Hook, line and sinker: Palmerston Game Fishing Club working hard on project worth millions

The slab is down and frames are up, here’s how things are going with a multimillion-dollar project at Palmerston.

Palmerston Game Fishing Club president Darryl Smart and Solomon MP Luke Gosling at the 2024 Barra Nationals. Photo: Rebecca Vale

After hooking a $2.75m federal grant in 2024, the Palmerston Game Fishing Club has been hard at work on its new expansion ahead of a busy 2025 calendar.

The club, founded in 1991, has been dealing with some murky waters around where to put the funds, but president Daryl Smart said things had cleared up and works were well underway.

“Originally the grant was for the club to develop something at the Elizabeth River Boat Ramp, but while that $2.75m was a generous amount, it wasn’t enough to do anything substantial down there,” Mr Smart said.

“We had a lot of people previous to us coming to the committee who put a lot of hard work and time and effort into the club to get it where it is, so it would be a bit disrespectful if we decided to walk away from it.”

Work is underway on new sheds at Palmerston after the Palmerston Game Fishing Club received a $2.75m grant in 2024. Picture: Palmerston Game Fishing Club/Facebook

Mr Smart said the grant ended up going back to market for a period before the Palmerston club was able to get it back.

He said there were exciting times ahead as two new sheds were being constructed in Palmerston, which would not only be open to the club, but other not-for-profit groups to use for activities.

The first shed’s slab is already down with portal frames up, while the space has been cleared for the second shed.

Mr Smart said the club hoped to have the project completed by early March, but wanted to make sure the sheds were open ahead of the popular Barra Nationals in April.

Originally published as Hook, line and sinker: Palmerston Game Fishing Club working hard on project worth millions