Locals fight to save Bangalow bowlo after shock closure by Sydney leagues club
Supporters of a beloved 115-year-old bowls club will rally on Sunday after its controversial closure by Sydney owners sparked community fury and a desperate rescue mission.
Supporters of a historic northern New South Wales bowls club will rally for its future after it shut its doors last month, following being taken over by a giant Sydney leagues club.
Sunday’s rally follows the closure of The Bowlo Bangalow, two years after it was taken over by Norths Collective, formerly the North Sydney Leagues Club.
The former North Sydney Bears are being resurrected as the Perth Bears in the NRL.
The 115-year-old bowling club’s closure shocked and angered locals who are campaigning to have it returned to the community.
Norths have given a community advisory committee a deadline of next Friday to “provide a compelling business plan, including secure and confirmed financial backing, to take back ownership of the Club”.
“For clarity, this does not mean the that option of returning the Bangalow Bowling and Sports Club to local hands expires after this date,” Norths said in a statement.
“This means that in parallel with the BAC (Bangalow Advisory Committee) proposal, from 5 December 2025, Norths Collective will have Clubs NSW put out an expression of interest to other registered clubs, so alternate interest can also be sought.”
The Save Bangalow Bowlo Group slammed Norths for the “extraordinary’ tight deadline and urged residents to attend the rally at 3pm on Sunday.
“Norths took nine months to develop their own plan when they amalgamated with the Bowlo,” group spokeswoman Sally Schofield said.
“To now demand that our community achieve the same in just 10 days is unreasonable and unrealistic. Opening up EOIs (expressions of interest) at this exact moment looks like an attempt to create a competitive process.”
Norths controversially took over the bowling club in 2023 after it was hit hard by the Covid pandemic and 2022 northern NSW floods, after promising a $3.5m lifeline.
But the “bowlo”, which under Norths’ management attracted top bands including Dune Rats, Hockey Dad and Polish Club, was closed “until further notice” in late October.
A social media post following the closure said the premises needed “substantial and costly repairs to meet compliance, safety and operational standards”.
Norths Collective reported a $2.58m loss in 2024 – $3.025m before tax. Its current liabilities of $17.86m exceeded its current assets of $4.33m by $13.52m, and it had a cash deficit of $209,365 compared to cash reserves of $2.19m in 2023.
Norths are not financially involved with the Perth Bears, which are being bankrolled to the tune of $60m by the WA Government to make their NRL debut in 2027.
Originally published as Locals fight to save Bangalow bowlo after shock closure by Sydney leagues club
