Cutting the ribbon at the official opening of the upgraded Bermagui Indoor Sports Stadium are (from left) Bega Valley Shire Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick, Bermagui Indoor Stadium Committee member Janine Forbes, former Bermagui Indoor Stadium Committee member Janette Neilson and Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain. Photos: Marion Williams.
Long-term residents of Bermagui were chuffed and proud to talk about the upgraded indoor sports stadium at its official opening. The stadium is much-loved and heavily used, so the upgrade will see it serve the community for another 25 to 30 years.
The opening on 4 August was particularly special for resident and former Bega Valley Shire councillor Janette Neilson. She was a member of the committee that had it built in 1990. Her daughter Janine Forbes and son-in-law Andrew Forbes sit on the current eight-member committee.
Bega Valley Shire Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said without a $1 million grant from the Australian and NSW Governments’ Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund (BLERF), the upgrade would not have happened.
The work was done in two stages, starting with $256,000 worth of repairs to the stadium’s exterior in 2023. These included replacing the louvre ventilation system, corroded purlins and roof sheeting, as well as rust treatment and upgrades to guttering and stormwater drainage systems.
This year’s $744,000 of interior work included upgrading the changerooms, the kitchen and two ambulant/two unisex and accessible amenities, plus new storage rooms.
Also of note are the new platform lift to make the stadium accessible and an upgraded basketball system with a winchable basketball hoop that cuts set-up time and risk.
Councillors and staff from Bega Valley Shire Council, Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain, community members and pupils from Bermagui Public School at the official opening of the upgraded stadium.
The stadium’s floor was sanded, repaired, freshly marked with multi-use court lines and revarnished. Mrs Neilson said the sprung floor had “cost a fortune” in 1990. Committee member Chris McKechnie said the floor had impressed several prominent karate instructors from Japan over the years.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said the upgraded stadium showed how disaster recovery funding could be used to build back better by creating modern, inclusive facilities that served the whole community for years to come.
She said the upgraded facility was about creating a strong sense of community.
“It isn’t just for organised sports, but is also a community hub for things like personal training for community groups coming together here when it is wet outside,” Ms McBain said.
She noted Bermagui is quite a distance from the shire’s other sporting facilities, “so it is great to see this happening. It is important we keep spaces like this and it is so good to see this available for the next generation.”
Sports played at the stadium include basketball, netball, karate, badminton, volleyball and pickleball.
Mr McKechnie said basketball, badminton and karate were among the original sports played there.
Pupils from Bermagui Public School trying out the revamped sprung floor and upgraded basketball system.
Before the stadium was built, karate classes had been held across the road since about 1980, so the martial art has been running in Bermagui continuously for 45 years. Prominent karate instructors who had visited the stadium from Japan over that period included Kanda Sensei, Nishimura Sensei and Takahashi Sensei.
“At least 13 black belts have come through the Bermagui training,” Mr McKechnie said.
That is notable for a small town such as Bermagui, given only around one in 10,000 people who start karate reach the black-belt level.
Mrs Neilson said table tennis, indoor soccer and indoor cricket had also been played at the stadium, along with wheelchair basketball.
“Some were coming down here before the Olympics,” she said.
The stadium is also special because it was built by people on the Work for the Dole program under the supervision of a retired plumber. Mrs Neilson said it was one of the few council projects that had used Work for the Dole workers.
“At the end of the build, several got permanent work in the trades because of having worked on this build,” she said. “They all turned up for the official opening.
“They were so proud when they finished this job. They thought they would never get involved in something like this.”
