Tattersall’s Club in Brisbane scraps joining fee as part of social media campaign to find new members

An elite Brisbane club is calling for new members in an unprecedented move that includes the scrapping of a $1200 joining fee, among other incentives.

An elite Brisbane club is calling for new members in an unprecedented paid social media post following a shake-up of its fee structure.

Tattersall’s Club, which claims to be “Brisbane’s oldest and most prestigious club”, took to Facebook this week urging people to join and “mingle with an influential group of business professionals and decision makers”.

It comes a year after the Edward Street club scrapped its $1200 joining fee and increased its annual membership from $1050 to $1975, absorbing the joining fee and separate $630 gym membership.

Since the overhaul the club has seen a 600-strong spike in membership, with the average age lowering to 48 and half of them women.

During this time Tattersall’s has also undergone a multimillion-dollar makeover, including the May opening of The Conservatory, a modern dining space which has already served more than 11,000 meals.

Tattersall's claims to be “Brisbane’s oldest and most prestigious club”.

Membership now stands at 4726, including more than 650 women.

Controversially in 2018, male members voted – in a close ballot of 1405 votes to 1368 – to allow women to join for the first time in Tatt’s 150+ year history.

It was the highest ballot participation – at 63 per cent – since the club’s inception in 1865.

Tattersall’s Club president Michael Paramor said the new membership fee model was among “a number of strategic initiatives in recent years to ensure the club remains vibrant and relevant”.

“It has proven successful with more than 600 members joining since November 2021, of which approximately 50 per cent are women,” Mr Paramor said.

Inside the Tattersall’s Club

The club was tracking “ahead of its financial forecast” and “well placed to continue to invest for the benefit of members and for the future”.

Tattersall’s is one of the top four most prestigious clubs in Brisbane.

The most expensive and highly secretive is the Queensland Club in George Street, which charges a joining fee of $3500 and a $400 building contribution on top of annual fees of at least $2500, according to data obtained by The Courier-Mail.

At the rival Brisbane Club in Adelaide Street, general manager Paul Stewart said joining and annual fees were up to $2000 each but varied, including by how often a member was likely to use the facility.

The women-only Moreton Club in New Farm is understood to charge a $3000 joining fee plus upwards of $1600 yearly.