The Matamata Lions Club was chartered in December 1958, the 8th club in New Zealand. Its sponsoring club was Tauranga, which began in 1957; Matamata in turn sponsored the Morrinsville club in 1959, Putaruru in 1961, and Te Aroha in 1962.
Early club meetings were held at the Matamata Hotel on Arawa Street North, with dinner at 5pm and a requirement to leave by 6pm due to the licensing laws of the time. After dinner, members would adjourn to the nearby Matamata Club, beginning a more than 50-year association that continues to this day.
Original Charter Member Neil Algar remains with the club; along with wife Eunice, he has participated fully for many years, served in all executive positions including President in 1983-84 and 1997-98, served the community as a local councillor and mayor, and was awarded a Life Membership Lloyd Morgan Trust in 1999. In September 2020, Graeme Waterson was awarded a Lloyd Morgan Fellowship for over 45 years of service to the club.
Dinner meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at the Matamata Club Rawhiti Lounge at 6pm, and business meetings on the 4th Wednesday at the Matamata Club, Workies Bar, at 6pm.