Members of the Wallsend Diggers Sporting Club, which suffered serious damage when a sinkhole appeared under the greens in late March, say they have been left in the dark over the future of their club as remedial works at the site stretch into the 11th week.
The state government's mine subsidence authority, which has taken oversight of the situation on Fogo Street where the ground suddenly sunk several inches on rainy Saturday morning on March 25 causing an estimated $3 million damage to the Sporties' bowling greens and cracking the adjacent roadway, said in a brief statement at the weekend that works to fix the site have ben progressing.
A spokesperson for the authority said they would have an estimated works completion date "in coming weeks", but could not confirm a specific timeline, adding that "planning for further rectification works will be established at that time".
The sinkhole, which impacted roughly 100-square metres of the neighbourhood at Wallsend (though mostly contained to the club's bowling greens), caused havoc for residents as evacuation orders were issued, utilities were cut, and emergency services began assessing whether the subsidence posed a threat to buildings in the area. To date there have been no reports residential properties were damaged in the subsidence.
The Sporties club, meanwhile, was forced to close immediately with members relating to the Newcastle Herald that the response moved so quickly members had only around an hour that Saturday to remove their bowls and belongings from their lockers inside.
A long-time club member, and Sporties bowler, Raymond Pritchell of Elemore Vale said the nearby North Lambton Water Board Bowling Club had taken in the Sporties' displaced bowlers "with open arms" but some of his mates were still unable to retrieve their bowls from the closed club.
In the interim, they have been playing and competing with bowls donated to the hosting Water Board club, he said.
Mr Pritchell said members had become frustrated in recent weeks as the works stretched on, and he felt the Wallsend Diggers Club - which owns the Sporties - had not kept up its promise to keep members updated on the works progress.
"They said they would keep us updated on the Facebook page and all that sort of stuff," Mr Pritchell said on Saturday, June 3. "But there were 21 (Sporties) bowlers who went away last weekend and 21 of us didn't know what was happening."
Mr Pritchell said several rumours had circulated about the Sporties' future, with some speculating it could re-open in a matter of months, and some others sceptical it would re-open at all - a situation he said had not helped members who just wanted to understand what would become of their local club.
"Everyone's guessing and they're not guessing right," he said.
The Newcastle Herald made attempts to contact Wallsend Diggers CEO John Hume on Saturday, but he was not immediately available for comment.
The Sporties' three greens were effectively destroyed by the subsidence, with estimates running into the millions to fix the sweeping depressions across the grounds as the bordering street cracked and water pooled in the rubble after steady rain on the weekend of March 25.
Residents of Fogo Street, some of whom were evacuated from their homes for three nights at the height of the emergency response, have been effusive in their praise for workers and the first responders on the scene, but Sporties' members say they want to know what will become of their club.
There were around 120 bowlers on the greens at Wallsend on Friday, March 24. Only a day later, the club was closed indefinitely and the local groundskeeper was taking stock of the massive damage.
