IT’S been 10 years in the making, but a North Freo lawn bowls club will be reopening this weekend to show off its renaissance.  

Founded in 1957, the North Freo Bowlo had become a “neglected asset” of the City of Fremantle and had “fallen into disrepair” over the last decade. 

The club’s fortunes seemed to turn around when the City opened an expressions of interest process to revitalise the Bowlo and a group of volunteers banded together to sign its lease and effectively keep the club in the community’s hands. 

• Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge with the late councillor Rob Fittock, who made re-opening North Freo Bowlo a personal mission.

At the same time, the City renovated the site including asbestos removal and work to make it “safe, hygienic, and clean” so the Bowlo club could move in. 

Bowlo committee co-chair Julia Jones says the newly renovated club aims to be a budget-friendly social hub for locals to play games, eat, drink, and socialise. 

“We have a lot of really great hospitality venues in North Freo, but we thought this was a really important to keep this one in the community,” Ms Jones said. 

“We wanted to keep it open for lawn bowls, but not for professional competitions, but just for the community.” 

The new Bowlo is also a celebration of the club’s heritage, according to Ms Jones. 

The Bowlo’s new look doesn’t just include lawn bowls – there’s a variety of other games like croquet, table tennis, and there’s even a grass area to facilitate food trucks and stages. 

Sausage sizzles and soup nights will also be a regular occurrence, but the public are also “welcome” to bring their own picnic to the Bowlo. 

Affordable

“Bowling clubs were largely built around Australia in response to people coming home from [World War II],” Ms Jones said. 

“It was an economic crisis, and people were really struggling, so it was a way of helping people connect to their community while having affordable and accessible ways to socialise.”

Ms Jones paid tribute to former North Freo councillor Robert Fittock, who passed away earlier this year and was a driving force behind the Bowlo’s revival. 

“[Robert] was a really significant member involved in the revitalisation of the Club,” she said. 

“It’s so sad that he wasn’t able to see the club open, because he put years and years of energy into this club,” she said. 

The official opening of the North Freo Bowlo will be happening on Friday, November 1, from 4pm, with lawn bowls and live music, as well as the opportunity to sign up to become a member of the club. 

The bar will be open, and food will be available as part of the Bowlo’s weekly Food Truck Fridays.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER