The resurrection of East Bundaberg
After two devastating floods in 2011 and 2013, the few remaining members decided to save what was left of the club. Story by Noel Cullen
After two devastating floods in 2011 and 2013, members of the East Bundaberg Bowls Club had to
transfer to the nearby Across The Waves Club to continue playing which left the club’s membership
numbers at a level where the future of the club hung in the balance.
A meeting of the few remaining members decided to at least have a go at saving the club, through the
leadership of club president Peter Ey and his dedicated committee, the club survived on a small group
of social bowlers who were happy to be back on their greens.
Despite having to start all over again, they were in a position similar to how every bowls club in the
land was born, the club had no tenure of the greens and were fortunate to be able to use the East
Bundaberg Sports Club on play days.
Membership numbers gradually grew, allowing the club to enter a men’s team in Div. 7 in 2014 and
through promotion over consecutive years claimed Div four flag in 2017 and finished as runners-up in
Div 6.
The ladies entered the first ever team in Div 2 and were narrowly beaten into third.
The club is evenly balanced between social bowlers and competitive bowlers and through natural
transition have embraced the fact that they are a club with momentum and will no doubt be one of the
leading clubs in our District and local region.
The Sports Club now has a long-term lease which includes the bowling facilities and this ensures our
longevity.
An advanced coach has been appointed and conducts group training drills for our competition squads
and is available free to all members.
We asked for players to nominate for the Taylor Wide Bay Classic competition this year and were
overwhelmed with 31 names, sponsors were also keen to feature on our new competition shirt, with
the Sports Club showing their commitment with $500 and eight others contributing $300 each.
The club’s President has been the driving force behind our rapid growth and has agreed to continue
as president for a fifth term of a now stable club with plenty of members sharing the load.
East Bundaberg is a shining example of a unified club defying the trend of diminishing numbers which
affects most clubs in Australia.
We can attribute our survival and growth to providing our members with a common goal and members
being united.
Word of mouth is spread by bowlers attending our money days that feel the goodwill and atmosphere
and most of all we have a good leader with business experience.
It is a wonderful story of being faced with a grave situation to now be one of the fastest growing clubs
in the land and it is a real joy to be a part of it.