Leichhardt Bowlo’s Sh*t House Fundraiser Tops Up Club’s Flush Fund

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Leichhardt Bowling Club is home to one of the biggest outdoor beer gardens in Sydney’s inner west, a fully equipped children’s playground and a stage that has been graced by several popular punk bands and even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

But the Club’s bathroom facilities have seen few upgrades since the venue’s inception in 1923, and while the bowlo’s popularity is booming, the refurb fund isn’t exactly flush with cash.

So, Chairman Alistair Scott and Secretary Manager Baz Compton — the Club’s trusted loo-tenants — came up with the idea for the Sh*t House Fundraiser.

Saturday, 24 May saw the Club welcome more than 200 guests through the doors, including Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne and Councillor Philippa Scott. The venue’s new restaurant, Hannah’s Kitchen, served up a Middle Eastern-style feast while locals Jennifer and Shannon Hunt, the duo behind the award-winning Lily Fields Distilling Co., mixed up a creative selection of cocktails.

The evening kicked off with a few welcoming words from Darcy Byrne and Philippa Scott, who emphasised the integral role that the Club plays in the local community, followed by a few rounds of trivia, a game of bowls (with toilet rolls in place of traditional lawn bowls), a paper plane throwing competition (where the paper planes were required to land in a toilet bowl) and live music from ‘Bash’.

The Club also auctioned off a vast array of items, from signed Ian Thorpe memorabilia and a personalised Leichhardt Bowlo jersey to a ‘schooner a day for the rest of your life’ prize and even a candlelit dinner with the boys in charge, Baz and Alistair.

All up, the sold-out event saw the Club raise over $35,000 to give the loos the glow-up they deserve.

“We are absolutely blown away by the result,” said Alistair, who recently took home a prestigious Inner West Community Volunteer Award.

“We were really hoping to hit the $20,000 mark — so to have $35,000 in the bank means we can now get to work on a more ambitious face-lift for the Club’s bathrooms, starting with the ladies, of course.”

Baz said he can’t wait to get the restroom renovation project up and running.

“We’re excited to deliver the type of dunnies that our dedicated members deserve,” he said.

“A huge thank you to everyone who came along and made the fundraiser a success, and to those who donated to the cause.”

You can read more about Leichhardt Bowling Club here.

See below for the photos from the night courtesy of Inlighten Photography.