Club Waimea is a friendly, sociable and community-minded club on Queen Street in Richmond, Nelson. Members, affiliated club members and their guests are welcomed into a well-equipped clubhouse offering a house bar with regular entertainment, a gaming room with 18 machines, a restaurant, off sales, TAB, an ATM, squash courts, an all-year-round outdoor bowling green, a functions hall with full bar facilities, and a caravan park with an ablution block and full facilities.
Sport and special-interest life sits at the heart of the club, with more than fourteen sections including indoor and outdoor bowls, golf, cards, darts, fishing, pool, snooker, squash, rugby, the RSA, country music, a harmony chorus, line dancing and more. Live entertainment runs every Saturday night, with a line-up of local bands, karaoke and special events throughout the year.
Phil's Place, the club's restaurant, serves an a la carte menu Thursday to Sunday from 5.30pm in a friendly atmosphere. The club also hosts functions, weddings and workplace training, welcomes Affiliated Clubs NZ members, and is always open to new members.
Club Waimea sits on Queen Street in Richmond, and the club's own description of itself is refreshingly unpretentious: a friendly place for members to meet up with friends and family — and for guests. That community-minded spirit runs through everything the club does, from its fourteen-plus sporting sections and special interest groups to its Saturday night entertainment and its restaurant, Phil's Place. It is a club that prides itself, in its own words, on its friendly, sociable and community-minded spirit.
The amenities list alone tells you this is a busy place. Inside there is a house bar with regular entertainment, a gaming room with 18 machines, a functions hall with full bar facilities, a restaurant, off sales, TAB and an ATM. Outside, members and visitors find an all-year-round outdoor bowling green, squash courts, and a caravan park with an ablution block and full facilities. The club's website gallery shows what it all adds up to: friends and family gathering to enjoy great company, activities and entertainment — what the club calls the perfect spot to meet new people or join in on the fun.
Dining is centred on Phil's Place, the club's restaurant, which offers an a la carte menu Thursday through Sunday from 5.30pm. The club's promise is simple: delicious dining in a friendly atmosphere. Restaurant bookings can be made by calling the club on +64 3-543 9179 — and if there is no answer, the club asks you to leave a message or email reception@clubwaimea.co.nz.
Entertainment is a fixture rather than an afterthought. Club Waimea hosts live entertainment every Saturday night, with a great line-up of local bands, karaoke and special events throughout the year. The club's What's On This Week page keeps members and visitors up to date with what is coming, and the calendar extends well beyond music, with the various sections running their own activities week by week.
Sport and special interests are the backbone of the club — more than fourteen sections in total. Bowls players are especially well served, with both an indoor bowls section and an all-year-round outdoor bowling green. There are sections for golf, cards, darts, fishing, pool, snooker, squash and rugby, along with the RSA and a gaming room. The special interest groups are just as varied: Nelson Country Music, the Nelson Bays Harmony Chorus, Sioux Line Dancing, the Sun City Rockers, the Tasmonics and a Nelson Motorcycle section all meet under the Club Waimea roof. For newcomers to Richmond, it is one of the easiest ways in the district to find your people — whether your game is bowls or your passion is harmony singing.
Beyond the weekly rhythm, Club Waimea works as a venue. The functions hall comes with full bar facilities, there are additional rooms for functions, and the club lists weddings and workplace training among the events it hosts. Members can reserve and hold functions at the club by contacting reception by phone or email. For travellers, the on-site caravan park — with its ablution block and full facilities — makes the club a practical base for exploring the Nelson Tasman region.
The club's ties to its district show in smaller ways, too. Its website carries a 'Supporters of Club Waimea' board of local businesses — among them Richmond Glass and Days Plumbing — along with a Local Heroes section, underlining that this is a club embedded in its community rather than just located in it.
Membership is open and actively encouraged: the club is, in its own words, always looking for members, and points to member benefits and the chance to help support the community. Fees and an application form are available on the membership page, and members of Affiliated Clubs NZ are also welcome to use Club Waimea's facilities.
Hours are easy to plan around. Monday to Friday the club opens at 9am and stays open until late; on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it opens at 11am, again until late; and the restaurant serves from 5.30pm Thursday to Sunday. Whether you come for a game of squash, a roll-up on the green, a Saturday band or dinner at Phil's Place, the welcome the club promises is the same one it leads with: friendly, sociable and community-minded.