About Glass House Country Bowls Club

1952 

The men extended an invitation to the ladies to give the game a try. Some ladies liked it very much and formed their own club in April of that year. 

1953

The ladies wanted to join the Queensland Ladies Bowls Association but could only do so if the club had a full-size green of eight rinks. As this was now on the cards, the affiliation went ahead. 

1956-1957

Sadly, the men’s club went into a decline. It was the efforts of Bill Fullerton that kept the club together. 

1957

In 1957, the Reed family, who still owned the land, realised that the bowlers were no longer paying the lease. The bowlers, when approached, refused to agree on a new lease and were asked to vacate. This caused a dilemma for the growing number of bowlers. Thankfully, the School of Arts (the hub of social activity at the time) agreed to grant the bowls club a special lease on a portion of their land where the eastern boundary of the club is located today. 

A half-size (four rinks) green was built, and committed volunteers whipped it into tip-top shape. The ladies raised funds through a massive flower show followed by a ball at night. This became an annual event for many years. They even held indoor bowls in the School of Arts hall to raise much-needed funds. 

1959

In May, the ladies were invited to a Friendship Day aimed at increasing numbers. That was all they needed, and over the next months, they made their mark in the club. 

Financial records show that subs were £1/-/-, entrance fee 10/-, green fees 3/-. 

On October 21st, the first game on the full-size greens was played by the ladies. The men followed on November 1st. On November 7th, the men hosted the ladies, and the great spirit of mixed bowls became the norm at the Glass House. The members realised that if husbands and wives could enjoy a sport together, they would build more interest and membership. 

The club thrived, and ladies once more were the unsung heroes behind the scenes: fundraising, kitchen duties, snacks, sandwiches and all manner of support. The ongoing success of this right up to today has been that the ladies control the Wednesday game, and the men control the Thursday game (back then the weekend game). 

1963 and 1973 

The original clubhouse on the western side was relocated to its present site and extended in 1973. Further extensions and upgrades followed. 

1975

The ladies were approached to become part of the newly formed Caboolture District Ladies Bowls Association. 44 years later, this has been disbanded, and our ladies have joined the newly formed Moreton Bay District Ladies Bowls Association. 

Bowls ticked along smoothly for many years, with our members winning their fair share of pennants and district championships. 

1994

Whilst Glass House had its bowls club, down the road was the Beerwah Peachester RSL Bowls Club, which leased facilities from the Beerwah RSL and Citizens Club with 32 men and 12 ladies. 

1999

The Glass House was in serious decline and changes were needed to be made. A consensus was achieved with the agreement to form a completely new club at the facilities of Glass House Mountains Bowling Club. All the interested members of each old club were merged into a new entity to be known as Club Glass House, a community-based club with a bowls section. 

2001

In February, the green opened under the new name of Glass House Country Bowls Club with their own colours (navy, green and gold) and an emblem of a sprig of banksia on a Glass House Mountain background. 

2004

In May, the club’s unification set in legislation with a constitution and by-laws, allowing for one bowls club as a section of Club Glass House Inc. Under this legislation, the ladies are a division of the bowls club with their own elected sub-committee that reports to the management committee. 

At that time, members of the bowls section were 141. Although declining to 100 over recent years, it currently sits at 113 full and social members. We continue to represent the club strongly in district competitions. Although we have had our fair share of champions through the years, as detailed in our Honour Boards, the camaraderie on the green is our greatest asset. 

As we move forward, our focus remains on encouraging men and women from all backgrounds to get involved in this great sport. We have also invested heavily in building a pathway for juniors to become involved and currently run coaching classes for the two local high schools and inter-school competitions.