Doncaster lawn bowler leaves $1m to rival Donvale club

Bruce Hallman bequeathed $1m to Donvale Bowls Club — a place he had visited just once. Ten minutes down the road is Doncaster Bowls Club, where he was a member for 15 years, but they didn’t get a cent.

Bruce Hallman was a member of Doncaster Bowls Club for but left his $1m estate to a rival club. Picture: Supplied

A Melbourne lawn bowler sparked a legal battle when he died and left a million dollar bequest to a rival club, with some club members saying it was a little “payback” from beyond the grave.

Bruce Hallman — a member of the Doncaster Bowls Club for 15 years — passed away in August last year, leaving his entire estate to the betterment of his favourite sport.

But the cash won’t go to his old teammates, instead, Bruce left everything to a place he was never a member, just 10 minutes up the road — the Donvale Bowls Club.

It was a disappointing blow to Doncaster, but it was a bigger surprise to the Donvale beneficiaries, who knew so little about Bruce they had to ask about him in a club newsletter last year.

“If any member has memories or knowledge of Bruce Hallman, we invite you to share them with us,” wrote Donvale chairman Ian Bramstedt.

They discovered Bruce only visited the Donvale club once for a new-membership day in 2019, when one of the Donvale bowlers drove to Bruce’s nursing home to bring him to the club for “roll up” and a beer.

“His positive experience and admiration for our club’s friendliness and community offerings led to this generous bequest,” the chairman wrote.

Bruce Hallman (far left) on visited the Donvale club once. Picture: Supplied

Bruce Hallman was a member of the Doncaster Bowls Club for 15 years — but left a million dollar bequest to rivals at Donvale. Picture: Supplied

The experience must have been good, because three months later, Bruce — who had no surviving family — met with a new solicitor and instructed him to leave the entire estate to Donvale.

Bruce’s new solicitor — RJ Legal — is, coincidentally, a sponsor of Donvale. The club says he met the solicitor through another one of their sponsors. However, the Herald Sun makes no suggestion of impropriety.

RJ Legal did not respond when contact by the Herald Sun.

But things keep getting better for Donvale. The committee were originally told the bequest was $700K, but a week ago, were told the final figure was “well over a million”.

“It’s certainly a good news story for the club,” Ian Bramstedt told the Herald Sun.

Although the executive chairman of the Doncaster Bowling Club, Trevor Dawson, had different reaction to Bruce’s decision.

“We were shocked to be honest,” Trevor said.

And he was further shocked when the Herald Sun told him just how many zeros were on the final number.

A legal battle over the money began last year, when Trevor and the Doncaster committee hired their own lawyer, believing Bruce had made mistake and named the wrong club.

But they gave up after being advised there was nothing they could do.

“We did contest the will to a point,” Trevor said.

“But there was no value in going any further.”

“The matter is finished as far as we’re concerned. Donvale got the money and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

The Doncaster Bowls club missed out on the million-dollar sum from their longtime member. Picture: Supplied

The Donvale Bowls Club has already received most of the estate — $800K — and will soon inherit the full amount.

There’s speculation from inside both camps that Bruce had been unhappy with a few members of his old club, and may have left his money to Donvale as payback.

But Trevor Dawson denies the rumours.

“There was no tension between Bruce and any of our members,” he said.

But the generosity has thrilled Donvale and they already have big plans for the windfall — including synthetic grass, covering the greens with a “dome” so they can play all year around, and lights for night games.

“We’re going to be one of only a handful of clubs without pokies to have these type of facilities,” Ian Bramstedt said.

“A once in a lifetime bequest like this deserves a once in a lifetime infrastructure improvement.”

“Good luck to them,” Trevor Dawson said.

“Our club is in pretty good shape. We’ll continue to thrive.”

So whether it was a thank you for an overwhelming day of hospitality from one club, or a last ‘up yours’ to another, no one really know.

Bruce takes that secret with him.

Either way, vale Bruce Henry Hallman.

Originally published as Doncaster lawn bowler leaves $1m to rival Donvale club