After a build marred with delays, disruptions and even small mysterious fires, Paul Le Cert and Mary Dal Santo ran a tour of the venue for interested locals last Friday evening.

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They announced that they would soon open the doors to a new clubhouse and bowls centre.

News Of The Area asked Paul and Mary how long the project had been in motion for.

“About 100 years,” laughed Paul in reference to the troubles experienced with bushfires, Covid, and flooding events which have repeatedly seen the expected completion date extended over the years since grant funding was first announced.

According to Mary, initial grants totalling almost $4 million were received from the NSW Government’s Office of Sport and the Nambucca Valley Council to an incorporated organisation formed specifically to oversee the spending of the grants after being announced as a 2019 election promise by the previous Member for Oxley, Melinda Pavey.

In the 2022/23 year another grant of $1.954 million was received by the Club from the Office of Sport towards the completion of these facilities.

These latest works include improved accessibility for disabled visitors, a large car park, parking spaces for RV camping vehicles, a restaurant/function room, reception room, bar, kitchen areas and storerooms in what will become the new clubhouse and set a new standard of excellence for the Bowraville Recreation Club.

Through the club doors on the southern side of the clubhouse are two new synthetic bowling greens, one undercover and one outdoor, both equipped with lights for night-time competitions.

“The grass arrives next week,” Paul explained when NOTA asked why they still look unfinished.

Paul and Mary explain that they hope to lure prestigious international competitions to the venue as they believe there is no similar facility between Port Macquarie and Tweed Heads.

On the northern side, the new clubhouse looks out across a recently enlarged football field.

“It’s big enough to host an AFL game,” Mary announced to the group.

“Those caught fire last week,” remarked one of the other guests to NOTA, pointing to the newly renovated change rooms behind the football field.

This would be the second such unexplained fire known to NOTA within a month.

Just a few weeks ago, on November 11, a fire was seen burning in the squash courts behind the old clubhouse of the Bowraville Recreation Club and a fire truck was called.

The new club house building is situated in the centre of a zone which now includes the old clubhouse, squash courts and old Rec Club bowls greens to the south, a redesigned nine-hole golf course flowing around on three sides, an outdoor gymnasium (not yet finished), football fields to the north, change rooms, children’s playgrounds, campsites, a large parking lot and all connected by wheel-chair accessible paths.

“All the outside cladding, those lights, the gardens and much more, the community invested hundreds of hours of volunteer time into this,” explained Mary.

“It’s a sports and recreation precinct, to be owned and enjoyed by the Bowraville community,” Paul added.

By Ned COWIE