WHEN bowls was at it's peak in the 1970's just about every north shore suburb had a thriving club. These days your typical bowls player, a bloke in his 60's, is more likely to be clad in lycra cycling rather than having a roll-up in his well-pressed whites. Many clubs have closed and councils have fought over rezoning and selling off the land.
West Pymble Bicentennial Club is the latest Ku-ring-gai club on a precipice. The Club only has 30 active pennant bowlers and the two greens cost around $100,000 a year to maintain, and the annual insurance premium is now $31,000. Government Covid payments ($188,000 over two years) staved off the cash crisis. On Sunday 19 February the Club held an extraordinary general meeting that deteriorated into a factional brawl.
There is a rump of unhappy bowlers who would like to see the current directors ousted, but I don’t think those hard-working volunteers are the problem.
Some bowls clubs around Sydney have managed a transition. The Greens of North Sydney, and Leichhardt and Beecroft are a few examples. Bare footed youngsters, live music, and destination dining are the common elements of success.
Ku-ring-gai Council own the site and would need to manage the redevelopment. The Club has had some grants funding but has been unable to reach agreement with Council over any works. The boost of patronage from the synthetic redevelopment of the neighbouring Norman Griffiths Oval may come too late.
Other sports around Ku-ring-gai are facing similar infrastructure challenges. Many sports clubhouses that were built in the 1960's are now looking tired or downright dilapidated and unfit for purpose. At Lindfield Cricket we are working with Lindfield Rugby to renovate our clubhouse at Soldiers Memorial Park, but a long-running development approval process is far more difficult than it ought to be. The clubhouse hasn’t changed much since it was fashioned together in 1962, long before female players and disability access were design considerations.
The Northern Suburbs Football Association (soccer) has recently had a win with a new grandstand facility at North Turramurra Recreational Area.
They have received $4 million in NSW Government grants and have $2 million of their own funds. Despite a few councillors voting against it, it has just been resolved that the project should proceed.
The closure of the Bicentennial Club will be much more than a loss of a bowls facility, but the social pillar of that precinct of Ku-ring-gai. Let’s hope the tale has a happy Crackerjack turnaround.
Greg Cook is President of Lindfield Cricket and was a candidate for Gordon Ward in the 2021 Ku-ring-gai Council elections.
