The grant was secured through the Federal Government’s Community Sport Infrastructure program. 

Federal Member for Calare, Andrew Gee was joined by Secretary of the Club, Stephen Jackson and local community members in Wallerawang as he shared the good news on Thursday, December 13. 

Mr Jackson said the extension has been a long time coming, with planning starting in 1996.

“The auditorium will include toilet facilities, a new kitchen and dining area, and will seat 208 people,” he said.

According to Mr Jackson, the area will also be able to cater for weddings. 

“We are going to set it up for weddings and there will be mauve, lemon or white curtains we can put around the room and the bride can choose what she likes,” he said. 

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The community club also acts as a refuge for Wallerawang Public School if they would ever have to evacuate the school for an emergency. 

“The school has started to outgrow our current club facilities, so having this extra room will allow for the students to fit comfortably,” he said. 

Member for Calare, Andrew Gee said that the community and sports club is the hub of the local community and had already secured $120,000 of in-kind sponsorship from local tradespeople to help construct the extension. 

“There is no facility of this kind in Wallerawang and once complete, will enable local community and sporting organisations to utilise the facility for events,” he said. 

“I’ve been fighting hard for this funding alongside the Club since I was elected as the Federal Member back in 2016, and I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve finally secured it after all of these years.” 

Mr Gee said the group had put in for multiple grants but had missed out on multiple occasions. 

“I couldn’t come back to tell them they missed out on another grant,” he said. 

Mr Jackson said receiving the cheque on his birthday was quite a nice surprise and that he couldn’t thank Mr Gee enough for his help. 

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