IT’S one of the biggest community triumphs in recent years—the North Freo Bowlo.
The circa 1957 bowling club had fallen into a state of disrepair, so in late 2023 a group of locals banded together and signed a 10-year lease for the council-owned building.
With the help of Freo council and a motley crew of volunteers, including dozens of tradies, the club was refurbished and is now thriving again with about 500 members.
There’s been casual Friday and Sunday bowling since the club re-opened, but this year was a game changer.
“In the past twelve months we’ve significantly improved the quality of our heritage green and re-introduced social lawn bowls tournaments for the first time in at least five years,” says Julia Jones, co-chair of North Freo Bowlo.
“We’ve continued to host a wide variety of arts, culture and music events and are hosting regular food trucks.
“We’ve also improved our outdoor seating and shade, plus we’ve added beer taps with local craft beer and we continue to work on restoring our kitchen to its full capacity.”
In the space of three years, the Bowlo has transcended its bowling club roots and become a multi-purpose community hub, offering everything from live music and art classes to yoga and comedy nights.
“Heading into winter we are hoping to host indoor games like pool, table tennis and darts plus regular craft sessions too,” Jones says.
“We’ve just started regular social lawn bowls with special sessions for the LGBTQI+ community and Mother’s Day, with regular food trucks.”
A sign of how far the Bowlo has come, in 2025 it was asked to become one of the main venues for the winter music festival Hidden Treasures.
• There’s more than just bowls at the North Freo Bowlo.
This year’s festival kicks off on June 11 and Bowlo is a venue again, joining the North Fremantle Community Centre and Social Farm in the “North Freo Hook”.
While many new ventures in Fremantle fail after the first year or so, Bowlo is going from strength to strength and is drafting up a five-year strategic plan based on member feedback.
So what’s the secret to their success?
“All the people on the Bowlo committee have lived in Freo our whole lives and are committed to the community,” she says.
“Taking over the custodianship of a club that’s been around since the 50s, you meet people who are like ‘Oh, I remember going to a wedding there in the 90s and yes, I remember in the 70s when it was still a pennant club.’
“Folk have such a long love and connection to the club, even outside of Fremantle.
“And anyone can play bowls—it’s a fun and easy game to pick up.”
Jones says the Freo Traffic Bridge closure has been problematic, as they have people travelling to the club from outside of the suburb, so they’re doing a membership drive with all people joining before July 15 going into a raffle to win a winter holiday in Rottnest.
And the Chook had to ask—has famous local Ben Elton been down to show everyone his ‘Flipper’?
“We haven’t seen him yet,” Jones says. “But we know people who know him, so you never know.”
Hmm, maybe he’s writing the screenplay for Crackerjack II: Baldrick’s Revenge.
For more info on North Freo Bowlo see northfreobowlo.com, and for Hidden Treasures head to hiddentreasuresfreo.com.au.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK