The club had received 63 per cent of the $27,600 needed to pay for the replacement lawn from funding via The Four Regions Trust, New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT), the Grassroots Trust, the Lion Foundation, and the TAB.
Club members had organised fundraising events, and a number of Whanganui businesses had also lent their support.
Neilson said there were only two businesses in New Zealand able to supply and install the artificial turf, and the club had anticipated having the new surface in place by now.
“The weather was against us and we’ve had to wait longer, but it will be fantastic when we can finally use it. We anticipate that it will be finished by the end of January.
“The installers will level off the surface and take off around 250 millimetres of topsoil, and then they’ll put down underfelt before laying the lawn.”
It is estimated that around 500 New Zealand bowling clubs have replaced their natural surfaces with artificial turf, and the advantages provide bowlers with durable, weather-resistant surfaces with good drainage.
The Wanganui East Bowling Club has over 90 active members who have continued playing on the second green while awaiting the new installation.
On Wednesday, there was a well-attended rollout and a men’s tournament against the Laird Park Bowling Club in progress.
Phyl Jones is a life member at Wanganui East, and said she generally attends at least once a week.
“I joined in 2000, and it’s a really nice club with friendly people,” she said.
As well as bowls, there are regular games of cards and mahjong held in the clubrooms, and there are social events throughout the year.
The club’s front fence in Helmore St was decorated with a mural painted by Whanganui artist Sonia Forsey in 2020, and in 2021 there was a celebration to mark the centenary of the founding of the club in 1921.
