“The Rec” is one of our long-loved community assets. Once home to strong footy, cricket, and tennis clubs, only the recently revived latter now survives. From the early 90s and into the mid-2000s, membership dwindled to unsustainable levels and the teams dissolved. Some casual soccer followed, and a group of locals kept the flame alive with the ongoing tradition of a Thursday night get together for a few drinks and valuable catchup.
A Committee of Management formed, and regular BBQs and roasts were hosted. Funds from these ventures went straight back into upgrading the facility with heating, air conditioning and a cool room. A community drive gathered funds for a wood fired pizza oven, and this was complemented by Dave and Sandy Joyce’s Strathbogie Brewing Company providing Strathbogie’s finest beer on tap.
Thursday nights at the Rec grew and grew, with regular attendances of 50-100 locals, friends and visitors. It quickly became a family friendly institution and many looked forward to planning their week around the night. It became a place where we could all gather and share our week, regardless of demographic, background or any other marker, and forget any differences as we bonded over living in such a special locale.
During this period, Shire regulations changed and a second committee (Sports and Rec Bar Inc) was formed to take on the liquor license and manage the bar.
Pandemic restrictions messed up a lot of plans and the Rec was no exception. Catchups and events became sporadic until restrictions fully lifted and we started getting together again. Meanwhile, plans for extensions had been with the Shire and they stated works during the summer of 2022/23. With the venue out of action, Thursday nights went back into hiatus. Long term locals and fresh newcomers missed this greatly.
Summer 2023/24 saw things kicking off again at the Rec. With renovations mostly complete, we could fire up the oven and kick off Thursday nights once more. It started slowly but is picking up momentum again and has been a blast for the last few months.
Both committees dissolved and elections were held in late Jan / early Feb 2024. The new groups are full of energy to take this valuable social institution forward.
For enquiries and bookings email rec@strathbogie.org or contact John O’Brien on 0439 818 366.
The Rec is currently the home of:
- The Sports and Rec Club
- Strathbogie Tennis Club
- Thursday Night Pizza
- SCOFF (Strathbogie Community of Food Finders)
- Diesel fuel is available 24/7
- Occasional Cricket
THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE REC
One event that has consistently continued throughout the history of the Rec is Thursday nights at the Rec. When the 3 sporting clubs were active it was every Thursday night with a break during Christmas and New Year.These days it functions between daylight savings hours Oct/ March.
Though the numbers to this event dropped during the years to 10 to 15 individuals attending regularly it still limped along to what we have today.
Some years back a new Committee was formed with the idea of restoring the Rec to its former glory days and Thursday nights was the starting point.
BBQ’s or Roast diners were organised and invites sent out to residents and the families of the Tableland, very slowly the numbers in attendance on a Thursday started to increase and so the committee decided to hold events on some Saturdays as well, any money raised was put straight back into the community or items needed for the Rec were purchased, such as heating, air conditioning and a cool room.
Two events occurred almost simultaneously that positively changed the Thursday nights, a Pizza Oven was purchased by funds raised by the community and Dave and Sandy Joyce got their Strathbogie Brewing company up and running and we were able to have Strathbogie’s finest beer on tap.
We also stock a large number of spirit drinks and various beers; water is free and drinks for the kids are free.
Thursday Nights have become a very family orientated event, with young and old getting together, it’s not unusual to have attendances of 120 individuals.
The bar and pizza oven are staffed by a very dedicated crew that willingly give up their time, energy and sometimes their money to ensure a great time.
So, if you’re visiting during daylight savings hours Oct/March, come and join our Summer of Fun.
STRATHBOGIE TENNIS CLUB
A couple of years ago the Strathbogie Tennis Club was resurrected and is enjoying very strong support, for information visit Tennis.
24/7 DIESEL
Many years ago, Strathbogie’s garage closed, so to obtain fuel we had to have it bulk delivered to farms or drive to Euroa.
A while back a very enterprising local identity decided it would be a good idea to have our own diesel fuel supply not only for our own use but to cater for the needs of 4wd visitors to the town, so following a lot of discussion and organising, we now have our very own 24 hour, 7 days a week, diesel fuel supply located at the Recreation Ground.
REC GROUND UPGRADE
The Rec Reserve Committee of Management has been working closely with Council staff to implement long overdue renovations to the Rec Reserve pavilion.
As of March 2024, completed features are:
- Enclosed veranda overlooking the tennis courts
- Internal toilets
- Purpose built bar area accessible from both inside and outside
- FLOOR PLAN
Some photos from years gone by
