State’s oldest bowling club could be no more as council weighs up whether to grant lease and essential funds

The state’s oldest bowling club is eagerly waiting on a council decision that would provide long-sought certainty and will provide essential funding. The Perth Bowling and Recreation Club has been operating on a month-to-month peppercorn arrangement for years, which club president Peter French said had created uncertainty. The City of Perth council is set to consider this month granting a five-year lease with two additional one-year extensions at the City of Perth’s discretion, and approve up to $300,000 in co-contribution capital works funding over the life of the lease. The funding would support essential upgrades to the club’s 1962 building that a council report said was “past its design life and does not meet modern standards for a bowling club facility”. The club would continue to cover utilities and variable outgoings estimated at more than $52,000 annually. Mr French says certainty is critical for the club’s future and ongoing investment. “We are planning on the lease coming through, considering the work we’ve put through,” he said. Mr French said they would be “extremely surprised” if the council did not approve the agreement given the support already shown by city administration. Refusal would leave the club in limbo. “It would leave us as a status quo with an unsure future,” Mr French said. “The financial aspect would also go down the drain, and we wouldn’t be able to do all the improvements that we’ve listed to do at the club. “We’re just looking for a bit of certainty for the next five to seven years.” Mr French said the club had made a significant financial commitment, including fully funding a brand-new synthetic bowling green without external financial assistance. “We’re one of the few bowling clubs that are paying for our own synthetic green,” he said. “Including the co-payment, we’re paying up to $460,000 in the first year.” The synthetic green alone is expected to cost about $250,000, a decision Mr French said members supported despite the lease uncertainty. “The members basically said we had the money three years ago. We still have it. Let’s put it in and enjoy it now,” he said. “We’ll get a return on the synthetic green within four years because of a drop in maintenance, an increase in usage and an increase in patronage.” The club opened in 1895, with then-premier Sir John Forrest its first president. It was first based on The Esplanade in front of the old Esplanade Hotel before moving to Plain Street in East Perth in 1962 in time for that year’s Commonwealth Games. The club amalgamated with the Tattersalls Club in 1978. Mr French said the club now had just under 600 members and expected to reach 1000 by the middle of the year, with an estimated 60 to 70 per cent living locally. “That’s a significant amount of residents here, considering only about 4000 residents vote,” he said. To encourage participation, the club has introduced discounted memberships. “We don’t need the money — we need the people,” Mr French said. Mr French described the venue as a multi-use community space where people came to eat, drink, socialise and take part in activities. “It’s very much your local club — you become involved,” he said. Mr French said the club filled a major gap in East Perth, which he said lacked accessible community facilities. “Residents here have very little in terms of community facilities to go to,” he said. At the council’s agenda briefing on Tuesday night Mr French spoke about the wide range of community groups the club hosted. Mr French said that groups such as the Vision Impaired and Blind Bowlers of WA, Perth Ladies Darts, snooker and billiards club, the Hash running group, weekly elderly program Stay Sharp, Probus, Rotary and the Naval Association used the club. “Then we have multiple corporate and social functions, which happen throughout the year and help us remain financially viable,” he said. “It provides a safe, accessible and centrally located place for people to meet, connect and participate in community life.” Mr French said the club had been “hamstrung” for the past 20 years, unable to apply for grants because of uncertainty of tenure. “Most of these programs require long-term security and a lease that extends beyond the life of the funded asset,” he said. The club even has its own mascot — Indy, a red cloud kelpie who “pretty much runs the joint”. “I bring her to the club pretty much every day when I come here and she has the reasonable run of the club, and she bosses everybody around,” Mr French told PerthNow. “She gets spoiled by everyone as well. “She rounds up the knowers and keeps them in check. She barks at me if I’m not doing my work and talking to people. She’s quite a character.” The council is scheduled to consider the matter at its February 24 meeting.