‘No decisions for us, without us’ – is the slogan a group of angry residents chanted from the field of the old Southport Bowling Club on Tuesday last week.

A lot has changed since the merry days of bowlers enjoying a game on the greens.
Unable to financially sustain itself, the bowling club doors shut in 2021.

The clubhouse turned into a dilapidated shell attracting vagrants who made it home, and then, it was strangely set alight late last year.

Now, the structure and its grounds are earmarked to be an extension of the adjacent Southport Clinic.

Work has begun, and so far, a large hole has been dug on the grounds for a septic tank. Indigenous trees, including protected milkwood trees, have been chopped down.

Poles have been erected for a fence, as the bowling field is rumoured to become a parking lot.

Ward 16 residents gathered with placards on Tuesday last week, saying that while they have no objection to the clinic, however, they have not been consulted about the developments in their suburb.

With evidence of a fence going up, they are outraged the only ‘park space’ would no longer be available for children to play.

Another resident, Clare Riebeseel, questioned why one would put a septic tank in an old marsh.

“Why would you cut down trees that are soaking up water and stopping the area from becoming a marsh?
Why couldn’t the fence be built around the trees (more than a hundred years old)? Why has the boundary line increased?” asked Riebeseel.

Spearheading the residents’ plight are Nazir Shaikh, chairperson of the Ratepayers’ Association of the North Cluster, Chris Viljoen, chairman of the Bendigo Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association, Caz Meth of the ward committee and Joan Gallagher of Bendigo Conservation Group.

A memorandum was handed to Clr John Williams by Shaikh.

The memorandum notes: that bowling greens are currently being desecrated, indigenous vegetation has been removed, no public meeting was called. Residents demand a meeting with authorities and a full explanation on why there was no community participation in this project. Also, they want to know what plans are in place for another recreational facility.

Williams said he understands the community’s concerns, but the future of the bowling club has been in the public domain for more than a year. He explained the property has been taken over by the Departments of Health and Public Works.

“One has to weigh up how over-crowded the clinic is and the desperate need for it to expand. It’s unacceptable that sick patients (the frail and those with ill babies) have to sit in the open air outside the clinic in all seasons until they are seen to,” he said.

He said he would take residents concerns to the powers that be.

Gallagher said that prior to this, they were not given permission to use the building by Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, despite many proposals and meetings to turn it into a community centre.

“Everyone was put on hold until the building became a total wreck,” she added.

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