The Hobart Real Tennis Club

The court in Hobart was built in 1875 by Samuel Smith Travers, who, having played in London, was a devotee of the game.

In Hobart, Travers bought premises where he could not only live but have a court in his backyard. He found an old brewery in Davey Street and built a house on the property next door. This house subsequently became the Hobart Trades Hall and is now incorporated in the Commonwealth Law Courts. He modified the brewery and created the Tennis Court we see today. The Club's social rooms, it is understood, originally formed the hay loft above, the stable and the tack room, all belonging to the house.

He brought with him a professional, Thomas Stone, who later served the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club. A second professional, Mr Horne, retired in 1900 and was succeeded by Percy Finch who started playing at the age of fourteen, by which time a club had been formed. Finch remained professional until his death at the age of 78 in 1964, having established himself as a world class player and excellent coach.

The Travers family kept a long association with the sport and they, with the Butlers (direct descendants of Travers), were fine exponents of the game. C. W. Butler won nine club championships and twenty-two championships during his thirty playing years. Today, Hobart has many top players. Several are world class, including Graham Hyland, current World Champion Robert Fahey and Club Professional Brad Dale.