Couple ready for new adventure
BRUCE and Marion Walters have bid farewell to their home-away-from-home of the last 24 years after playing their final games at West Cairns Bowls Club.
The Mount Sheridan couple leave Cairns today for a new life in Hervey Bay and say their favourite club is in good shape after weathering some tough times.
The club’s dreams were shattered in 2006 when a $1m roof collapsed onto two greens, resulting in a prolonged insurance battle and a massive exodus of members.
Marion and Bruce were among the stalwarts who stayed on as members, determined to keep the doors open while playing games at other local clubs for five years.
“We all pulled together, which was nice,” says Bruce, a former president who has filled almost every role at the club.
“We lost about 160 bowlers. We would have had close to 300 at the time. We had two greens that were constantly full and it was a progressive club in the district.”
Even when the roof was repaired and the club fully operational, it took time to get back on its feet financially. Bruce would contact local businesses to see if they could donate pavers or other items which the club couldn’t afford to buy.
“When you consider the debt we had six or seven years ago, you wouldn’t consider even painting a wall. It was horrendous,” he says.
“We’re in a much better place now than we were. It’s really gratifying that it’s got to that stage and at a time when bowls clubs are dying and the attrition rate’s pretty high, this club is kicking goals and it’s a pleasure to go there.
“We’ve got a wonderful group of people that run the board. Not everybody’s a bowler. We’ve got cricketers and footballers. They can come and have a beer, a yarn, a meeting. They’ve assimilated into our group and that all helped the club.
“It has changed direction a bit. It’s innovative. They’ve air- conditioned it, put solar panels up, got a restaurant, corporate bowls and a TAB.”
Bruce and Marion arrived in Cairns 43 years ago when Bruce was district manager for Kentucky Fried Chicken and in charge of opening outlets in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and Mount Isa.
Later, they went into business themselves with a Shell service station in Spence St, an Ampol servo in Parramatta Park and a mechanical workshop, before retiring in 2002.
“It’s exciting to think that we’re going to a new venture,” Marion says. “It’ll probably be the last because Bruce is 76 and I’m 78. We’ve got to make the most of it.”