Eaton Bowling Club & Eaton Senior Citizens Association celebrate new home

Hundreds of Eaton Bowling Club and Senior Citizens Association members celebrated the official opening of their new multi-use home by the Shire of Dardanup and McGowan Government.

The Eaton Bowling & Social Club and Senior Citizens Centre was officially opened on Thursday after its practical completion late last year.

The $3.6 million timber building on Pratt Road overlooks the Collie River foreshore and combines the Eaton Bowling Club facilities with the Eaton Senior Citizens Association, providing increased accessibility, a dedicated function room and a kitchen upgrade.

The new building was officially opened by South West MLC Jackie Jarvis alongside Dardanup deputy shire president Tyrrell Gardiner and Forrest MHR Nola Marino.

The new facility replaces the former Eaton Bowling Club building, which was built almost 50 years ago.

Plans for improvements were first suggested in early 2017, initially as a $2 million election promise by the McGowan Government for the former building to be renovated, with then-Sport and Recreation Minister Mick Murray providing a $50,000 down payment.

A memorandum of understanding between the Eaton Bowling and Social Club and the Eaton Senior Citizens Association was signed in December 2019, paving the way for shared use of the facility.

The commitment was eventually topped up to $3 million in July 2020 after discussions by a specially-appointed council working group found the old building needed to be replaced rather than renovated.

Eaton Bowling Club president Les Brook said the club and its founding members probably wouldn’t have envisaged having more than 500 members in a new building.

“I’m sure we never expected the clubhouse to be as grand as it is today,” he said.

Eaton Senior Citizens Association president Menno deVries thanked Dardanup Shire president Mick Bennett and the Eaton Bowling Club for their efforts in bringing the two clubs together and “creating a smooth transition” during the move to the new building.

“I feel the groundwork has been done to make this building a successful part of the community,” he said.