Canberra Bowling Club, Forrest, is celebrating its history. Photo: James Coleman.
When a small group of enthusiasts gathered beside Hotel Canberra on Christmas Eve in 1925, they were making history without knowing it.
They were the first people to play lawn bowls in the fledgling national capital, on a green established by the Federal Capital Commission.
A century later, Canberra Bowling Club is still going strong, having survived changing times, financial pressures and the closure of other community clubs.
As the club prepares to celebrate its centenary, secretary Stephen Murphy believes its history is closely connected to the story of Canberra itself.
“We believe that as the club has been a part of the Canberra community for this length of time, the history would be of interest to some of your readers,” he said.
For its long-time members, however, the club’s greatest achievement is not simply reaching 100 years. It remains a place where people can meet, play sports and feel part of a community.
Life member and former president Geoff McKay, who has been associated with the club for about a decade, believes its independence has been central to its survival.
“It’s one of the few surviving clubs in Canberra, and it is actually owned by the members,” he said.
As other clubs closed or were absorbed into larger organisations, some of their members found a new home at Canberra Bowling Club.
Mr McKay credits successive committees with managing the club responsibly and maintaining its welcoming atmosphere.
“It’s a wonderful place to meet people and I play bowls quite regularly,” he said.
He believes the social connection is particularly valuable for older Canberrans.
“I feel that sport’s terribly important, particularly among the older generation, to keep them active and congregating and socializing.”
The club’s history stretches back to Canberra’s earliest years.
Following that first game in December 1925, local bowlers met at Hotel Canberra on 24 September 1926 to establish a club. The Canberra Bowling Club name was formally adopted on 27 October, with 27 foundation members.
Its first season began the following month and, by December, members were playing their first inter-club match against Goulburn.
As the capital grew, so did the club. It moved to its permanent home in Forrest, where a new green and weatherboard clubhouse were completed in 1931. Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs officially opened the green later that year.
Over the following decades, it became a gathering place for public servants, diplomats and local families. Additional greens opened in 1936 and 1948, while the Canberra Forrest Women’s Bowling Club was established in 1978 with 13 foundation members.
The clubhouse was rebuilt in the 1990s after the ageing structure suffered extensive damage from borers and white ants, with the new building opening in April 1995.
But keeping a century-old sporting club financially viable has required more than preserving its history.
Former president and life member Dave Kimber joined in 2008 after moving into apartments next door. He went on to serve three separate terms as president, totalling nine years.
At the time, he said, the club was struggling financially.
One of the most important decisions was replacing its two grass greens with synthetic surfaces in 2015–16, making it the first all-synthetic bowling club in the ACT.
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Mr Kimber believes the change helped secure the club’s future by reducing maintenance costs and allowing the greens to be used more consistently.
“Basically if we hadn’t, you know, taken that direction, we would have gone broke by now,” he said.
The next challenge was attracting people beyond the traditional bowling community.
In 2025, the club voluntarily surrendered its poker machine licences, becoming a pokie-free venue. Funds from the ACT Government’s surrender scheme are now being directed towards outdoor hospitality areas and live-music facilities.
Mr Kimber, who was involved in the decision, said removing the machines also made the club more appealing for weddings, birthdays and other celebrations.
Today, Sunday afternoon live music brings another crowd through the doors, while barefoot bowls introduce newcomers to the sport.
“If you’ve got 70 or 80 people in our club listening to music, it’s actually quite a buzz,” Mr Kimber said.
He still visits about three times a week and sees the club as an important social outlet for retired Canberrans.
“It’s important that they get that opportunity to socialize during the week and indeed it’s good exercise for them.”
Mr McKay, who served as president for about eight years across separate terms, said the club’s modest size was part of its charm. With roughly 120 bowling and social members, it remains a place where people can get to know one another.
To mark its centenary, Canberra Bowling Club will hold an open day on Saturday 31 October, from 10 am to 8 pm, inviting the community to celebrate a century of sport and social life in the capital. Further details are available here.
