Harvey Combe, a leading and talented pioneer tennis player in Victoria, returned from a vacation in this native England where he had been introduced to and played numerous rounds of golf. He had bought a set of clubs and returned with what was obviously an infectious enthusiasm. He and his son Brian set off to look for a suitable site for a golf course in Oak Bay. Arriving more or less at where the present entrance gate to the Club is, he was able to see the potential. In spite of the abundance of broom and gorse, as well as a daunting presence of rocks and stones, the areas between supported healthy growths of grass, currently being used for grazing sheep and cattle.

The property belonged to former Surveyor-General Joseph Despard Pemberton who, in company with his eldest son Frederick Bernard Pemberton, had strong views on how the land he owned, which included most of south Oak Bay, should be developed. Fortunately, a golf course suited their plans.

Combe gathered together fourteen friends to be the Founding Members of the Club.

Sir Richard Musgrave	Former Royal Navy Officer & diplomat    -  Chairman
Forbes Vernon	B.C. Commissioner of lands and works
George Gillespie	Second Manager of the Bank of B.C.
A.P. Luxton	Partner in the law firm of Pooley, Luxton
G.A. Kirk	Owner of a coal company
J.W. Anderson	Banker & Collector of Customs
W. Ridgeway-Wilson	Architect
B.H. Tyrwhitt-Drake	Registrar of the Court
W.H. Langley	Barrister
Hewitt Bostock	Recent arrival; later, M.P. & Speaker of the Senate
W.C. Ward	First Manager of the original Bank of B.C.
W.A. Ward	W.C. Ward’s eldest son - Insurance Broker
O.H. Van Milligan	(Occupation unknown)
Lionel Webber **	Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, stationed in Esquimalt

The driving force behind this group was the energetic Harvey Combe, who was by far the best golfer of the group. He  must have been away for the foundation meeting as his signature is missing from the records.

** One day, Webber learned that a wealthy uncle had left him a legacy on condition he learned a trade. He resigned his commission and became an apprentice machinist at the Victoria Iron Works. He persevered and, armed with his journeyman papers, contacted his uncle’s lawyers. He was rewarded with a legacy of “several thousand pounds.”

The newspaper recorded that, “Society finally called the action brave and welcomed the young man back to the fold. He again goes to Government House and golfs with the golfers.”

Harvey Combe found a most desirable site for the new Victoria golf course on 70 acres of arable land roughly bordered by Newport, Margate, and Mount Baker View (later Beach Drive). This land belonged to the Pemberton family who were happy with the idea of a golf course, except for the summer months when it was needed for grazing their sheep and cattle.

For ten years the playing season usually lasted from September to the end of June. The Spring Opening had to be held in March or April and the Autumn Meeting usually had to wait until mid-October.

Unfortunately the farm animals were quite picky in their foraging and in many places the summer grass grew so long it became unappetising. One year, some enterprising person set fire to these combustible patches, which brought a Pemberton reprimand. It was a problem until 1905 when the Committee at last approved the $100 purchase of a “Prince of Pennsylvania Horse Mowing Machine  – For shafts and seat - Add $25.”

In the very early days, to save carrying their clubs to the course, several players left them in a crate used to bring the Pemberton’s new upright piano from an eastern factory round Cape Horn to Victoria. As the number of players increased, this became very inconvenient. The key to the crate would go missing, and somehow the desired clubs always gravitated to the bottom of the pile.

In addition to the club storage problem,

“people began to think of somewhere to relax with a cup of tea –  or perhaps even a more exhilarating beverage after a round of golf, and plans were soon under way to construct a modest clubhouse. When it was completed at the end of 1894, the total cost was $55.00, plus $11.00 for painting. A year later, voluntary subscriptions covered the $106.00 cost of additions which included seven lockers for $10.50.

The first building consisted of three small rooms with a stove in the middle, a small kitchen at the back, and a verandah along the front ... Perhaps because the Clubhouse at that time was backed by a dense growth of trees, the question had not arisen before; but now, with the increasing membership, the committee finally voted in 1903 for the construction of a men’s privy for $10. The ladies did not enjoy the privilege of their own toilet until 1906 – and then it was a very primitive affair made of rough wood.”

From a Tacoma newspaper:

FIRST SPRING COMPETITIONS

TACOMA GOLFERS BEAT VICTORIA PLAYERS IN A MATCH GAME

AN EXCITING DAY’S SPORT ENDED WITH A DINNER
AT THE TACOMA CLUB

The Tacoma Golf Club held its first annual spring opening on the links at Edison on Saturday. The principal events were a match between six of the Victoria players and same number belonging to the local club, a club handicap competition and an open event. The competitors in the match game were:

H. Combe played an excellent game and several others did very well also. C.S. Milliken and Rev. W.H. Cornett were not, however, in their usual good form.....

There were 26 entries for the open handicap competition which was a very exciting contest. C.B. Stahlschmidt, of Victoria, and HAS. Grills tied with (net) 94 strokes each,and to decide the game they played three other holes which they again tied. Another hole was accordingly played, the Victoria layer winning by one stroke.

[For Harvey Combe it must have been a tough day. His handicap was PLUS 10, Milliken and Cornett were scratch, Bremner was 9 and the remainder stretched  all the way up to 40. In the handicap competition Harvey shot a gross 94, almost half that scored by the bottom player, a Mr. Geo. Walker, who grossed 179 for the 18 holes.]

1893-1900

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