Members of a long-running social club in Camira breathed a sigh of relief after recently securing a new lease on their community hall.
Camira Friends and Neighbours held a celebratory meeting on February 7 and toasted to their success following a lengthy, competitive tender process.
The group has been using their hall on Bruce Lane, Camira, for over 12 years, but this year, its future had been thrown into question.
Liz Lister, president of Camira Friends and Neighbours, said they were desperate to win the tender and were glad they could now call it home for at least another five years.
“We didn’t want to lose it, because the people that come to the club have been going there for years, and a lot of them are elderly people,” Liz said.
Founded in 1989, the club originally used a small hall. After two decades, then-Councillor David Morrison, among others, arranged for the construction of a much larger hall, which opened in November, 2011.
Liz said the oldest club member was 93, and some would find it “really hard” to manage without the hall.
“We talked to [Division 2 Councillor] Paul Tully about it, and I spoke to [Oxley MP] Milton Dick, because we had to go through a tender… I think Mr Tully understood this — that the older people find it hard to [handle] change.”
The club regularly meets on Wednesdays for a coffee and a chat. They also play cards on Saturdays and indoor lawn bowls on Tuesdays, and they hold an annual charity auction.
“It’s like a friendship club… we play games like Hoy, [we do] trivia, and barbecues. We also have a Melbourne Cup day,” Liz said.
“We do a bus trip every second month, and it gives [members] an outing.
“At the end of last year, we donated $500 to the Salvation Army and $500 to Westlife Church [in Springfield Central] to help them to get food for the needy.”
They rent out the hall, which can be partitioned into two smaller rooms, to other local groups during the week.
Prospective members can visit twice ($3 entry) before signing up ($10 annual fee).
