Surf legend and beer baron Bede Durbidge rolls in to save Straddie bowls club from wipeout
The future of a Moreton Bay bowls club rests on a crucial vote this weekend as a surf legend and his business partner have offered a $1 million lifeline. But it comes with some major conditions.
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An embattled bowls club on a popular Moreton Bay island is pinning its hopes on a million-dollar-plus deal backed by a world surf legend and beer brewer, and a commercial developer to bail it out of debt.
The Point Lookout Bowls Club members are poised to vote this weekend on signing the lifeline contract with pro surfer Bede Durbidge and commercial developer Jo Oliphant, who both grew up on Straddie.
Durbidge is well known for his spot on the World Surf Tour, being an Olympic surfing coach and founding the popular Balter Brewing Co while his childhood friend, development expert Joe Oliphant, made his name with his commercial company Panacea Development Partners.
The club has been in talks since September over the bold proposal which includes building up to 13 one- and two-storey holiday units around the bowls club on adjacent land and using a portion of one of the bowls greens for a beer garden and playground.
Under the deal, the business partners’ $1 million “contribution” has been earmarked to pay for essential upgrades including a new roof and to immediately pay down debt.
It was also envisaged that a new shuttle bus would be purchased to be shared by the Bowls Club and the new short-term accommodation facility, offering day and night transport to members and guests.
The lifeline agreement also includes $100,000 a year to be paid from the accommodation project to the Bowls Club for a decade, bringing the total support package to $2 million.
A new driveway and 54-space carpark, along with any necessary water, sewer, stormwater, and power upgrades will be part of the overhaul in an effort to modernise the popular venue, which marked its 50th anniversary last year.
As part of the proposal, $10,000 will also be deducted from the overall $1 million amount to fund independent legal advice for the club, ensuring it is well-positioned to navigate contractual aspects of the project.
A “code assessable” development application to streamline the approval process and allow work to commence sooner has been submitted to Redland City Council.
The deal has raised concerns from some of the longer-term bowls club members who have questioned turning part of the club’s cherished vacant ground into holiday accommodation units.
But Point Lookout businesswoman Donna Shannon, who owns the neighbouring Mexican restaurant, Oasis, has thrown her support behind the project claiming it will create a new dining precinct.
Supporters of the plan, including Straddie Chamber of Commerce president Colin Battersby, argue that the development would also breathe new life into the wider Point Lookout community, drawing more tourists to the area, which is serviced by regular buses between the Point and the ferry terminals at Dunwich.
Point Lookout Bowls Club president Noreen McKinnon supported the plan and said the holiday accommodation proposal with two successful businessmen who grew up on the island, was “the best path forward and about preserving the club for the community”.
“Queensland bowls clubs are in trouble and last year, our club was very, very close to closing,” Ms McKinnon said.
“This is going to turn the club’s debt around with the first stage to build short-term accommodation on the vacant block of land the club owns, and then that will help fund the changes inside.
“Half of one of the greens will go but the accommodation is not high rise and it’ll fit right in — it’ll have a beach feel.
“There’s two-storey, family, three-bedroom accommodation, and then the rest will be two-bedroom, low-set, with a pool and beautifully landscaped.
“Without this deal with the two locals who have the club’s best interests at heart, we won’t last.
“We would likely keep going for a while because the pub is closing while it gets a major overhaul, and we’ll hopefully get some business from there. But winter is very lean over here.”
Mr Durbidge, whose extended family runs businesses and lives on the island, will be present for Sunday’s vote by the club’s 52 full members.
Final negotiations are still underway, and no formal announcements have been made.
However, those close to the deal remain hopeful that the partnership could offer a win-win solution — preserving the club’s future while bringing a fresh wave of economic opportunity to North Stradbroke Island.
The game-changing vote will be held at the club at 11am on Sunday.
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Originally published as Surf legend and beer baron Bede Durbidge rolls in to save Straddie bowls club from wipeout
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