Representatives from the Narooma Lions AFL club, Narooma Devils rugby league club and the Narooma netball club met at the oval on Monday to pass on their visions for the facility and concerns about pressing needs for an upgrade.  

In addition to redeveloping the Bill Smyth reserve for the long term with additional playing fields and club rooms, the sporting clubs also conveyed the urgent need for additional change room facilities for the upcoming sporting season, given the big increase in female and youth participation in all codes.

Also present was council’s recreation services manager Mark Upson, who said he would take the call for action on board and as well as the clubs’ request for demountable buildings as a stop-gap measure for the 2018 AFL and league season.

The council was currently in the process of developing master plans for Gundary reserve at Moruya, Captain Oldrey Park at Broulee and the Moruya Showground.

The next three identified for master plans were Bill Smyth reserve, Hanging Rock precinct at Batemans Bay and Kyla Park at Tuross Head, and also potentially Riverside Park at Moruya. he said.

Monday’s meeting was called by Bill Smyth Oval Progress Committee member Graham Peachey, who together with a group of local volunteers from the local sport and recreation community has taken on the task of reinvigorating earlier work.

“We are highlighting the pressing need to fix what has become has become a much talked about and long standing problem for our community,” Mr Peachey said.

In September 2016, the progress committee prepared a comprehensive submission to the council adding weight to the overdue need to upgrade the sporting precinct.  The committee has also been actively involved in the public consultations on the Shire-wide Recreational Open Space Strategy (ROSS) due to be discussed and approved by councillors next month, he said. 

“The submission presented a compelling case to improve community wellbeing by developing a full size rugby league ground with lighting adjacent to the existing combined Australian rules/rugby league oval, upgrading the existing clubhouse with improved change rooms, facilities, meeting rooms, canteen and kitchen, installing better drainage to the damp and often flooded reserve adjacent to the oval as well as providing an additional netball court and change rooms for the netball teams and by expanding seating adjacent to each of the sporting grounds,” Mr Peachey said.

“All of this was in response to the growing use of the Bill Smyth Oval from people from all walks of life. The submission itself drew heavily from usage data provided by sporting teams, local schools, recreation groups and the public.”

There has been talk of redeveloping Narooma’s Bill Smyth Oval for some time. In the recent past the Eurobodalla Shire initiated its own review into upgrading facilities in this popular and much used sporting complex that has been identified as was the “most used sporting facility” in the Shire. 

Clr Lindsay Brown has also said the council’s work was timely and provided an ideal opportunity to advance the redevelopment of the area. The council’s own consultations on its draft Recreation and Open Space Strategy (ROSS) suggests the Bill Smyth Oval will be given a high priority in future council planning.

The council’s engagement follows a commitment at the time of the last federal election by the then Labour candidate, and now our Federal Member Mike Kelly MP to providing $1.5m to upgrade the Bill Smyth Oval, should Labour be elected to government.

The Narooma News contacted Dr Kelly’s office this week and a spokesperson said he “will be maintaining his commitment to fund improvements to Bill Smyth Oval at the next election.”

Clr Brown was also present at Monday’s meeting at the oval and thanked Dr Kelly for his continued support for Narooma and in particular he oval.

“Both Mike and I understand the need for improvements to the precinct and with the advent of the extraordinary rise of women in both AFL and NRL, the need is more urgent,” Clr Brown said. “We also both understand that such improvements will go further than participation and will be integral in the social investment in the youth of the area.”

Mr Peachey noted the proposed redevelopment is consistent with the council’s own strategic objectives of improving community health and wellbeing by providing and maintaining infrastructure and facilities for organised sport and informal physical activity.

He said the submission went to great lengths arguing the value of sport and physical activity to local government and communities generally. 

“The submission noted that sport can, and does, make a profound and positive impact on individuals, communities and the wider society,” Mr Peachey said. “As an example, it is well known that those who participate in sports are less likely to drop out of school, and become involved in anti-social behaviour.”