The Victorian Government is working with the City to deliver upgrades to the Bendigo Bowls and Croquet Clubs.
Bendigo Bowls and Croquet Club redevelopment
The Victorian Government is working with the City of Greater Bendigo to deliver upgrades to the Bendigo Bowls and Croquet Clubs to make Bendigo an even better place to live, work, stay and play.
The Bendigo Bowls and Croquet Clubs project, located in Barnard Street in the Rosalind Park Precinct, is one of three projects across Bendigo being delivered as part of the Victorian Government’s Regional Sports Infrastructure Program. The other two projects are Bendigo Stadium and Bendigo Showgrounds.
The upgrades at Bendigo Bowls and Croquet Clubs include the refurbishment of four bowls and two croquet greens, refurbishment of the existing clubhouse, and accessibility and circulation improvement to both the bowls and croquet facilities.
The project will provide a redeveloped, multipurpose, inclusive space that will service older people, women and people who are gender diverse, and the wider community for sporting and community activities. It will also support lasting economic, social, environmental and sporting wellbeing benefits for regional Victorians.
Works are expected to commence in October 2025 for an anticipated completion in late 2026.
Project upgrades
Key items:
- Renovated pavilion
- Existing pavilion
- Upgraded lawn bowls greens
- Upgraded croquet lawns
- New car park
- New concrete paths
- New BBQ shelter and storage
- New maintenance storage shed and water tank
- New garden beds
- Existing garden beds
- Upgraded pedestrian footpath
- Regraded sloped lawn
Frequently asked questions
Works at the Bendigo Bowls and Croquet Clubs will see the refurbishment of four bowls and two croquet greens, upgrades to the existing bowls clubhouse, and accessibility and circulation improvements to both the bowls and croquet facilities.
It will provide a redeveloped, multipurpose, inclusive space that will service older people, women and people who are gender diverse, and the wider community for sporting and community activities. It will also generate outcomes that will deliver lasting economic, social, environmental and sporting wellbeing benefits for regional Victorians.
Works will include:
Fields of play (FOP)
- Demolition of bowling green on Barnard Street at front of site
- Demolition of former Ladies Pavilion
- Refurbishment of two (natural turf) bowling greens
- Construction of two new (synthetic) bowling greens
- Refurbishment of two croquet greens (including drainage)
- Installation of compliant community level competition lighting to bowling greens one and two
Improvements to accessibility, site entry and circulation
- Installation of wayfinding signage
- Construction of new accessible pathways throughout the site
- Removal of old and construction of new maintenance shed
- Accessibility works to club house entries and playing greens
Bowls clubhouse upgrades
- Upgrade air conditioning
- New kitchen fit-out
- Roof, gutter and drainage repairs
- Floor level rectification works
- Accessibility improvements and renewal of players change rooms and toilet facilities
- General renewal of clubhouse interior including new paint and flooring etc.
Enhanced car parking
- Construction of new car park and site entry off Barnard Street
- Realignment of the eastern boundary pedestrian path
The car park will be moved from the back of the facility to the front of the facility. New access to this car park will be via Barnard Street.
The project will:
- Provide greater accessibility throughout the site for people of all abilities
- Create a more multipurpose space inside the bowls pavilion to serve the wider community (including the ability to hire the facility for community use)
- Create a sense of arrival and a more unified arrangement of the bowling greens
- Renew the greens to Competition Level
- Increased livability
- Improved health and wellbeing, especially for groups that report poorer health outcomes
- Improved environmental conditions
Both clubs have temporarily relocated to other sites so they can continue to operate during construction. The Bendigo Croquet Club has moved to Let’s Chat Park in Quarry Hill, and the Bendigo Bowls Club will operate out of both the White Hills Bowls Club and the North Bendigo Bowls Club. Both clubs will return to their home venue at the completion of the project.
The project is funded by the Victorian Government’s Regional Sports Infrastructure Program (RSIP).
The project is being delivered by the City of Greater Bendigo.
The project is due to be completed in late 2026.
Yes. All enquiries should be directed to Bendigo Bowls Club.
For more information, visit:
Sandhurst Bowling Club was established in 1870/71 and changed its name to Bendigo Bowling Club in 1872 making it one of the oldest sporting clubs in Victoria; Bendigo Bowls Club was originally split into men’s and women’s clubs. In 1995, the two clubs amalgamated to form the Bendigo Bowls Club Inc.
The club has a rich history of producing excellent bowlers who have won many state and national titles, Aaron Wilson being the most recent to win a national title and a Commonwealth gold medal.
The Bendigo Croquet Club was founded in 1904, with its first clubhouse a small octagonal building. The club added a meeting room, change room, tool shed and verandah in 1931. The existing octagonal centrepiece is over 100 years old and is one of the oldest surviving croquet clubhouses in Victoria.