The Courier's David Brehaut spoke to Bill Moy and Gordon Lucas about their 50 years with East Ballarat Bowling Club.
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00:00 Well thanks for letting us join you at Ballarat East Bowling Club this afternoon.
00:06 Not too far away from you guys getting out on the greens for another afternoon of pennant.
00:13 But this is something you've been doing, both of you, for 50 years.
00:17 Gordon, you've been a member here, active, since you were allowed to, as a 21 year old.
00:23 And you're still enjoying it as much as you ever enjoyed it.
00:26 Yes I am, very much.
00:29 And tell us, what actually brought you to the club here back in the day?
00:34 Well, my uncle joined here at one stage and he went to Victoria, then he'd come back to East
00:40 and he went to Victoria and he'd come back to East and he said, "Why don't you join playing bowls?"
00:46 And you said you were, as a youngster, a teenager, you weren't allowed to be a member
00:51 and you really weren't allowed to be part of the club, but you used to watch through the fence?
00:54 That's correct, and the old fellas used to say, "Oh, you can come in, Gordon, no one will hurt you."
01:01 So, at the age of 21, you got the green flag and you've been here ever since.
01:07 What do you love most about the sport of lawn bowls?
01:11 Well, we were taught very different than what the ones are today.
01:17 We've reached the stage now where they've got different ideas in the way bowls are played.
01:24 And Bill, 50 years plus as well involvement at this club, and it came from a real strong family background,
01:34 not unlike Gordon, but in your case, it was your father Jack, and he was a stalwart of the club.
01:41 You have the distinction of being the only father-son life members of the East Club here,
01:47 and I know you're very proud of that.
01:49 So really, lawn bowls was always going to be where you ended up after your football and cricket careers?
01:55 Yeah, well, Dad was my influence.
01:59 I played football and cricket in my early years, but when the contact sport got too hard, I joined bowls.
02:05 There was no other option but to come to the East Bowling Club, because Dad was secretary here.
02:10 He was secretary for 25 years, so I didn't have much option but to come here.
02:15 And like Gordon, what's kept you so engaged in the sport?
02:22 It's the comradeship you get with the competitors.
02:26 All players play in good spirit, and that's what I like about it.
02:30 There's no arguments on the field, there might be a few, but there's not many margaras on the field when you walk off.
02:36 We're all friends again, and when you get to my age, friendship is what you need, and that's what you get in bowls.
02:42 So you're here two or three days a week, both of you no doubt out on the greens,
02:47 but is it still as serious for you guys as it was back in the early days?
02:52 I'm sure it is for many. Pennant is what it's all about.
02:55 You play it there for premierships, but I think there's a bit of that social side for you guys as well.
03:01 There's a social side now. When Gordon and I both joined, we joined down the bottom of the list,
03:06 but we both played premier bowls, we worked our way up to be able to play premier bowls,
03:11 and now I don't know about Gordon, but we're all working ourselves down the ladder,
03:15 and I'm only playing down the lower grades now, and it's more for the companionship and the enjoyment of the sport.
03:21 Gordon, you've got plenty of years left in you out there, and I guess you're as keen as ever.
03:27 Well, I hope I get to build age and be able to do what he can do at the moment too.
03:33 So I've got a few more years, hopefully, to get to that area of the situation.
03:40 All right, and just both of you, just wrapping up, what's so special about the Ballarat East Bowling Club?
03:45 I mean, it's been part of your lives, such an important part of your lives and your family's lives,
03:51 and you've seen generations come through this, no doubt.
03:56 Different people have come and gone, but what's kept you so engaged in the club, Gordon?
04:03 Well, we've got younger ones here now, and we've got to give way and make them, you know,
04:10 they're the next part of the club, so we've got to just let them do what they're going to do,
04:17 and hopefully we might be able to teach them things later on in life as well.
04:23 And Bill, does it keep you a little bit younger to be playing around these younger guys?
04:26 Because I know that when you played, it was sort of regarded as an older man's sport at that point.
04:32 We didn't see many females, and there weren't a lot of young guys like Gordon coming in at 21.
04:37 That was an unusual situation, but now much different demographics.
04:42 It's changed a lot. When I joined, I suppose I was about 33, 40, 34,
04:47 and it's a different scenario now that we've got that many young bowlers playing
04:51 and the females came in, and now there's a lot of mixture of females and males,
04:57 and it's a sport that, well, when you get old, it's a non-contact sport,
05:04 and that's why I think people enjoy it so much.
05:06 Well, thanks for sharing your experiences here, 50-plus years, a great achievement to be involved,
05:12 particularly in one club, and still be active members, and keep enjoying it for as long as you can.
05:18 Thanks, fellas.
05:19 Thanks.