NSW Aboriginal Land Council wins landmark claim on Waverton bowling club site

An Aboriginal land council has claimed a stunning victory in a long-running land claim battle over a Sydney bowling club. Find out what could happen next for the site.

A land claim has been determined for the bowling club site.

An Aboriginal land council will take ownership of a north shore bowling club after winning a long-running land claim battle against the State Government.

The dispute over the future of the former Waverton Bowling Club has now come to a head with the NSW Land and Environment Court ordering the site to be transferred into the control of NSW Aboriginal Land Council.

The successful claim gives the land council ownership of the 75-year-old clubhouse building and two adjacent greens which are currently under the control of North Sydney Council.

The land council took the case to court after NSW Crown Lands rejected its land claim in 2020.

Nathan Moran, chief executive of the NSW Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, said the organisation will now undertake an assessment of the site as it weighs up potential future uses for the land.

Nathan Moran, chief executive of the NSW Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Mr Moran said it was the first time the land council has successfully secured a land claim in the North Sydney local government area.

“It’s a tremendous thing to have any land claim approved – the site is huge and it’s a realisation of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act that provides crown land for recompense for the waters, minerals and lands we occupied prior to colonisation,” he said.

“This is all we get under those land rights arrangements – it’s not justice, it isn’t equitable but it is recognition.

A photo of the bowling club greens.

“The fact we had to appeal the State Government’s refusal of the land claim I think highlights that land rights are still to receive full support in NSW.

“It’s an indignity which forces us to go to court which adds costs to us as well as the state.

“For whatever reason politics intervenes.”

The decision marks the latest chapter for the site which operated as a bowling hub since 1947 before falling into liquidation in 2019.

An overview of land included in the claim.

The Land Council – in its appeal to the Land and Environment Court – argued the use of the site by members of the public had not been lawful and North Sydney Council had “no right to use the land.”

North Sydney Council objected to the claim on two key grounds – claiming the club had been lawfully used and occupied, and was needed for the “essential public purpose of public recreation”.

The council argued the need for continued use as community open space was driven by a shortfall of open space in the Waverton area which “was not fully meeting the recreational needs of the existing population”.

The club hosted members until its closure in 2019.

The land council, however, argued there was no evidence North Sydney Council was undertaking any relevant use or occupation of the site other than “sporadic mowing”.

The court rejected North Sydney Council’s arguments and ordered the land to be transferred to NSW Aboriginal Land Council with a deadline of six months.

Land and Environment Court Justice Sandra Duggan said she was “unable to be satisfied” that the land “was likely to be needed for the essential public purpose of open space for public recreation”.

“I accept that North Sydney Council had a genuine desire to obtain the land for the purpose of open space (however) I am unable to be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the claimed land would have a real chance or possibility to become open space,” she said.

A Crown Lands spokesman said the department is “currently reviewing the decision and will respond in due course.”

North Sydney Council has called for the State Government to acquire the land from the land council as part of a broader plan to incorporate it into the surrounding parkland.

“In terms of future use, ideally this land should be incorporated back into Waverton Park so that it can be used by the community in perpetuity.

“The State Government should acquire the land for public open space and recreation from the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, subject to fair and just compensation being paid.

“The land should then be transferred to council along with other lands on Berrys Bay so that open space on the Waverton Peninsula can be managed and maintained cohesively.”

The Waverton Bowling Club cited dwindling membership as the primary factor for the closure in 2019 along with “operational challenges” including the ongoing burden of maintenance costs.

Previous assessment by the council found the ageing state of the building will cost $360,000 to bring up to standards.

Ian Grey, who chairs the local Waverton resident precinct group, said the land claim could provide certainty over the future of the site after standing vacant for three years.

“The bowling greens are often used by people walking their dog and riding scooters but there isn’t a great sense of panic over what might come next,” he said.

“At this stage we’re waiting to see what the land council wants to do with it and we’ll be following the council’s lead.”