FACE LIFT: Joe Gander and Reg Kidd braved some warm days over the past week and a half to paint the gateway at Duntryleague. Photo: STEVE GOSCH 0131sgpaint2
DUNTRYLEAGUE Golf Club is in one of its healthiest financial positions in years, making a profit of $135,000 in the past year.
President John Cook said the final figure was still being audited, but the club’s profit would do little to cover the growing maintenance bill
“We’ve got that much to spend on maintenance if we had two or three million to spend you wouldn’t see where it went ... [but] the members are very supportive,” he said.
“We did a lot of capital works and paid our loans down and reduced some of our liability last year.”
Two members, Reg Kidd and Joe Gander, volunteered to paint the club’s 140-year-old gateway to give it a much-needed facelift this week.
Mr Cook said the ladies committee paid for the paint.
“It’s been in need of painting for a couple of years and it certainly lifts the appearance,” he said.
Mr Kidd said it took three days to scrape back paint from 1982 and a week and a half to repaint.
“We’ve only had two people out of thousands who didn’t like the colours, which we didn’t choose, it came from the club’s heritage consultant,” he said.
“I believe they are the most iconic gates in the district.”
Mr Cook said the club was applying for heritage grants to fund the historic building’s maintenance.
“We’ve spent a fair bit on maintenance over the last two years and we don’t want that to fall away,” he said.
“It can be a bit of burden.”
He said the club was appealing to anyone who knew where the original entry gates were, with the hope they could be restored to their rightful place.
“One of the pillars from the gates is at the Banjo Paterson memorial, but the actual gates themselves were taken off some years ago,” he said.
“It would be nice to know where they are. I hate to think they’re lying in a paddock.”
clare.colley@fairfaxmedia.com.au
