“Please … NO BLACK SOLED SHOES ON COURT,” reads a sign on a gate at a tennis court in the resort valley of Kooralbyn.

It is, clearly, an old sign. Because these days, a few scuff marks would go entirely unnoticed on this, or any of the more than 10 courts which make up its tennis centre.

Grass grows in place of the nets which once divided the courts and the thick cracks which spiderweb the concrete surface would have an Indian spin bowler licking their lips.

This is not the only sign mocked by time.

A big tennis ball and metal flag point the way from the well-maintained golf course to the tennis centre. The paint on the ball has fallen off in large flakes. A crushed deodorant is wedged into the flag.          

Another tennis ball welcomes visitors at the entrance. This one is two-dimensional and made of plywood.

“Australian International Tennis Kooralbyn Valley,” it reads.