Dunoon Sports Club

Week-long celebrations for Dunoon's 10th anniversary

Then: Graeme Hargreaves, Mike Berry, Alan Dye, Graham Drew, John Donnelly, Peter Smart, Dennis Matthews, Chris Gulliver, Mavis Ross and Bill Luke mark the site for the construction of the Dunoon club.

Now: The magnificent facility that was built with a little bit of money and a lot of community spirit.

Dunoon Sports Club celebrates its tenth birthday in the week of September 13-20 with a host of competitions and entertainment for children and adults alike.

The week-long celebration kicks off on Saturday, September 13 with Mega Show, a night that is guaranteed to have you rolling in the aisles with laughter. Along with the entertainment will be a humorous retrospective (or is that potted history) covering the life of the Dunoon Sports Club. The promoters warn that the night will be one 'filled with laughter, tears and torn muscles'.

In keeping with the nature of the club the following day, Sunday is dedicated to the family. The Family Sports Fun Day will be jam-packed full of events. In the tradition of country village celebrations there will be a selection of novelty races suitable for the whole family, golf, volleyball and a BBQ that will be running throughout the afternoon.

Also on Sunday afternoon the ever-popular 'Trivia with Annabelle' will sort out the boffins from the buffoons, with lots of prizes up for grabs and plenty of fun to be had.

Sport will take over for the following three days with a women's pool competition on Monday night followed by the men's section on Tuesday.

On Wednesday you will have your chance to join the ranks of the grand slam tennis champions in the Dunoon Grand Slam Tennis tournament.

On Thursday evening the club will host the invitation-only Director's Dinner.

Friday night will kick off at 6.30pm with music, raffles, frivolity, raffles, an auction of Reg Gregor's famous canvas paintings and even more raffles.

The music will be provided by multi-Dolphin Award winner Luke Vassella and Lisa Vasey. There will also be a very special surprise for one of the most prominent personalities associated with the club - but you'll have to be there to find out more.

The celebrations will wind down on Saturday, September 20, with a concert on the oval. The musical fare will be supplied by some of the best contemporary local musos plus a few that are going to provide a 'blast from the past'. The concert starts at 2pm, with the official awards ceremony to be conducted at 4pm.

There will be a range of free activities on the final Saturday for young children, including face painting, a jumping castle and merry-go-round.

At 8pm the affair will come to a musical climax with a show put on by Two Bob's Worth.

A decade of achievement

The Dunoon and District Sports and Recreation Club, now the hub of social and sports activity in the picturesque village, grew out of the desire of a group of local lawn bowlers to establish a bowling club in the vicinity.

The need for appropriate land for the clubhouse, bowling green and car park was identified, and the search was soon underway.

Before long Keith Balzer put up his hand and offered to donate land adjacent to the tennis courts and sports oval. Keith reserved an additional parcel of land for the club to purchase once it was financially on its feet.

After Keith Balzer's sudden and untimely passing his widow Norma generously confirmed the donation of the land and the reserving of the additional allotment would go ahead as per Keith's wishes.

A series of fundraising activities and committee meetings ensued over the following years, resulting in the 1993 opening.

As the club evolved it became necessary to enclose the verandahs, renovate the interior and pave and cover the beer garden.

Over the past 12 months the ongoing community need for a sports amenities block to be built has been realised. The new building incorporates toilets and change room, canteen and a storage facility - all of which was built in just seven months.

On completion of the project, the inaugural president of the club, Mike Berry, who has recently returned to the position, said, "It is simply fabulous what has been achieved by our band of hard working volunteers. They have provided a facility that will be the rival of any in the district."

The building, opened by the Mayor of Lismore, Merv King, on July 5, was erected through the labours of a volunteer force and a $50,000 budget.

"To achieve such a fantastic outcome with only fifty thousand and in just seven months is just remarkable," said Mike Berry.

The Dunoon Sports Club has helped to foster the establishment of the Dunoon Little Athletics club, and there are over 100 juniors playing for the Dunoon Soccer Club in the FNC Soccer competition. This includes the Grade 11 2nd Division Dunoon Giants, who will be playing in the grand final against South Lismore on Saturday, September 6 at Crozier Oval from 3.45pm.

The club has also hosted a village green cricket competition over a number of years.

There is also a very healthy social golf club operating out of Dunoon that has upwards of 25 players competing across the region each week.

There will also be a large contingent of Dunoon sports men and women competing in masters-level sports at events such as the Lismore and Coffs Harbour Masters Games.

The past ten years has been a decade of achievement in Dunoon with the Dunoon Sports and Recreation Club at the heart of this dynamic community.