Like many bowling clubs across New Zealand, the 66 year-old Morrison Ave Bowling Club in Northcote is fighting for survival.
Club selector Trevor Wilson said they were trying a range of initiatives to keep their doors open.
“We’ve just got to keep up with the times.”
Recently, the club received a boost with an 11-year lease extension from the city council, giving it certainty to plan for the future.
It is upgrading facilities in the hope of attracting more community groups for functions, with a new handicap toilet and bigger kitchen on the wishlist.
The bowling club is one of 24 in Christchurch and 55 in Canterbury.
Wilson said bowling clubs play an important role within local communities.
“It’s more than just a bowling club, it’s a social hub where people connect, laugh and support one another,” he said.
The club runs community events and social nights and club days where members of the public can use the club's equipment for free.
“We want the community to come and have a go at bowls,” Wilson said.
“Not many clubs have two greens anymore. It’s quite costly to maintain them.”
He said the club was trying hard to keep member subscriptions affordable.
“In this day and age it’s getting very difficult so we have to muster up a few more members just to keep going.”
The heyday of bowling clubs in New Zealand was primarily during the 1960s and 1980s.
“In those days you had to wear a jacket and tie, and you couldn’t play in shorts. You even had to have the right socks on.”
Wilson said back then, membership at the Morrison Avenue Bowling Club peaked at more than 150 bowlers.
“There were people in black coats from the Canterbury Association wandering around the greens on a Saturday making sure everybody had the right gear on.”
These days, the club’s 100-strong membership ranges from teenagers through to a 90-year-old player, but attracting younger members remains a struggle.
“It is thought of as an old people’s game, but that’s because of natural attrition over the past 20 to 30 years. We’ve lost quite a few.”
Wilson said one of their main money-earners was the annual six-week business house tournament the club has run for the past 30 years.
He said it has proven very popular with local businesses who sponsor a team to enter.
“We get a lot of people trying it and they’ve never tried it before. They get hooked up in it a bit, and enjoy it.”
Wilson said there were already 128 players signed up for the January 2026 event.
With the upgrades in the pipeline, members are also looking forward to opening day on Saturday, September 13, which will mark the start of the new season.
“I’m just passionate to keep it going,” Wilson said.
