Age is just a number: Wallace wins third Quarry Hill Croquet Club Championship

A seasoned sportsman, Wallace has played numerous codes throughout his life including golf, tennis, baseball, squash, cricket, hockey and badminton.

"We were walking past the club and one of the ladies in the group suggested we try it out," Wallace said.

From that moment on in 2008 it became his new sport of choice.

After a few hits on the croquet green it wasn't long before it became a big part of his life.

Wallace had no problems transitioning to the sport as his prior knowledge and skill from other codes gave him a solid foundation to get going.

"I found my years playing cricket to be extremely helpful when I started playing croquet," he said.

Related: Quarry Hill Croquet Club members head to Sydney for championships, Eire Cup

The now 90-year-old still competes to this day and recently won the division two championship at Quarry Hill Croquet Club.

Wallace finished with 19 points to secure his third club championship, followed by John Davis in second-place with seven points and Irene Murdoch in third with five points.

In 2010 Wallace won the division three title and was the division two champion a few years later in 2017.

Even though he is in his 90s, Wallace said his age was just a number.

Especially when it came to playing croquet.

"It's a strategic game of accuracy and focus," he said.

"And the beauty of croquet is that gender makes no difference."

Wallace has several great sporting memories - including playing baseball with Essendon against Neil Harvey.

"When I played against him it made me realise how good the top echelon of players really are - it was incredible."

He can now add a new memory to his list as his name now appears three times on the honour boards at the Quarry Hill Croquet Club.

"It's wonderful to have my name up there," he said.

Meanwhile, two QHCC members Chris Eiffert and Lois Kirk are in action this week in New South Wales at the Australian Croquet Association Singles Championships and Eire Cup teams event.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: