Search Results

We're staying at Drummond Cove near Geraldton so we can visit all the clubs round here. Today it's the two Geraldton clubs. Wonthella and Geraldton. WONTHELLA We arrived at Wonthella to see a game in progress. President Steve came to say hi. The clubhouse is interesting. With lots of success on display. The donations are recorded on the wall There are unusually four greens. Synthetic. The Club Singles were on. The synthetic greens are memorialized. The old fifth green now hosts soccer. The shades are nice. Green and Gold. Mal stood and chatted with Wog and Johnno. He said " Now you'll have a wog on your blog ". Wog told us to check out their sign. 'Friendliest club in the West'! GERALDTON After some long-awaited shopping we got to Geraldton Bowling Club. There's a nice, long bar in the clubhouse. Benjo and Des welcomed us. President Shane came to introduce himself. The club's been around a long time . It was hard to decide what to photograph. There are very old memories. There are three grass greens unusually. There used to be four but one's been let go. The succulent garden is nice. Shane invited us to roll up on Green C. The old permanent shades are cute. The seats have nice donations. The boys were playing Club Triples on Green A. The weather was much cooler than yesterday. Jean stepped out. Our bowls were pathetic. It's been a while since we've played on grass. Jean got an almost decent shot with her last bowl. She got better for a three. Mal tried it. He had to out-do Jean. Jean was pleased to be improving. But Mal got the last word. We sat to watch the Triples. Mal got a beer. The bartender said Shane had shouted on the proviso our write-up is good. No worries Shane! As were about to leave we met Gary who was a copper at Bega in NSW where Jean's Dad was stationed there. We'd met Geraldton member Glenn when we were in Cooktown so we phoned him and went to visit him. He have Jean an Irish Whiskey tasting. It was a pleasant day with nice people. We had a good time. What fun we had at Wonthella and Geraldton!

We're on our way to Geraldton where we left off on our Winter WA trip last year. Heading North there are four clubs on the way. We'll visit them all! LATHAM Latham was our first stop. We were lucky enough to meet a member there. We took a photo for our map. It's a Golf/Bowls. It has a nice little clubhouse with golf Pennants everywhere! Roz was the person we met. She showed us all around the place. Roz pointed out some proud photos. It's a Tiger Turf green. PERENJORI Second stop was Perenjori The obligatory map photo. We peeked through the window. It was opened in 1970. There's a nice Tiger Turf green as well. The permanent shades are really good. They had some good help. MOROWA We were told by the guys at Dalwallinu that there are finals on today at Morowa but when we arrived there was nobody around. Another map photo. Kevin the Publican drove by to check we weren't lost. We saw the clubhouse through the window. Again a Tiger Turf. MULLEWA Our last stop for the day was Mullewa. We were lucky enough to see some Pennants. We found the sign. Terry the Club Captain came to say gidday. It was Pennants against Wonthella. It was 38° - the usual heat cut-off - but they said " We're tough in WA! " They'd driven from Geraldton so didn't want to miss out on bowls. They are The Saints. Our cat Jerome was in the caravan. It was too hot to leave him there so we didn't stay long. Latham, Perenjori, Morawa and Mullewa - I nice little trip.

We were supposed to go to Mullewa but the road got closed due to flooding so we came south to Dalwallinu for a couple of days. We've visited three clubs while we've been here. It's a fairly modern clubhouse. It's actually a Sports Club. We came on Wednesday and a lady told us there's practice on Friday night. We came for that. It was opened in 1970. The Legends Wall of Fame is great. And the bell. The ladies won Pennants. There's a few trophies. The green got flooded. Charlie, Stevo, Noel, Rob and Shane came in for a drink before practice. They warned us not to stay at Mullewa. Great advice. Stevo is the President. Mal got his obligatory photo. It's a big, plastic synthetic green with ten rinks. The owls protect. The shades are nice. Unusual. The seats are donated. Mal went out. He drew first blood. Our grass was ok. Jean was a bit rusty. She managed one. Noel came to roll up with us. Jean improved a bit. Mal had the last laugh. EARLIER We drove half an hour to Kalannie on Thursday for a sticky-beak. Dalwallinu people told us it's a tiny club. Friday we drove to Ballidu and checked it out. Dalwallinu - we had a nice time!

We've been driving across The Nullarbor so we haven't seen a bowling club for days and days. Today we arrived in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and weren't disappointed. First stop was Boulder Bowling Club. It's a nice clubhouse with a long bar one would expect in a mining town. It's gold mining here. One of the members told Jean the smoke is from the once-a-day explosion they do to find more gold. When we arrived they were getting ready to play Club Fours. They were so friendly. Everyone wanted to chat with us! When we told them we were from Canberra Stuart said " I'm from Canberra! Isabella Plains!". Turns out he's the son of our great mate Dale Budnick from Mal's club Tuggeranong. It seems like a youngish club. Bruce said " I'd be the youngest President you've met! " Bruce called the cards. We checked out some of the interesting paraphernalia. They are the Meercats. We had to buy some shirts. Great honour boards. And some bowls trophies. Bartender Rana said she'd sell us some eggs. We paid $5 and she said she'd bring them to us. Jean told Rana she'd just got her RSA so that she can help out at bowls tournaments. She said " But I haven't pulled a beer for forty years. ". Rana said " We can fix that! ". Jean's ready now! There are two nice grass greens. They played on the front green. It has good permanent shades. Jean commented " We've been to 800 clubs and I've never seen one sponsored by a Liberal member. I've seen lots of Labor ones! " We sat for a while and watched some great bowls put down. KALGOORLIE We went to the Kalgoorlie club but it was all locked up with barbed wire. It didn't look inviting. We decided to come back on Sunday and found them into the Fours semi-final. COOLGARDIE Someone at Boulder told us there's a club at Coolgardie. We had it down as closed so Jean rang the RSL. They said the bar is open from 4pm and they are putting in a new four-rink green opening in May. We thought we'd check it out. We went back tired to the caravan and waited for our eggs which arrived late in the day. Boulder - our new mates!

We came to Port Germein on the coast of the Spencer Gulf hoping for some cooler weather. Not so. It's 41°! No roll-up for us! We're staying at the Port Germein Caravan Park. It's adjacent to the club. Our caravan is 70 steps from the clubhouse. It looks like a bowling club! They tell us Neville Leue is the best bowler around. His father was just as good. Akky was watering the grass when we arrived. He told us to come back at 3:30 for Friday drinks. They are very proud of their grass patch that used to be gravel. There's a nice outdoor area. Bob and chef Tony came for Friday drinks. Bob is very proud of his advertisement. Mal sat inside and chatted with John, Bob, Steve and Tony. They had some local grapes. We got some. Kevin and his daughter Faye arrived. Kevin was President for many years. Kevin is 90. He showed Jean a photo of him with his wife Maureen. There's one green. It's plastic synthetic. There are various shades with some good permanent ones. It was still 38° so we weren't going to roll up but Norma and John were out there so we had a go. They were practising for tomorrow's Pennants against Port Pirie. 6pm - the sun was still scorching. Mal went out. He did ok. Jean stepped into the heat. She raced down to take a photo before Norma took her shot. It was hot so we only did a few ends. We had a last drink the walked to the pub for a nice dinner. Another swelter in Port Germein!

We're staying a night in Murray Bridge. There are a couple of clubs within a short distance so we thought we'd visit them all. The first was Jervois. The town is pronounced "Jervoice". They were playing Thursday Ladies Pennants against nemesis Tailem Bend. We visited there earlier today. Neil and Derek looked after the Jervois bar. We had a good chat with them. It's a nice, modern clubhouse. The wheel is decorated in Jervois colours. They've had lots of Pennant successes. It's an extra-long green with nine rinks. Plastic synthetic. Spectators have good permanent shades. Outside is a great mural of a trucking company. MURRAY BRIDGE We stopped in at the two Murray Bridge clubs. First Murray Bridge BC. There's a nice bowls mural painted on a column. With three nice greens. Unusual around here. Next we came to Murray Bridge RSL Bowling Club. It has a nice memorial garden . With a lovely, big green. Four clubs was enough for us - besides, we had shopping to do! Jervois et al - four is enough!

So we're on our way back to WA! We've done regional Victoria (we'll nearly) and started our long western trek in Serviceton. Actually there was some confusion about whether Serviceton is in Vic or SA but we were proudly told by the locals it's in Victoria so its really our last in Regional Victoria!. They did say though the territory is disputed. It's a pretty little clubhouse . With lots of good memories on the wall. Members who have passed Jean's been chatting on Messenger with Jack for about two years. He told her we can park our caravan there. Jeff, President Leon and Jack were waiting for us when we arrived. The clubhouse was opened in 2004 with help from the Victorian Government, the Council and the Serviceton community. They got a Bowls Australia plaque for their 75th birthday. Jack told us they deliberately flood the green every year. The pretty garden is decorated with old bowls . There's one grass green. It looks nice. With nice fabric shades. Jack got us a mat and Jacks for a roll-up. Mal had a go. We were both a bit all over the place but he scored a resting toucher. Jean went out. Still all over the place but she got a couple. We weren't sure so Jean claimed shot! Mal scored again. It was a pretty hot day so we found some shade out the side of the clubhouse. We had no power in the van so Jean had to cook dinner on a chair under the patio. Dinner was nice - we're sure it tasted a bit rustic :-) So good to us at Serviceton!

We're staying eleven days in Charlton (by mistake). We'd met Mark Hamley at Kerang Golf last year and he told us to look him up when we're here. He invited us to the Harness races. FRIDAY It looks like most bowls clubhouses we go to with bowls paraphernalia everywhere. It was opened in 1965. Mal enjoyed the long verandah out front. The Croquet green is at the end. There are two nice-looking grass greens. The lights overhang. It's the G.H. Parish Green. TUESDAY Mark invited us to the Trots on Monday and we had a drink with him there. Charlton is 'The home of Harness Racing'. Mark told us about Tuesday night Krakajak barefoot bowls. He told us it's usual for teams to be missing players so we might get a long-awaited game. Mal got a game with Mark and Wayne. Two games of eight ends. First game was against Zac. Brad and Carol. Jean played with Greg and Mark.. Against Grandad, grandson and son John. Jake and Ozzie. Mal scored early. Jean followed up. Mal's next opponents were Duck. Caroline and John. Jean played Bluey, Chutney and Doug. We played under lights. Jean managed to take the kitty. Mal won two and Jean won one. We came in for drinks. They did presentations and Mal and Mark's team won. Charlton - grateful for a great game.

We met some guys from Wycheproof on Tuesday when they played Mid-week Pennants at Donald . They invited us our to see the State Singles there on Sunday. Wycheproof has a nice little clubhouse with bowls photos everywhere. Polly's Palace is a nice shady outdoor area with a barbecue. They remember passed members with their badges. The framing is donated by Audrey in memory of Jack Taylor. That's nice. They made a seat from old bowls. The club flag unfurls. There were players participating from all over: Boort, St Arnaud, Donald and Wedderburn. It being a State competition there were great bowls put down. We met Tony from St Arnaud and Steve from Wycheproof. There are two very nice grass greens. Aussie flags show wind direction. It's full on today. This is the first green. With some old but sturdy shades. Someone's put great effort into the garden. The President's gone to Ballarat today but Mal got a photo with Secretary Peter Coles who was also umpiring. We loved their shirts. Another one with a train like at Beachport. They turned 100 in 2021! So we bought them! Mal was glued to the games. Eric had just finished his game with a win and came over for a chat. Joan, Jeannie and Lorraine were riveted watching the games. Jean had a great chat with them about our trip and all the clubs we've been to. We watched some great bowls until the second games of three were finished. We left happy and entertained. Great bowls played at Wycheproof.

We had a ball in Quambatook then dejectedly left to come to Donald via Birchip to see the two Donald clubs. Donald Golf and Bowls Club BIRCHIP We stopped in at Birchip on our way. It was all closed up. DONALD BOWLING CLUB Then we popped in to Donald Bowling Club where they were playing Pennants against Wycheproof - one of the two regional Victorian clubs we haven't yet done. We'll be there on Sunday. They have a great welcome sign out the front. It's one of the few grass greens we've seen around. With an old, small, fallow green. DONALD GOLF AND BOWLS We came for a look at Donald Golf and Bowls Club. They were playing Mid-week Pennants against Boort where we've been. There is bowls memorabilia everywhere in the clubhouse. Everyone was here to watch Pennants. Brian and Mal had a good chat. The Victorian Government and the Shire Council assisted to get the facility up and running. Stewart has been the Greenkeeper for 26 years. There are two nice grass greens. For Stewart Hollis and Henry Nicholls. It's another well-kept grass green. We came back on Wednesday for a roll-up. There was a Ladies Singles match on and the people watching were enthralled. Jean stepped out. She had shot but Mal moved her closer. Mal was having a tough time on the grass after playing so brilliantly on synthetic recently. He couldn't get line or weight. He decided to play a game over four ends. Jean won seven-zip. Poor Mal. He'll get his own back next time no doubt! Jean had a chat with the spectating ladies. They liked her hat with all the badges. They don't have a badge so they found her a Donald Golf and Bowls Club pen! We went early because it's going to get to 34° today. We finished up just before it heated up. Pennants, pens and play outs at Donald!

We stayed a couple of nights at Sea Lake then drove to Quambatook to see the bowling club. On our way we stopped at Culgoa And Berriwillock but there didn't seem to be much going on there. We're told by Quambatook people there is a green in Berriwillock so we'll have to go back and find it. It's a very bowlsy clubhouse. With nice old success photos. Meryl and Sandra were busy making lunch. They invited us to join in. Out the side is a nice concrete outdoor area. Today is Singles Semi-finals and finals. The whole club turned up to support the players. Mal called Jean over to get a photo with President Wayne. There's one ageing plastic synthetic green. Russel runs the caravan Park committee so he phoned Julie the Manager to expect us. We drove around the corner and set up. We came back for lovely sandwiches for lunch. We sat with Wayne, his partner Amber and Meryl. We loved their shirts and had to buy them. They proudly told us Quambatook is famous for three things: 1. A world famous Easter Tractor Pull ; 2. John Williamson was born here ; 3. Molly Meldrum went to school here . Also St Kilda player Jim Wallis came from Quambatook. We sat to watch the Men's Singles final it was an exciting game won by China. Peter and Dale (China) Quambatook - we headed home happy and entertained.

We've been in the town of Sea Lake for three days but we've been sweltering in 45° heat. Today, Saturday it's back down to 20° so we ventured out to the Sea Lake Bowling Club for a look. It's a nice old clubhouse run by volunteers. With lots of nice photos, pennants and trophies. Club Secretary Jennifer was here cleaning the clubhouse. We had a great chat about all things bowls. She asked us to take a photo of her late husband Ralph who was the World Blind Bowls Champion. Outside are nice shades. They would have been good yesterday in 45 degree heat! There are two grass greens. Jennifer told us this is the only club in the district that still has grass. We didn't roll up because both greens were being watered in preparation for a state singles game here in a few days. We said goodbye and went back to our cooled caravan. Sea Lake - good luck with the States!