One choice transformed this Brisbane bowlo, and it wasn’t axing the pokies. That came later

The first time Scott Walton stepped onto the green at Camp Hill Bowls Club, nearly 20 years ago, he was stunned.

“I remember walking in and just going, ‘what the hell is this?’” he says. “I only lived a few blocks away, and I didn’t know this place existed.”

It wasn’t the unpolished charm of the lowset brick building or the plastic furniture that overwhelmed him – though the club’s nostalgic edges have become more important with each passing year.

It was Brisbane’s skyline in the distance.

Here was a venue offering the quiet reticence of suburbia, with one of the best views in the whole of the city.

The unpretentious elements of the club have become so embraced, its fame as a bowling green has been superseded by a reputation for social gatherings. This, explains Walton, who is now the chair of the club, has saved it from telling a different story.

Bowling clubs were once a feature of the landscape in suburbs and country towns across Australia, with a history that stretches back 150 years.

Their strong legacy began to waver in the early-to-mid-2000s. Then COVID’s arrival was the death knell for many that were already struggling.

Camp Hill Bowls Club was established in 1944, nearly 100 years after the first recorded game of bowls was played in Tasmania’s Sandy Beach.

“The club has a really strong bowling history. There used to be a two-year wait for membership,” Walton says.

“When I turned up [in 2006], we were probably down to about 30 members [from 300 at its peak]. The club hadn’t been kept up or sought out new membership.

“And bowls had gone out of vogue a bit.”

In the early 2000s, the demographic around Camp Hill was changing too. The older-age segment usually associated with the game was dwindling, with more families and younger people moving in.

“That changing demographic hadn’t really been engaged with,” Walton explains. “But the committee was very open to a concerted effort to change the club’s direction.”

They decided to hand one of the greens over to the community, opening it up for barefoot bowls and installing outdoor seating overlooking Perth Street Park and the city.

“This simple decision was transformational for the club. The reclaimed space was turned into al fresco seating for patrons along the green, what is now considered one of the prime positions for a session at the club.”

It invited other opportunities: the launch of Anzac Day commemorations and Riverfire celebrations, the annual Neighbour Day event and, last year, the inaugural Camp Hill Cup to foster community spirit.

But their boldest commitment to locals landed in 2019, when the club decided to get rid of its poker machines.

In the 2002 Australian comedy Crackerjack, starring Mick Molloy, a Melbourne bowling club is struggling to meet the challenges of a dwindling membership base and increasing costs.

Bernie Fowler, played by John Clarke, is the unscrupulous developer who wants to turn the club into a souless pokies pit, stripping it of its community spirit. A battle to save the club ensues.

There’s no Bernie Fowler circling over the Camp Hill Bowls Club story, but there was a moral tussle between the lure of gambling revenue, and the best interests of the community.

“It wasn’t a hard decision for us because at the time, it felt like the pokies were costing us money,” Walton says.

The space that once housed the venue’s slot machines is now occupied by causal seating. On this day, a dad is sitting with his kids enjoying a drink and packet of chips after school pick-up.

“We toyed with the idea of building something to make them more hidden. And then I thought, ‘let’s not go down this path. Let’s just get rid of them.’”

Walton recalls being asked why they scrapped the pokies by an opposing skip (captain) from one of the bay islands during a match. He explained the rationale.

“He told me this figure of how much turnover went through their pokies in a month, and my jaw just dropped.

“I could understand why they wanted to keep them, but I just had this horrible feeling of visualising all that money going in there.”

Australians spend (and lose) more money gambling across all formats compared with any other country in the world, with the largest chunk put into poker machines. According to the Australia Institute, the nation has 18 per cent of the world’s pokies machines – more than we have ATMs.

“Getting rid of them was a relief in some ways … they weren’t conducive to the vibe of the community.”

The club is not afraid to evolve, but on the back of celebrating its 80th anniversary, it casts back to the glory days of membership with the view to attract more players to the club.

“We do strive to be a great community venue, but we’re also striving to be a great bowling venue with a quality bowling green,” Walton says, adding that the club is open for new members of any age and ability.

Is Camp Hill Bowls Club Brisbane’s best bowlo? That’s subjective, but if judged by their community commitment, they’re a serious contender for the win.