledonia is managed by Pam Watkins, who handles dining requests and table or group bookings on 06 2784015, so ringing ahead is easy whether it's a quiet dinner for two or a large group.
Across the rest of the building the pace changes. A "casino room" holds 18 modern gaming machines hooked up to a linked jackpot, and for a different kind of punt there's a TAB facility with TVs for the racing action and a betting pod on site. Indoors, the sporting credentials are serious: four full-size snooker tables, three pool tables, plus table tennis, darts and indoor bowls. There's an outdoor social area with TV monitors as well, and entertainment on most Friday or Saturday nights — the line-up goes up on the Club's Facebook page and events listing.
Beyond the building, the Club's adjunct sections cover outdoor bowls, golf, fishing, the South Taranaki Tourers and an over 60's group, each rostered for raffle duty — with Thursday the most popular raffle night of the week.
Thursday is JACKPOT night. Between 5.30pm and 7.00pm a jackpot is drawn on Club membership card numbers — and to win, the member must be present at the draw with their current membership card. If it isn't struck, the pool grows by $500 a week up to a $3,000 limit that must be won within six weeks. Alongside it runs a $20 "lucky member through the door" prize: write your name and membership number on the draw sheet at the raffle table to enter.
A similar jackpot operates on Friday evening between 7.00pm and 8.00pm, climbing by $100 a week if unstruck to a maximum of $1,300. Friday also brings Happy Hour from 6.00pm to 7.00pm, so members can settle in before the draw.
A 12-seater courtesy coach runs for members and guests — Thursday evenings from 4.00pm onwards and Friday and Saturday evenings from 5.00pm onwards, other times as required — with pick-ups from residential addresses or motels arranged by calling the driver on 027 2784014. Members also receive a discount at any VTNZ station.
The Club gives back, too. Youth Sponsorship Grants support young people attending sporting competitions or pursuing cultural, academic, character or leadership development, and adjunct grants help fund its sporting sections. Membership itself is by nomination, with forms available through the Club.
Whether you come for the Wednesday roast, the Thursday jackpot or simply a frame of snooker with friends, the South Taranaki Club does what it has done since 1912: bring the district together over good food, a little friendly competition and a strong sense of belonging.