Vale Gordon Matthews

One of the more pleasant aspects of my role as president is meeting the many people who have contributed to the advancement of the sport over the years. I met Gordon in May 2025 at Headland-Buderim at a Golf Croquet event. Effervescent and spritely and knowledgeable in all things croquet. It was a pleasure to meet him.

Gordon Matthews passed away peacefully in his sleep on 19 June 2026 at Selangor Hospital. He was 89 years old.

Gordon joined Headland-Buderim in June 2005 and over more than twenty years of membership made an extraordinary contribution to the club and to croquet in Queensland and Australia. He became both a coach and referee, and served the club in various other capacities, drawing on his professional expertise as a doctor. 

In 2021, in recognition of his dedication, Gordon was appointed Club Patron — a role he embraced with characteristic warmth and vision. As Patron he introduced the Patron's Shield, an annual fun event designed to bring all club members together in a spirit of fellowship.

Gordon's croquet achievements extended far beyond Headland-Buderim. He captained the Queensland State Golf Croquet team in 2007, and for ten years served as the ACA National Director of Golf Croquet Refereeing and as the Australian representative on the World Golf Croquet Rules Committee. His influence on the development and governance of the sport in this country was profound.

In accordance with Gordon's wishes, there will be no funeral.

We extend our deepest condolences to Gordon's wife, Judith, and offer our grateful thanks to them both for their strong support of Headland-Buderim Club and the wider croquet community over more than two decades.

Gordon's legacy — in the people he coached, the games he refereed, the rules he helped shape, and the fellowship he fostered — will endure.