Drummoyne Bowling Club in ruins since closure and sale four years ago
A POPULAR community sporting hub that closed in 2012 has become the headquarters for a new generation of an old inner west street gang.
A POPULAR sports club that was once at the heart of the Drummoyne community is now a derelict dump populated only by the new generation of an old street gang.
Drummoyne Bowling Club, which was more recently known as Drummoyne Sporting Club, closed in July 2012 — just two years shy of its 100th birthday — and the building was sold.
The club was amalgamated with Coogee Bowling Club in late 2014 and the building is now the domain of the Drummoyne Boys gang, also known as DB.
Urban photographer Gia Cattiva, who photographs old Sydney’s abandoned buildings for her blog, was nostalgic for the inner west she recalled from the 90s.
“Kids who grew up around the inner west suburb of Drummoyne during the 90s probably heard of, or in some way encountered the Drummoyne Boys gang,” Ms Cattiva said.
“Back in the day when teenagers still got rolled for Sony Discmans, these little lads were like hyenas.”
Ms Cattiva said she was surprised and amused to discover the legacy of the original DB gang lived on.
“DB’s lair is located inside an abandoned sports facility. bagsing it as their own by scrawling ‘DB lives here’ and intimidating threats all over the walls in texta,” she said.
“I wonder if they grew up to be gangsters, or embraced the inner west hipster life — but I hope they’re honoured their time as temporary caretakers of this venue is valued as a little slice of Sydney history, at least to me.”
The entertainment area boasts an array of mattresses and tables, and just two poker tables testify to the club’s former function.
“It’s more mess than downright gross — I’ve seen abandoned places in much worse states than this, so it’d only take a few days’ cleaning to tidy up the interior,”
Ms Cattiva said: “Structurally, the building itself is in fairly good condition — with some TLC and a spring clean from DB, its retro vibe could be quite charming.”
Ms Cattiva said the community hub may be lost for good if the site was redeveloped, as the City of Canada Bay revealed a planning proposal for the site was before the council.
The City of Canada Bay had not responded to a request for further comment by publication.
Check out the original post on the ShhSydney blog.
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