Ian Chapman Plaque Unveiled at the Longueville Sporting Club (aka The Diddy)

Earlier this year a memorial plaque was unveiled at the Longueville Sporting Club to recognise the enormous contribution made by Ian “Chappie” Chapman as a Past President/Chairman/Board Member of the Club.

His wife Lyn and three of his four children Kristy, Mark and Andrew were there to celebrate the day – along with several of his grandchildren and other family, with many past and present residents of Lane Cove also out in force to honour him.

Theo Clark from Theo Clark Media was at the event and has written the following for ITC.

Looking at the now thriving Longueville Sporting Club and its popular al fresco facilities, it may surprise newcomers to Lane Cove to learn that the fate of this iconic local institution once hung in the balance.

In the early 1990s, barefoot bowls had not yet revived Sydney’s bowling clubs, and Lane Cove Council was looking at ways to repurpose the club grounds due to a dwindling club membership. There was no dining terrace, just a hazardous circular driveway and red brick simplicity. The unveiling of the Ian “Chappie” Chapman memorial plaque earlier this year was an occasion to recall some of the history of the transformation of this old-time Sydney bowls club to the family-friendly community venue of today.

Ian Chapman was an engineer and long-time resident of William Edward Street, located behind the club. He was a very active community man wherever he went, from his younger days at Drummoyne Rugby Club to his support for St. Michael’s Primary School and St Ignatius’ College Riverview when he was a parent, and to his parish and charity work.

Ian was the Diddy President/Chairman and a Board member for several years. As an engineer, he brought a practical vision to forward planning that eventually helped transform the club. “Part of his vision was to convert the old driveway into the outdoor dining area where we are today,” Dr Malcolm Willis told the gathering ahead of the unveiling. “Chappie was the visionary behind the Diddy. He wanted it to become the community meeting place for Lane Cove. This has been achieved.”

When speaking ahead of the unveiling, Rob Sinclair OAM, explained how Ian and wife Lyn had first drawn people to the club: “One Friday in 1991, Ian called into the club for a quick beer, poured by a volunteer member, as the club could not afford to pay bar staff. He was told that he should enjoy it while he could as the future of the club was pretty bleak… Chappie inquired if the club needed new members and was told they sure did. ‘I’ll have you 30 by Monday’ was action man Chappie’s response. And he did.

“The first Chappie-inspired event to test the waters for local support was in October 1991, a time of recession, when the local mood was rather glum,” Rob Sinclair recalled. “We hired a large TV and my wife Jo and I did a local letterbox drop inviting people to watch the Rugby World Cup final featuring the Wallabies and England from Twickenham at 1 am!  We had only just joined the club so it was a brave call for the very welcoming President, Bob Shields, to agree that if we could guarantee 40 people he would provide a volunteer barman. Almost 400 locals turned up! Ian immediately recognised the enormous potential for a local community gathering place.”

In the 1980s, Ian and wife Lyn had assisted Josephite Sister Maria Sullivan in founding Josephite Community Aid (JCA), a charity for young people to get involved helping newly arrived refugees. As people arrived from the breakup of Yugoslavia, JCA found itself in ever greater need of financial support, and the Chapmans turned to their friends in Lane Cove. From this was born the annual JCA Rugby Night fundraiser at the Diddy. Timed around international Wallabies matches, the club would be transformed for fancy dress occasions to fit with wherever the Test was being played. Lane Cove raised many thousands for refugees, and the Diddy gained nationwide exposure as Gordon Bray’s commentary team would send a cheerio to “Sister Maria at the Diddy”, though in ever more exotic locales: Dublin… London… Marseille… and finally… Rick’s Cafe, Casablanca.

This influx of new members and community events also brought name changes for the club. No longer the “Longueville Bowling Club”, the venue became the “Longueville Sporting Club”, with its bar known as “The Diddy” — a name popularised by members recruited by Ian, such as Rob Sinclair and Michael Prior. The pre-Chappie members were of an autumnal age in life that could still count heroes of the World War Two generation in their ranks (some wondered if it weren’t the Boer War): “How’s old Jimmy?” one might inquire, “He died,” came the reply. “Oh, did he die, did he?” These exchanges were heard with such regularity that a local wit began to refer to the venue itself as the “Diddy Di Diddy Club”.

The precise originator of the name is a matter of debate. By most accounts, it was invented by a young visitor poking fun at the age of club patrons.  Likely candidates with suitably inventive senses of humour are frequently nominated from the mists of time: Will Sinclair and Kevin Lynch say it wasn’t them. Could it have been former President Kevin McBride? Or does the lineage stretch even further back?

In the end, it was Ian’s neighbour and friend Michael Prior, a local sign maker, who put the name “The Diddy” on the wall, and so the name has stuck, recalling just one of the many baton changes that have occurred over the club’s 85-year history. Thirty-odd years later, few will ever be remembered for running the baton quite so far around the track as Ian “Chappie” Chapman.

As Cliff Harvey, the octogenarian Patron of the Lane Cove Rugby Club noted approvingly when he saw the new plaque on the wall: “those who drink from the well should pause to give thanks to those who built the well.”

Photo Credits: Theo Clark Media