WORLD HEADLINES 

Did she, or didn’t she? 

(An excerpt from the 75th Anniversary Celebration booklet written in 1991 by Jim Valli) 

Nearly 40 years on, people still argue over whether Eliza Small really did manage seven holes in one— four of them in successive rounds—over a period of three months at Queens Park. 

Mrs Small made world headlines in early 1953 with her feats, but there were many who were dubious of her claims, which caused great divisions within the club. 

This controversy eventually led to the Ladies' Club being taken to court. 

Her alleged holes in one were-  

• January 15: Westward Ho.  
• March 5: Waihopai. 
• March 12: Westward Ho.  
• March 24: Waihopai.  
• April 1: Feldwick. 
• April 3: Polygon 
• April 17: Westward Ho. 

As the stories of these efforts spread, Life magazine cabled The Southland Times for a photo journalism piece on Mrs Small, but was advised there appeared to be some doubt about some of her claims. 

Time magazine led its sports section with an item on Mrs Small. 

Describing her as "the sensation of the Antipodes." it said of her sixth hole in one: ". . . Playing before a buzzing, unbelieving gallery, she smacked another one straight and true, dead to the pin, for her sixth hole in one in two and a-half months." 

Mrs Small's first ace, at the 17th on January 15 came in a practice round. 

The Southland Times recording the feat, said: "In playing this hole, Mrs Small had always used a No 4 iron, but on Thursday she decided to use a No 7 iron." An 18 handicapper, she completed her round in 86. 

Recording her second hole in one, at Waihopai, when she was playing a round with her husband, the Times said it was "the first time she had been on the green with her tee shot". 

Mrs Small was again playing with her husband when she claimed her sixth hole in one, at Polygon, on Friday April 3. 

The Times reported: "A small gallery made up of players who happened to be on that part of the course watched Mrs Small as she played from the tee and a woman player picked the ball out of the hole for her. The hole is on a temporary green and the distance was about 120 yards." 

Reporting Mrs Small's seventh hole in one—her fourth in successive rounds—the Times said ". . . In company with her husband and Mrs A P Bulman, Mrs Small holed her tee shot at the shortest hole on the course, Westward Ho! It was her first round of golf after her return from holiday. 

"At Westward Ho!, the 17th hole, Mrs Bulman played her tee shot with a No 3 iron. The shot was not a good one and the ball landed a distance from the green. 

"Mrs Small said to Mrs Bulman, 'Now, look, you are not using your iron correctly'. Mrs Small then proceeded to illustrate. Taking a No 7 iron, the hole in one expert played her tee shot. It was a low shot, but landed safely on the green and rolled towards the hole. 

"A covering of leaves lay on the green. The ball rolled into the leaves, within (onlookers thought) a short distance of the hole, though they could not see it finish its course. 

"Mr Small then played and failed to reach the green. Both he and Mrs Bulman needed a second shot. The three players walked to the green together. Mrs Small could not find her ball. She had a look at what she thought was the ball but found she had been misled by the colour of a leaf. 

"It wouldn't be in, would it?' asked Mrs Small with a smile. 

Finding it in the hole Mr Small stood and looked. 

"Mrs Bulman and Mr Small looked at each other. Then Mrs Bulman excitedly went across and picked the ball out. Mr Small shook his head and said, 'Well, well, well. 

"Last night, Mrs Bulman told a reporter that 'seeing is believing'. While vouching for the hole in one, she said it was uncanny. 

What was Mrs Small's reaction? She said that she was not over-excited but wondered when other Invercargill golfers were going to start holing their tee shots. 

While Mrs Small's feats were making world news, her claims had split the Queens Park Ladies' Golf Club. Some steadfastly refused to believe her, while others were adamant that she had done as she said. 

One member of the club who had been suspended from all club fixtures after a written complaint from Mrs Small about her conduct on the course on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 24, took the eight members of the Ladies' Club committee to court in what became known as the "golf club case." 

Jean Smith Millar sought a declaration that the committee's decision to suspend her from all club fixtures was null and void, sought an injunction to restrain the committee from enforcing the decision, and sought £100 general damages for wrongful suspension. 

Counsel for Mrs Millar told Mr Justice North during the two-day hearing in the Invercargill Supreme Court on August 26 and 27 that the plaintiff was seeking only nominal damages in the hope of avoiding any bitterness and bad feeling in the club and asked that if damages be awarded that they be only nominal. 

Mrs Millar won her case, the judge finding in a reserved judgment on September 16 that the committee's decision to suspend her was invalid. 

The division between the pro-Small and anti-Small supporters, and then the court case, left the women's club in a bad way. 

A prominent member at the time recalled a few years ago: "The club was torn apart. . . Women wouldn't even speak to each other. People who had been friends for years became enemies. It was shocking." 

A photograph was taken of a presentation to Mrs Small and was put up in the clubhouse, she said, but it later disappeared. It was subsequently found in the rafters.