Left to right: Mike Newland, Francois Loubser

Depending on your point of view, Warkworth can be a pretty popular or pretty unpopular place. And that popularity or unpopularity polarises particularly during holiday times.

The reason for that is simple.

The collision of State Highway 1 with Hill Street, Sandspit Road, Twin Coast Discovery Highway and the egress from Kowhai Park creates one of the most challenging intersections in New Zealand … perhaps even trumping the former Panmure roundabout.

It’s an intersection which sits between two equally notorious stretches of road: Dome Valley in the north which is getting a makeover to compensate for the dropping of motorway plans, and the road to the south to the Johnstones Hill tunnels, where a new motorway under construction teases motorists with its perpetually delayed opening.

That’s the unpopular Warkworth.

But the popular side more than makes up.

It’s the gateway to fabulous east coast beaches and playgrounds: Pakiri; Goat Island; Leigh; Omaha; Tawharanui; Matakana; Sandspit; Kawau Island; Snells Beach; Algies Bay and Mahurangi East.

And if you’re a bowler, it’s home to the fabulous Bowls Warkworth: a two-green club smack bang in the middle of the town centre.

But not for long.

The 100-member club is moving inexorably towards relocating the club to an alternative space in Warkworth, with the preferred site being a council greenspace on Glenmore Drive just a kilometre and a half away.

“It’s pretty exciting,” says Club President Francois Loubser. “We’ve been on the same site since 1923, so it will be a big change for the club. But the members are fully supportive of the move.”

“A local farrier, Mr Warin, leased the current land to us … and it was freeholded to the club when his widowed wife died in 1956. Warkworth was only a tiny riverside settlement back then, but the town has mushroomed so much in recent years that we now find ourselves in the middle of what will quickly become a city. They’re expecting this to be home to 30,000 residents in a few years time when the motorway is finished.”

Club Secretary Mike Newland, who spent his working life in the commercial property game, is equally effusive about the move. “As you can imagine, the site is worth a few bob. However, the club may be asset rich, but we’re cash poor. And can’t afford to do all the maintenance that is needed on the greens and the pavilion.”

“A case in point is the grass green out the front …we’ve been struggling to get it back in order for 3 or 4 years - with no success. And you only need to look around to see that the clubhouse isn’t the sort of gathering place that people expect these days.”

“Selling this site will free up capital to build a fantastic facility on council-leased ground.”

The members should be justifiably salivating.

Francois’s wife, Jules, an architect, has produced a concept model of what the new club could look like. It boasts large clubrooms with indoor-outdoor flow, and two roofed greens.

“Obviously what we can do will depend on what the sale raises,” says Francois, “But this concept gives members an idea of what current property prices and current building costs will deliver.”

“We’re very excited about the concept … it will give a top-class bowling and socialising facility for our members, as well as a top-class tournament facility for the North Harbour Centre, the rest of Auckland and the whole country for that matter.”

“We are aiming to build New Zealand’s first integrated indoor-outdoor bowling centre …. rather than just cover a green which is remotely located from the clubhouse.”

Plans are already underway.

“Council suggested the new site to us, and it’s going through the change of usage process at the moment,” says Mike. “We expect that to come through in the coming months, whereupon we can apply for resource consent for the build.”

“We don’t anticipate any undue problems there.”

“So building plans and consents, as well as a planned sale of the current site, may be able to kick off in 6 months or so. We may even be in our new home for the 2024-2025 season!”

Congratulations, Warkworth. The new facility will revolutionise bowls in New Zealand.