HEYFIELD bowlers are ready to rock and bowl, thanks to a $180,000 facelift to their clubrooms.
The renovations, which have significantly improved the amenity and functionality of the clubrooms, were completed with $135,000 funding from the Latrobe Valley Authority, in addition to the club’s own contribution.
The upgrades include the installation of air conditioning, new women’s toilets, an accessible toilet with changing table, new kitchen facilities, new flooring, and an outdoor entertainment area with a commercial sized barbecue.
The improvements will be appreciated by the 200 people who bowl at the club every week, and the many community groups who utilise its facilities such as the Lions Club who prepare and store food there for local events.
Eastern Victoria MLC Harriet Shing formally opened upgrades to the Heyfield Bowls Club on Tuesday, along with Gerald Molphy, who attended the first club opening in 1956, and was recruited to help build the original clubrooms because he had a tractor and a post hole digger.
“Victorian sports clubs are the lifeblood of communities, and the bowls club has been an integral part of the Heyfield community for more than 60 years,” Ms Shing said.
“The old clubrooms were sorely in need of an upgrade, and this project has secured the sustainability of the building for future community and social use, as well as maintaining and growing the existing bowling competition.”
When asked by the Gippsland Times if she’d ever hit the green, Ms Shing said she was what most people would call, “a woeful bowling aspirant”.
“I’m certainly no Rohan Kelly, I understand that we’ve got an Australian champion who is based here at the Heyfield club,” she said.
“It’s really a club that punches well above its weight.”
Club president Peter Leslie said it would have taken roughly 13 years to save the money without the grant.
“This addition now has certainly renewed enthusiasm around the place, there’s a lot more pride, and we’re getting enquiries for functions, so it’s very positive, not only for the bowling club, but the whole community,” he said.
Mr Leslie said everyone was aware of the town’s mill situation, so it was great to have some confidence back around Heyfield.
“While this is not a distraction, it’s something that we can see as positive for the town,” he said.
“For those who may have lost their partner, it’s a great place to meet socially, but we’re not forgetting about the young people either, because the best bowlers are all young.
“We have crackerjack bowls here of a Wednesday night, we have 80 odd bowlers on the green, most of those are very young.
“It’s a meeting place, if you want to solve the world’s politics and problems, you can do it at the bowling club.”
Lee Clarke, who lodged the application for the grant in February, said the amount of volunteer hours that people put into the renovation was incredible.
“We’ve already increased membership, just by the fact that people know there’s more happening here and the facilities are going to be new and upgraded, it’s really fabulous.
“The social aspect of bowls is highly important, probably more important than the game, although some people might disagree with that,” she laughed.
The project was funded under the Latrobe Valley Authority’s $20 million Community Facility Fund.
