Brighton Bowling Club
155 Male St
Brighton 3186
Phone: (03) 9592 1172
Fax: (03) 9591 0527
Website: www.brighton.vic.bowls.net.au
As one of the oldest bowls clubs in Victoria, Brighton Bowling Club has been a prominent figure in Victorian bowls for over a century. This long history is evident when looking around at the many historic symbols located around the club.
The club was formed in 1881 by a group of men who had previously played on a green that was owned by a hotel. The closure of the hotel green led to the creation of the Brighton Bowling and Tennis club, and also the West Brighton Bowls Club.
The Brighton Bowling and Tennis Club’s first pavilion was built in 1881 and lasted for 54 years before a new pavilion was built. The new pavilion was opened in September 1935 and has since undergone alterations in 1952, 1962 and 1968.
The green keeper’s cottage was built in August 1935 and is still today the residence of the current green keeper.
The lighting on the green was installed in 1925 and is still used today in the Tuesday night pennant competition run by the Southern Districts Electric Light Bowls Association.
The club consists of 180 men and 75 ladies, who incidentally were only admitted to bowl at the club in 1998.
The club currently hires out shoes and bowls for corporate or social bowls and hosts pennant finals, group and state championships.
But the time has come for Brighton Bowling Club to move house to the Dendy Park bowls club site. The club amalgamated with the Dendy Park Brighton Bowls Club in 2003 and split from the Tennis Club in 2006 as a precursor to this move and has also already sold their current land to pay for the new development.
One of the main reasons for the move has been the lack of parking available and lack of potential for expansion in a now quite densely populated residential area.
After development, the new 4.5 million dollar Dendy Park site will consist of: 2 grass greens, 3 indoor greens with 4 rinks in each, a high quality bowls shop, 2 billiard tables and a kiosk that will serve all users of the park. The site will also be the home of Petanque – a form of boule (French bowls).
Brighton Bowling Club will leave its current premises at the end of the 2006-2007 season with the aim of being settled in the new premises ready for the 2007-2008 season.
The relocation of Brighton Bowling Club means that this will be one of the last times that we see the club at its current site. However, it’s with anticipation that we look forward to seeing the impressive new facilities that are to be constructed in the near future.
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