Investigators have announced the cause of a fire that destroyed most of the Morwell Bowling Club last month as being due to an electrical fault.
MBC unknowingly ended its last day of business at 11pm on Monday, 19 August, and less than two hours later emergency services were called to the site on Hazelwood Road.
Over 60 firefighters attended the scene, finding the blaze well established. It had entered the roof cavity and from there spread very quickly, soon causing the roof to collapse and around 80 x 50 metres of building was “all gone” – according to Morwell FRV captain, Shane Mynard.
It was reported that water supply issues compounded the challenge, with crews drawing large volumes from the mains and deploying 20 tankers to tackle the blaze, which took about three hours to get under control.
Firefighters confirmed the fire began inside and fire and police officials commenced investigations, which led them to believe the fault occurred in the switchboard.
Recently rejuvenated with a significant renovation, the Club had become one of the town’s most bustling dining spots.
The new multi-million-dollar extension and function centre escaped the worst of the damage, but while it was initially reported to have none, it did in fact sustain enough to put it out of use. Estimates say in the region of 95 per cent of the main building was completely destroyed and will need to be demolished.
Just last month MBC took the gongs for Best Community Club Redevelopment and Best Club Bistro/Restaurant (Regional) at the Community Clubs Victoria Awards.
Its place in the surrounding region has prompted a wave of support, according to GM Teena Johnson, who has held her role for the past five years and been a part of MBC for over two decades, praising the many organisations and individuals – such as “all the clubs in the Latrobe Valley” and its own sponsored sporting teams – that have offered to provide help in whatever way they can.
Johnson particularly noted the nearby other bowling clubs, which have not only granted greens access to Morwell Bowling Club members for practice or play, but also offered to host any MBC events.
The community club, found around 150 kilometres east of the Victorian capital, has been in operation for over 110 years, and the fire robbed it of many irreplaceable possessions, by way of photos and memorabilia.
In discussions on what to do next, Johnson says there have been some short- and long-term resolutions, based in the existing structure being demolished and replaced, which she believes could take around two years.
Unfortunately, the damage to the function centre prohibits the Club from operating out of that space in the immediate future, although the aim is to reopen as soon as they can arrange some form of operational structure, and trade from there during the re-build.
Johnson says the insurance company also mentioned the idea of doing some form of “pop-up club in the car park” to get them back in business.
