In a similar manner to several other Bowls North Harbour Legends, Ross Haresnape first built his reputation in other Centres. Much of his long and extensive bowling career was spent in the Auckland Centre, where he belonged to many of its clubs. And Ross also spent considerable time with clubs in the Thames Valley and Waikato Centres.
Among those several illustrious bowlers who have been acclaimed as Harbour Legends, are Danny O’Connor, whose name is synonymous with the Okahu Bay Club in the Auckland Centre; Marlene Castle, who had a relatively short and very successful span with North Harbour; and even Ivan Kostanich.
While he will always be associated with the Helensville club, most of the centre titles he won were in the Auckland centre, some with the Carlton Club, but mainly with Helensville then in the North Shore sub-centre before the Harbour broke away from Auckland in the mid -1980s. As a result, Ivan does not feature among Harbour’s gold star holders.
But this is about the achievements of Ross Haresnape after he came to the Bowls Harbour Centre in 2004, as one of several leading bowlers headed by Rowan Brassey and Danny O’Connor who came following a disagreement with the Auckland Centre Executive.
In the decade or so he spent within North Harbour, Ross compiled a phenomenal record similar to that which Marlene Castle achieved in 1994-2000.
He was a member firstly of Takapuna and, while not particularly active there, he did help that club become the first from North Harbour to win the National Sevens Inter-club title. Others in that team were Brassey, O’Connor, Neven Grgicevich, Justin Goodwin and Richard Collett, all of whom had sympathised with Brassey in his dispute with Auckland, plus regular Takapuna members, Bob Howitt and Trevor Forward.
Ross then linked with the Birkenhead and Browns Bay Clubs and it was as a member of them that he won 11 centre titles in the seasons between 2006 and 2012, thus earning a bar to his gold star. In addition, and while winning a Bowls North Harbour Sevens Inter-club title does not count towards a gold star, Ross won 4 such titles playing for Browns Bay, plus the BNH title which preceded Takapuna’s success in the National Interclub held in Palmerston North.
Incidentally, he won 11 Auckland Centre titles and 10 in Thames Valley and so had a bar to his gold stars in each of those Centres. He also had four Waikato titles and just missed the rare feat of being a gold star holder in four different centres.
Ross came close to a national gold star, in the pairs with the great Nick Unkovich and in fours playing alongside such accomplished bowlers as Brassey, O’Connor, Jamie Hill and Kerry Chapman.
Ross Haresnape not only had a distinguished playing record with North Harbour, but he also made a significant contribution as a coach and as a selector of our Centre’s Men’s Representative team.
The arrival of star bowlers of the Brassey, O’Connor and Haresnape calibre was the start of one of Bowls North Harbour’s most momentous eras. Those named players lifted the playing standards within Harbour to a level which had not been previously reached, giving Harbour a place among the country’s strongest centres
In fact, our Centre won the National Intercentre Championship in 2006 for the first and only time.
Some 11 years later Ross assumed responsibility for the Bowls Harbour Men’s Representative Team and during his term as selector/coach, that Team was runner up in the National Intercentre Championship – still just the second time BNH has reached the final.
The overall impact of Ross within Bowls North Harbour was arguably greater than even that of Danny, Marlene and Ivan, making his case to join them as a “Legend” compelling.
Generally all Legends have a presence, a “wow” factor if you like and Ross certainly had it.
When he died in 2022 the tributes from Harbour bowling identities were led by a club-mate from his Takapuna days, Bob Howitt, and the Centre’s leading title holder, Colin Rogan, who played with Ross at both club and centre levels.
Colin described him as “a great character” and praised him for not just his amazing shot-making ability but also for his work as a selector. Bob recalled him as both a fine bowler and a wonderful raconteur.
Clearly, Ross Haresnape has left an enduring legacy and deserves to be ranked among the Legends of Bowls North Harbour.
Unfortunately, Ross’ partner Val Fielden is indisposed and can’t be with us today and I invite Wayne Wrack to come up and receive the award on her behalf.