Description of Historic Place

The South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club is a tennis club with a wooden one-storey clubhouse, seven grass tennis courts, two hard courts, and herbaceous gardens all overlooking Cowichan Bay. The property is located on the scenic Cowichan Bay Road, just outside the historic seaside village of Cowichan Bay, British Columbia. This historic place is specific to the club site, the grass courts, and the herbaceous gardens.

Heritage Value

The South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club has cultural value for its continuous use to the community as a source of recreation and social activities. As it was formed by early settlers, the club has historic value for representing the social development of the Cowichan Valley, specifically the area of Cowichan Bay. An association with important historical people has greatly contributed to the current state of the club and is therefore a source of pride to community members. The impressive quality of this historic place has aesthetic value and greatly contributes to the character of the community.

The herbaceous garden and sentinel mature maple trees have aesthetic value in their long-lasting contribution to the overall ambience and character of the club.

The South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club has historic and cultural value as being the oldest continuously-functioning grass tennis courts in Canada. The South Cowichan Lawn Tennis clubhouse has been altered over the years, but there is value in the continued use of the site as a community gathering place. As such, the club provides a rare insight to the social and recreational gatherings of early communities throughout the Cowichan Valley. The pristine condition of the courts allows visitors to follow in the footsteps of early settlers with a game of lawn tennis.

The club was founded by early settlers of the area and, therefore, has a connection with the earliest cultural and community development of the Cowichan Valley. The original two courts were built on Augustus Pimbury's farm in 1887. In addition to the Pimbury's, The F. Maitland-Dougalls were another founding family of the club and they promoted and increased the membership to immense popularity. This led the club to move to its present location on 4 acres of land donated by George Treffry Corfield. The move allowed the club to expand in 1906 to its present day 9 courts (7 grass and 2 hardcourts) and continue to serve the community as a place of leisure and social activity. The club symbolizes the historic and current importance of recreation to the community and the growth in popularity of social community events.

The popularity of the South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club has attracted many important historic figures to visit the famed courts. Robert Service, the internationally famous "Bard of the Yukon", settled in the Cowichan Valley from 1899 to 1903 and was an active tennis player at the club. Nationally-ranked tennis star Kay Wilson, who was known as a four-time national tennis champion and a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from Tennis Canada, was a regular member of the club. American Senator and nationally-ranked tennis player, Don Wilner was a member of the club for 57 years. These historic figures all discovered something special about the South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club that had them returning to play on the courts for many years.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club include:

- The quality of the lawn courts
- The continuous use of the clubhouse site as a community gathering place
- The mature herbaceous gardens
- The mature maple treess
- The unobstructed view of the Cowichan Bay estuary