The Brisbane bowls clubs which bowed out this year
It has been far from a crackerjack year for our bowls clubs. Three more closed in 2019, but those left standing are innovating in a bid to keep afloat.
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It has been another heart wrenching year for our beloved bowls clubs, with Toowong, Cannon Hill and Moorooka closing, while the historic Yeronga green was ripped up.
But others are fighting back, or have been repurposed tonsure the site’s remain as community hubs.
The sad year for fans of the sport ended with the announcement by Toowong Bowls Club,the third oldest in Queensland, that its last game would be played on December 7.
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Council said it would work to retain the site as a community social bowls venue.
club president, David Falkenmire, said members had voted to dissolve the club following unforeseen financial hardship.
The club was founded in 1905 and moved to its present location of Gailey Rd, Taringa, in 1967 after previously leasing riverfront land on the site of the old ABC studios in Toowong.
May was a shocker of a month for the sport, with both moorooka and Cannon Hill forced out.
The Cannon Hills club was forced to close when Council, which owns the Lang St site, demanded the struggling club pay $200-300,000 for works to the clubhouse to comply with fire regulations.
“The community lost a great little hub when the bowls club closed,” Councillor Kara Cook (Morningside) said.
“I’m worried smaller local groups are finding it difficult to compete against the larger not-for-profits and I’d hate to see them squeezed out.”
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She said with bowls clubs closing at Toowong, Cannon Hill and Moorooka this year, it was obvious more needed to be done before clubs reached a critical state.
“These assets can make a community so we need to take a broader look at preserving as many as possible to ensure we can maintain a strong sense of community into the future,” Cr Cook said.
Council later awarded the lease over the Cannon Hill grounds to the YMCA.
Labor Councillor Steve Griffiths (Moorooka) moved an urgency motion in May calling on the council develop a plan to save Brisbane’s remaining community bowls clubs after his local club shut.
Moorooka, which had been around for 50 years, hosted the 1982 bowls events and was one of the country’s leading producer to elite players at its peak but falling revenue meant it would have gone into debt without an improvement in income.
It held its final meeting in May where members resolved to go into voluntary administration.
It was unable to prove to Council that it could arrest the decline and was forced to shut.
In March, residents who had fought for more than a year against plans for an $80 million retirement living complex at Tarragindi Bowls Club lost their appeal to stop the project.
There were three appeals lodged against Brisbane City Council’s approval of the development, in January 2018, all demanding the application be refused.
The project sparked a near-record 4000-plus signatures on a petition.
But the Planning and Environment Court approved the RetireAustralia mutli-storey project, subject to a number of minor changes agreed between the parties, even though surrounding development was low-rise.
Cr Griffiths said the Tarragindi and Moorooka closures came after the collapse of East Brisbane Bowls Club, which later became home to Backbone Youth Arts, and Sunnybank which has been transformed into the Sunnybank Community Centre after closing in October, 2018. It had been losing $8000 a month by that stage.
Yeronga Bowls Club fans were cheering in May when the Planning & Environment Court dismissed an appeal by the Lennium Group to build a five-storey unit block on part of the grounds.
Council had earlier rejected the plan on flooding, traffic and heritage grounds, sparking a two-year court battle.
But in October, residents and members were devastated after heavy machinery moved on to the site, trashing a heritage-listed 102-year-old green, gutters, a fountain and other historic features, despite the court ordering their protection.
The club has not commented since the ruling, but Councillor Nicole Johnston said it now must consider alternative solutions to stem losses, such as partnerships with other groups.
Councillor Nicole Johnston (Tennyson) said Council granted a Heritage Exception Certificate to developer the Lennium Group Pty Ltd, without public consultation or notification of her office, for unknown reasons and at an unknown time.
Citywide, the decline in active bowlers has seen many clubs change their focus to hosting barefoot bowls days to survive, although several clubs in the city’s northwest are looking at brighter futures.
The old Enoggera Bowls Club has been demolished and a $12 million facility being built on the site will host two covered bowling greens, a clubhouse, a range of sporting facilities and large retail tenancies.
Stafford Bowls Club will also be reborn after Brothers’ Grange Community Sports Club gained approval for a $3.5 million redevelopment featuring two greens — one of them synthetic — dining and bar facilities.
Mt Gravatt Bowls Club replaced its grass lawns with a synthetic product three years ago.
Business manager Reg Walls said the club was trying to cut cash spent on maintenance.
“You haven’t got the need for a greenkeeper, you don’t have maintenance costs on equipment, we don’t have chemicals, fertilisers or any associated costs,” he said.
“And the green is hired out to barefoot bowls groups, so we need to keep the standards up for these people to be attracted to it.”
Mr Walls said it was imperative the club acted now to secure its future with ageing membership and a lack of new, younger members.
“One of the future things we’re looking at is to involve schools — we’ve bought a supply of smaller bowls,” Mr Walls said.
The Jindalee Club has found a new way forward, with careful changes.
Jindalee Bowls Club deputy chairman Carol Cosgrove said the club had moved forward, but had made changes to continue to attract new members.
Ms Cosgrove said the club was now thriving, but had changed focus and modernised.
“We bring money in through schools programs, barefoot bowls and by hiring out our premises,” she said.
“We rely a lot on the work of dedicated volunteers who are prepared to get on with whatever needs doing.”
More than 50 clubs have closed in Queensland in the past 10 years, including Balmoral, Wynnum Manly, Auchenflower, East Brisbane, Buranda and Kedron.
Bowls Queensland CEO Warren Birks said it was important clubs diversified.
“There’s a number of clubs in Brisbane that are struggling, there’s just not enough members around for them to survive on bowls alone,” he said.
SOME TOP BOWLS CLUBS
Greenslopes
Even if you aren’t that into tossing balls, the tasty and super cheap meals make this club a must-visit. Who can argue with $10 fish ‘n chips ‘n salad?
Merthyr
This little New Farm jewel is a wonderful spot to have a relaxing drink while gazing out over the river. It’s popular with the younger set as well as the oldies, and also for corporate events, office Christmas parties and the like. And many people still like to play bowls.
Manly
Chilled water coolers next to the greens. Now, that’s a good idea. This large, friendly club also has pokies and keno, plus trivia nights.
St Lucia
Uni students love this place. The beer is cheap, the deck is shady, there’s a nice green. And did we say the beer is cheap?
Windsor
Great greens, great company, well-priced food and beer. Say no more.
Coorparoo
This is the only bowls club in Australia where you can play with neon glow balls under UV lights. How good is that, as Scomo would no doubt say if he tried his hand here?
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