Durban’s Municipal Hockey Club, fondly referred to as Munies, turns 100 on July 5, making it the oldest hockey club in KZN and one of the oldest in South Africa.

The Munies alumni hosted a series events over the June long weekend to celebrate their centenary including a cocktail party, a six-a-side fun grass hockey tournament, a potjie competition and a formal function.

Munies has had many hockey successes over the decades, both in the league, and with players representing province and country. Most recently Grant James has been appointed to the Springbok Indoor technical support staff.

Today the club has a small membership who all participate for the love of the game. “We are a small club of about 75 or so active and seasoned players. Our oldest member has been a part of our family for 62 years and is still instrumental in the running of the club. We are lucky enough to have our second and third generations keeping the momentum going.” said chairman, James Thom.

Delving into the colourful archives of the club from a century ago, the documents reveal some wonderful mementos, including that the ladies team, created in 1926, travelling to Harding for a fancy dress match. In the men’s league, “Umpires were also a problem and there was a lot of rough play. The reason given that most of the players were football players.”

In their first official game, Munies took on Nomads ‘A’ on July 5, 1925, also recording their first loss of 9-1. At the end of July, Munies had two registered teams. Nomads Hockey had three teams and Durban AC another three teams. In 1927, Munies had grown to two men’s teams and two women’s teams.

Another snippet from the archive’s notes the women’s kit: “Ladies colours – All black, sand shoes, socks, bloomers, gym with square neck with yellow vertical stripes on bottom, white blouse.”

In the early 50s, Munies moved to their present grounds in the greenbelt of the Botanical Gardens. Initially all they had was a piece of level ground maintained by the corporation. The first  permanent fixture, after years of pressure, was eventually built by the municipality – two large ‘long-drop’ buildings that served as toilets and change rooms. Five years later, in 1958, the clubhouse started taking shape with the kitchen being built, which was used for everything. Three expansions later, the Munies clubhouse remains in pride and place on their home ground.

Anyone with any links, connections or history to Munies Hockey Club is invited to get in touch with the centenary committee, by contacting Ashleigh on 082 893 8262 via WhatsApp.

For more info visit www.munies.co.za or connect via Facebook.

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