John Ellwood, Allora Advertiser
The Allora Bowls Club was formed at a meeting in the Shire Hall on the 23rd January, 1933. Shire Clerk Andy Hamilton took the chair but declined nomination as the foundation president. It appears that Andy must have relented afterwards because he was actually the president of the Bowls Club in 1933 and 1934 then again in 1939.
Interestingly, Andy was the first Shire Clerk of the Allora Shire as the town had previously been a municipality. Andy was Shire Clerk for 40 odd years before he retired in 1955 and was succeeded by Lex Ellwood who then held the position for the next 35 years. Lex also became heavily involved in the Bowls Club during the 1970s and 1980s, being club secretary for much of that time. Lex was awarded Life Membership for his service to the club.
Other office bearers elected at the foundation meeting were Dr C R Sapsford as Vice-President, Sam Blair as Secretary/ Treasurer with the committee being P H Imhoff, S Crookey, J Holmes, R Frizzell Senior and W Leggatt. Some very well known Allora families among that list. To finance the building of the green, it was decided that foundation members be asked to buy debentures to the value of 15 pound to be paid in three instalments.
The bowls green was built during 1934 on its current site and the bowls club officially opened on the 8th December 1934, with Dr D Farquhar, President of the Queensland Bowls Association delivering the first bowl.
The Bowls Club has been part of the fabric of the Allora Community for 90 years and it is a credit to past and present committees who kept it alive during some very difficult times for the sport. Current Sports Club Patron Greg Patterson deserves a special mention as it was Greg who refused to let the club die when it was unable to form a committee 15 years ago and he took it upon himself to establish a night bowls competition that continues to flourish today.
The Sports Club will celebrate the 90th birthday of the Bowls Club on Tuesday 23rd January 2024. There will be a free sausage sizzle commencing at 5.30pm on that day with everyone in town invited to join in the celebration. Please contact Wendy on 0437 342 870 to confirm your attendance. The first round of night bowls will then be played commencing at the usual time of 7pm. A reminder to team captains to confirm with Patto that you will be nominating a team for this season which is shaping as one of the best in years. No doubt every team will be out to “knock off” champions of the past two seasons in Gina’s Babies. Anyone in town, in particular newcomers, who are interested in joining a team please contact Greg on 0491 128 689. Night Bowls in Allora on Tuesday evenings is the happiest place in town.
Special thanks to Colin Newport of the Allora & District Historical Society for the wonderful information he has provided on the history of the Allora Bowls Club. If you would like more information about the history of bowls in Allora, you can visit the Historical Society’s Facebook page.
This article appeared in the Allora Advertiser, 17 January 2024.
