Tattersall’s fields 3000 membership requests after historic vote

The club’s president said there had been 3000 inquiries to join immediately after Wednesday night’s vote to allow females to join.

Brisbane businesswoman Marisa Vecchio is pleased with the decision of Tattersall’s Club in Brisbane to welcome women members. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

A day after Tattersall’s Club in Brisbane voted to allow women to join, thousands of people have ­requested membership forms and the Palaszczuk government lifted its ban on ministers entering the inner-city premises.

Tattersall’s president Stuart Fraser, who championed the historic change to arrest falling membership, said there had been 3000 inquiries to join immediately after Wednesday night’s vote, causing the club’s website to shut down for 20 minutes.

Not all will be quick to take up the opportunity — Premier Anna­stacia Palas­zczuk, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington and ­several other ministers confirmed that they would not be seeking membership.

Asked if she would join, Ms Palaszczuk said: “No, thank you.”

Ms Palaszczuk banned her ministers from attending the club after she won the 2015 election, when it was revealed Tattersall’s had maintained a century-old ­tradition of offering honorary memberships to state government ministers.

Senior cabinet minister Kate Jones attended a function yesterday — dressed in pink to celebrate the historic vote, which passed with a slim majority after a divisive month-long internal ­debate among its 4800 all-male membership.

“I’ve always boycotted Tatt’s and today I’m here to celebrate,” Ms Jones told The Australian.

“It is a great day that women are allowed to be part of the Tattersall’s Club.”

It is unlikely that honorary membership will again be ­extended to politicians, but Mr Fraser said the option would now be extended to select women in the community.

“Last night we had a massive request for information from our website,’’ he said. “We had over 3000 requests for membership forms, we had people downloading information on how to join the gym, menus, event planning.

“Our website actually went down for about 20 minutes, such was the response when members made this decision.’’

Brisbane businesswoman Marisa Vecchio, owner and chief executive of Hanworth House, welcomed the decision, saying it was likely to extend the longevity of the club. “Good business ­remains on maintaining relevance. I think what Tattersalls has shown is that they have looked at new ways of growing an old, established and very much ­revered institution,” she said.

“I really hope the decision … leads to a more prosperous and longer life than what otherwise had been possible.”

Female relatives of current members will be the first to join the club next year, to later be ­extended to the public, although it is not clear how that process will be managed.

Elizabeth Greensmith entered the club yesterday to ask about joining but struggled to get a clear answer. “I thought I could walk in today and they would have a plan in place,” she said.

While she has not decided whether she will pay the $1100 ­annual membership fee, she welcomed the inclusive change.

Mr Fraser said no member had cancelled their membership, but a source close to The Australian said dozens of disgruntled members were still considering their future with the club.