The story of Crichton Cobbers begins with Toc H, an organisation that in turn had its origins in the First World War.

In 1926 the men from the Christchurch branch of Toc H met and agreed their community would benefit in many ways if there were an undenominational club for youth, providing sports facilities.

The aim was simply, to “take boys off the street corners” and provide them with interests and activities, which would in turn, encourage them to become good citizens.

The club grew rapidly and by the 30’s a number of Cobbers clubs emerged. With membership around 1000 in the 70's it had become the ‘biggest club of its kind in New Zealand’.

Over the years the emphasis remained on the traditional strengths of the club, in providing excellent tuition in physical sport like wrestling, boxing, weight lifting and Judo.

During this time many commercial gyms flourished with the trend leaning towards group ‘fitness classes’. Membership at Crichton Cobbers slowly declined, however a founding principle for Crichton Cobbers is to support existing service providers, not compete with
them.

However being an adaptable sort of club, the realization came for organisational change. With the new millennium and the newly appointed operations team, facilities and services were dramatically improved.

Since 2000 membership has dramatically increased and once again significant numbers in the community benefit from the clubs existence.

Note: Complete club history is available for sale. Please contact the club.