Norths goes south

In the words of Midnight Oil (who once graced the stage at the Bangalow Bowling Club), “you wouldn’t read about it!”

Or would you?

The photo above was taken at midday, on a clear, warm late spring day in October when the club should have been in full swing.

But, as of the morning of Friday 24 October, the Bangalow Bowling Club abruptly ceased operation, shut up shop, and advised patrons of its closure via laminated signs at the entrances.

Perhaps this approach to sharing such significant news is unsurprising, given the club — under its Norths Collective stewardship — had become renowned for poor member communication (not to mention its failure to action, in a timely manner — or at all — a number of promises made in their Memorandum of Understanding).

Club managers arriving for today’s shift were asked to hand over their keys. The Advisory Committee, set up to liaise between Norths and the legacy club committee, were emailed advising of the closure.

The content of this email has not been made public, but it is thought to cite the causes of the sudden closure as building compliance and safety issues, ongoing substantial financial losses over a period of years, and the improbability of the club’s continued operation as a result.

Addressing long-standing building compliance issues was perhaps the number one selling point from Norths Collective in its overtures to the formerly community-owned club leading up to the amalgamation. Anyone can see there has been limited significant work done to remedy any of these issues. The tap in the women’s toilet still leaks.

A “services no longer required” email was also sent to floor and bar staff, with as little as two hours’ notice before the start of a scheduled shift.

In June this year, we reported that strongly pro-amalgamation club member Greg Nash was so alarmed by the lack of progress and transparency within the operation that he took himself to the Norths Collective AGM in Sydney to ask some hard-hitting questions. He returned from the meeting with a to-do list, and a few tasks (bi-fold windows, new auditorium doors, and clearing out the under-deck storage area) were completed — but not without substantial time and effort from community volunteers. (The extensive requirement of such volunteer support proved to be yet another unmet promise post-amalgamation.)

These small wins suggested to the community that perhaps plans to re-enliven the venue were getting back on track after months of frustrating delays. But under this veneer of improvement, things were quietly going south.

Following the June AGM, Norths Collective appointed a new CEO and COO, resulting in the departure of two key figures in the Bangalow amalgamation deal.

The original amalgamation plans and process divided the town, with resistance group Keep the Bowlo Local pleading the case for community ownership and operation. As we know, the deal went through regardless, and now the town is once again divided between sentiments of “what a tragedy” and “I told you so.”

This rhetoric does little for the now-suddenly unemployed staff — particularly those with outstanding pay who are rightly concerned that monies owing may not be forthcoming. The sudden turn of events is also highly dispiriting for local young people who are clearly ambitious, creative, and willing to take risks, as demonstrated through their efforts with the club signage immediately following the closure.

In true local spirit, other venues have reached out to affected staff members.

Matt Rabbidge from the Mosey on Inn Group, which runs the Eltham Hotel, has taken to social media to advise of a number of hospitality roles available within their team for former Bowlo staff who now find themselves jobless. He is “bitterly disappointed” at the news. The Lennox Bowling Club and The Park Hotel at Suffolk Park have also quickly suggested that some roles may be available.

Other community comments have been far less restrained — and fair enough. “Utterly disgraceful,” and “What the f*ck?” are among the few publishable sentiments to emerge immediately following the announcement.

Nashy reached out Norths Management via email with a subject line “Dishonourable bastards” calling out their “cowardly gutless withdrawal” not what was promised. Concerned locals are once again rallying to get answers in order to understand what this sudden closure means for the future of the club. The club was not available for comment.

For an organisation whose social media profile declares, “We exist to bring people together,” Norths Collective has done an awful lot to tear people apart.

Sure, the community had a couple more years of the club’s doors being open (again, another selling point in their push for amalgamation), but the club’s position now is no better than before the amalgamation. In fact, it’s probably worse.

Sally Schofield