The Benoni Municipal Bowling Club would have turned 85 next year had it not disintegrated in 2013.
The facility that was home to Munies, as the club was known, for 75 years is now rotting due to nine years of negligence.
The club sign – still painted in green, white and red colours – at the entrance is visible. This can fool one into thinking a good game of bowls is happening inside the facility.
But as you enter through the steel gate, a pool of water, thick vegetation and damaged pavement greet you. Further inside, one witness the extent of the damage to a club that was once the pride of lawn bowls in the region.
The greens that were once lush are now home to birds looking for worms on the soft surface.
The clubhouse that used to host social and club events is unkempt. Burst water pipes are still mounted to the walls while some have been wrapped with plastic bags to stop the leaks.
Humble beginnings
It was in 1938 when avid bowlers turned the first sod at the site where today sits the Munies facility.
The club morphed into a major force in lawn bowling in the East Rand in the years that followed, hosting major local and regional tournaments.
Located right on the gates of Willowmoore Park on Harpur Avenue, it was renowned for its wonderful greens, one in front of the clubhouse and the other to the right, and superb facilities enjoyed by bowlers and social members for decades.
When membership started shrinking due to the formation of other clubs in the Benoni suburbs, Munies introduced several renewal initiatives in an attempt to attract new members on its 75th anniversary in 2013.
A shortened format of bowls called blitzbowls to be played on Sundays was introduced along with team-building days and a 2-4-2 monthly pairs tournament.
These attempts never yielded the results envisaged by the members who were so eager to see the club reach its century.
Later in 2013, the club disintegrated.
Municipal response
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini confirmed the tenants, Benoni Bowling Club, vacated the facility in 2013 as they could not afford to continue with the occupation because of the decline in participation.
He commented that because of the municipality’s current financial constraints, funds are channelled towards essential services.
“There is a constant request to refurbish the clubhouse, however, the current financial state of the municipality does not allow for the commitment of funds to non-essential services. The refurbishment will be budgeted once the city has regained its financial muscle,” said Dlamini.
Dlamini said the facility will now be used as an official administration and operations office for sports facilities.
“Due to non-participation in bowling, the facility is earmarked for and is currently a sports depot that will administer the work of sports facilities maintenance in the areas of Etwatwa, Daveyton, Benoni, Actonville, Wattville and Brakpan,” he said.
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