At the 1946 Annual Meeting Messrs. Langan and Griffiths were returned as President and Captain. The Membership in 1945 was 140. Dr Langan noted that this was the first peace time Meeting, and he expressed a desire that the Club continue along the lines for the forming of a proper Country Club. Mr. J. R. Warner retired as Treasurer after 17 years of service.

A Special Committee Meeting held in March 1946 decided that the Club should proceed with the reconstruction of the Course to 18 holes and to the gradual establishment of a “proper Country Club.” An amusing complaint was dealt with by the April Meeting, with reports on the behavior of the green keeper’s dog. The greenkeeper had trained his dog, an Alsatian, to find lost balls, which was of great benefit to players during the war years. However, complaints were now being received from players regarding the eagerness of the dog to “find” balls that had not strayed during rounds. The outcome was that the greenkeeper was told that the dog had to be kept off the Course during weekends.

Club Championships, in all grades, were reintroduced in 1946 and conducted in the following format - qualifying rounds were played over 18 holes, with the first eight in each grade qualifying. Quarter and semifinal rounds were also played over 18 holes with the final rounds played over 36 holes. It is not mentioned whether the finals were played in the match play format.

Nominations for Membership was discussed at the 1946 June Committee Meeting when Dr. Langan recommended that all nominations be dealt with at committee level. The Meeting resolved that all new members be elected by secret ballot, with one black ball in four, disqualifying a nomination. Criteria for Membership appears to have been high as the minutes record one application was rejected on several occasions. All applications for membership were to be left over for twelve months.

The A.G.M. in 1947 list the membership for 1946 at 169. In 1947 the Club still faced rationing, which included alcohol, some relief occurred when the Club was advised that quota had been raised to 54 gallons per month.       

Areas of the course were still being cleared in preparation for the additional nine holes. A meeting held in February 1947 decided that at the completion of the work the contractors be retained, on an hourly rate, to finish off work that would otherwise have to be done by the Club’s staff. Since the outbreak of the war the Club did not employ the services of a Professional.

Reports to the 1947 October meeting advised that the work on the additional nine holes was progressing, with fairways ready for mowing by December 1947. Shortages of golf balls and beer were still a problem.  The December meeting discussed ways of ensuring that enough beer was available for members to drink at the completion of their rounds. So that early finishers did not drink all the quota, tokens were issued on payment of Green Fees, and these were exchanged for drinks at the end of the round.

In 1947 an Industrial Award granted all workers a 40-hour working week. The law was enforced from 1st January 1948 and investigations were undertaken to see how it affected the golf club. The Steward and Green keeper were asked to work Saturday mornings for an extra 4-hour overtime, with other staff restricted to working the normal 40-hour week.

The last Committee Meeting held for 1947 was held in January 1948 and approval was given to the Associates to open their own bank account with the National Bank. The Treasurer also drew attention to the fact that the Club was overspending, and that due to the extra work being performed for the new course, the wages bill was more than the Club could afford. The 1947 meeting heard that the supply of golf balls had improved and that with this improvement outstanding trophies could now be paid out

The Membership for 1947 was shown as 233 comprising— Members 134, Associates 85, Country Members 5, Non-Playing Members 2, and Junior Members 2. Major expenses for 1947 were Construction of new 9 Holes and Extensions to watering scheme

The F.N.Q. Championships were held on the Cairns Course during 1947 and was won by Mr. J. R. Warner with Mr. G. H. Griffiths being runner up. An indication of handicap limits was revealed when Messrs. W. Woodward and H. Armstrong moved, “That visitors and new members be given a handicap limit of 25/18 until such time as they have produced three cards.” The Motion was lost.

The Annual Meeting attempted to elevate Mr. G. H. Griffiths to Life Membership, but on the advice of the President, was withdrawn. The President advised the Meeting, that the Constitution did not allow for a Life Membership to be given for services to the Club. Steps were put into place to amend the Constitution, and at the 1950 annual Meeting Mr. Griffiths received his Life Membership.

No records exist as to when the first 18 holes were played on the new course, but mention is made at the Annual Meeting in February 1948 that the first 18 holes would be played on the new course in April of that year. However, an official opening day set down for 1949 was postponed due to bad weather. The March Meeting in 1948 noted that with the opening of the new course, problems could be experienced with high tides and several springs would need draining. It can be reasonable to assume that the Course opened in either March or April 1948. The February Meeting approved the purchase of a tractor.     

The existence of a C Grade is finally acknowledged at the May 1948 Meeting, when the handicap limits were set as follows – A Grade 12 and under, B 13 to 18 and C Grade 19 and over. The limits would stay until 1995 when they changed but would return to the above limits in 1998.

During 1948, several Cairns Members visited Townsville to compete in the Nth. Qld Championships, the major event was won by Cairns Member, Mr. R. Howarth. The teams event played in conjunction with the Championships was won by a Cairns side, being the first time that the Tyack Cup would be won by a visiting team.

The opening of the new Course was confirmed as 1948, when at its final Meeting in 1948 the Committee dealt with a complaint from Associates Members over the manner in which the change over to the new 18-hole course had been carried out. The Secretary was directed to write to the Associates apologizing for the oversight in the lack of notification. The Meeting invited Associates to play on the links during the off season on Saturdays, hitting off from the 10th Tee between 1 pm and 2 pm. The arrangements were for a trial period only.

The Membership for 1948 was 277, including 154 Members and 106 Associates. The President advised that the Q. G. U. had increased capitation. In the past this levy had been paid by the Club but in future it would be passed onto Members and included in their annual fees.

The February Meeting discussed the official opening of the new course. A Hole in One board was installed in August and the Committee agreed that any Member holing out would be presented with a bottle of scotch whisky.

The Committee was negotiating with Mrs. M. E. Golder on the sale of the land adjacent to the first fairway. On several occasions the minutes refer to the sale of this land and at least on one occasion a price was set, but each time the Committee of the day failed to proceed with the deal. A price believed to have been quoted was 1500 pounds or $3,000.00. The land was eventually sold to Mr. Donaghy, and the land would assume the title “Donaghy’s Paddock” in future chapters.

Mrs Annie Griffiths

Miss Mary Kingsbury (top photo) joined the club in 1947 and would marry Charles Griffiths

Mr H Hastie