The Changing Rooms

While Harlequins had the best clubrooms in the Victorian rugby competition it soon became apparent that the remote and deteriorating changing rooms  provided by the Council were going to present an ongoing problem. They were located some 400 metres from the clubrooms with their own separate parking area. On training nights it was easier for players to simply go home after the training instead of coming over to the clubrooms for a beer or soft drink. On match days the players trudged away to shower and change while the spectators headed in the opposite direction to the bar. Most former players felt that this physical separation from the clubrooms contributed to a growing distance between players and spectators. Over the following years the club had to cope with a combined changing room where visitors were separated by a sliding partition and inadequate showers and toilets.  These facilities started to resemble the changing rooms at Glen Iris, but without the camaraderie. It was clear that something needed to be done.

Initial discussions with the City of Waverley met with disinterest at best and  resistance at worst.  There simply was no Council money available to upgrade the changing rooms and Club funds were still stretched following the original investment in the Clubrooms.

In 1994 Don Brooker was drafted into the Presidency following the transfer of then President Russel Bate to Sydney. Don was a prominent lawyer and his first two tasks were to look at the club constitution and to talk to the City of Waverley about an extended lease on the Ashwood Reserve site- rather than the annual tenancy that existed at the time. We felt that as we had built and paid for the rooms we were entitled to more security of use and tenure.

As always, discussions with Council took a lot of time and patience.  Eventually Council agreed to give us a seven-year lease.  This apparent permanency would enable us to engage in more meaningful discussions with financiers when it became necessary to borrow funds.  A small sub-committee was again formed to consider the various options including the renovation or upgrading of the current facilities and construction of a new facility adjacent to the Clubrooms.

Alison Abbott, a retired architect, who had been actively involved during the 1980’s in the design and building of the new clubhouse, was asked to draw up some sketch plans for the change rooms. With the blessing of Ray White, Harlequin and clubroom architect, she submitted plans to the sub-committee in October 1994 that included four individual changing rooms with integrated showers and toilets facilities separated for home and away teams.  The plan included a gap between the existing clubrooms and the new changing rooms that would allow for future extension of the clubrooms.  The plans were enthusiastically accepted and it was proposed that Ray White be asked to draw up presentation sketch plans and prepare an estimate of costs.

It was now possible to approach the Council with a definite proposal.  The City of Waverley was interested and receptive but again there was no Council money available.

The untimely death of Don Brooker meant that discussions were put on hold.    The new President Allan Low took up the challenge and discussions were resumed with City of Waverley but little progress was made.  The club became aware of the intention of the Government to release more gaming licenses for poker machines.  It saw this as an opportunity, perhaps like the Bingo days, to generate the necessary funds. A proposal was put to temporally move the Club to the existing changing rooms and to convert the clubrooms to a gaming facility.  Allan Low argued that the initiative would be so successful that within two years there would be sufficient funds to build the changing rooms together with a quality gaming facility.

In mid 1995 Alison Abbott was again asked to draw up sketch plans. Ray White’s architectural practice was based in Shepparton, so it was much simpler to use Alison’s skills since she was in Melbourne and had the time. The brief she was given was to extend the existing clubrooms eastwards for clubrooms and changing rooms and westwards for gaming. An ambitious plan emerged including a downstairs gaming room with an upstairs bistro and a club lounge overlooking the first playing pitch.  To ensure independent operation of the gaming facility it was to be linked to the clubrooms by security doors.  This was clearly a project well beyond the resources of the club and any Council support would be limited to the changing rooms’ component.  It was going to be necessary to find a joint-venture partner.  Preliminary discussions were held with the City of Waverley and various prospective partners were sounded out and it soon became apparent that this extensive project in this form would not get underway quickly. The committee wisely did not openly canvass these options with club members, as it would have met with some opposition.

The City of Waverley was receptive but unable to assist due to the planned amalgamation of Melbourne’s councils.  The City of Waverley was to go and, combined with other surrounding areas, it was to become the City of Monash.  Although the Waverley council buildings would become the City’s headquarters the amalgamation caused a period of disruption and any project that was not in progress was simply lost.  The club had to re-establish contacts within the new Council and bring the need for extended facilities to the attention of the new officers who were now responsible for a much larger area and a greater number of facilities.

At the 1995 Annual Meeting the proposal to move the club to the existing changing rooms was rejected and the concept of the building of a gaming facility effectively abandoned.

The continued use of existing changing rooms remained a constant source of frustration. Their condition deteriorated under minimal council maintenance and their standard was at odds with quality of the clubrooms now being used increasingly for various events such as, private evening functions, Saturday lunches and catered training sessions. The size existing kitchen, that had been designed as a canteen and shop, was just not big enough. An alteration was designed that extended it into the clubroom without significantly loosing space there. AS well as greatly increased space in the kitchen it provided room for a storage cupboard and pantry. Canteen Manager Mary Brooker, now had a facility where the preparation and sales of snacks, meals and drinks could be efficiently carried out. The further installation of stainless steel bench tops in 2003 has brought the kitchen to semi-professional standards.

When Peter Bolton took over as President in 2000 interest in relocating the changing rooms adjacent to the clubrooms was rekindled.  Bob Butt recommenced discussions with City of Monash and slowly progress was made. It was not only the council changes that slowed progress. Our first application for funding in 2000 was vetoed by the City of Monash before it reached the Victorian Government’s Department of Sport and Recreation. This, we did not appreciate. To our delight and astonishment the Council accepted a new application.

The cost of extending the clubrooms had increased to $580,000.00 and our contribution was to be $258,450.00. The club committee decided this was beyond our means. In 2002 the Council reviewed the plans and came up with a revised estimate of $460,000.00. The Council said it would allocate $320,000.00 if the club could find $140,000.00. Thus, after years of uncertainty and frustration, it seemed that something was about to happen.

By mid 2002 when the City of Monash made provision for the $320,000.00 in its 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 capital works plans. The club’s contribution had blown to $175,000.00. A meeting was held with selected “older” members of the club on 6th June 2002 to test the waters before the committee formally decided to go ahead with the project. The Council was now able to start preparing working drawings and tender documents.

At the President’s Lunch in July 2002, new President, Tony Barnes outlined his vision: changing rooms connected to the clubrooms; the Harlequin  rooms decorated in our colours and competition standard floodlights for our main pitch. The club would need to raise considerable funds and he asked members to pledge support.

Tony Barnes asked Rod Abbott (ex Secretary and former Chairman of Juniors) to take on the role of Project Manager.  After a little “role negotiation” Abbott accepted the challenge and the real project had started.

Project management was never going to be easy.  Although the club was funding a third of the cost the Council signed the contract as the client. The role of the Project Manager was one of influence at best.  Dealing with the bureaucracy of the Council, and the demands of the ANZ Bank, who had become lender of choice, and the vagaries of the club committee ensured it would indeed be a challenge.

The first task was fund raising.  The club required $175,000 to meet its commitment.  A generous bequest from the estate of Harold Golightly, one of the club’s real characters during the 60’s, together with club’s allocation of funds to the project of an initial $45,000.

The project was registered with the Australian Sports Foundation, which allowed donations to be tax deductible, and it raised about $80,000.   Other fundraising initiatives were also offered. A Buy-a-Peg scheme, where a plaque with the playing number, name and playing history of the donor, could be obtained for $500 or with just the name for $250, raised about another $16,000 The Harlequin change rooms are now decorated with the playing histories of many great past players.  Members provided a further $16,000 through interest free-loans.

As expected concerns that the project would never be funded and might have to be delayed or abandoned made fund-raising difficult.  Harlequins are a notoriously suspicious species, particularly when their own money is concerned! As donations from members started to come in, the result of constant marketing, people became more comfortable and believed that it might just happen. Success bred success.

By the end of 2002 the City of Monash started to press for a formal commitment from the club.  It had become clear that, while the major portion of funds required would come from member donations, it was not going to be enough.  It was going to be necessary to borrow some money.  This was a big decision for the committee as there was concern about the ability of the club to meet repayment obligations in future years.  The Victorian Rugby Union was approached and agreed to make a $20,000 interest free loan repayable over five years.  Even with these funds at hand there was still a need for more money, and discussions were held with the ANZ Bank.

At a Committee Meeting held on 11th February 2003 Tony Barnes proposed that the club take a $15,000 loan from the ANZ Bank and that the club formally commit to the funding so that building work could commence.  After discussion it was agreed to proceed and the following day the club met Council and committed to the financial aspect of the project.

Alison Abbott, who started a detailed review of the working drawing and specification, identified numerous errors and omissions and suggested some design improvements. Slowly but surely in discussions with the Council these issues were corrected or incorporated into the plans.

Tenders were issued, and Everline Connections P/L selected as the builder.  Work began in March 2003 and was effectively complete by the end of August.  It had all happened very quickly without too much drama.  To ensure security between the existing clubrooms and the extension a temporary partition was erected in the clubrooms.  Give an artist a blank wall and he will cover it with a picture.  Jim Blackie was up to the challenge and created a magnificent mural of the “Barnes vision”.  The mural was later used as a dividing wall in the new store, a fitting backdrop to a space that can be converted to a bar or barbecue area on match days.

We were delighted with the new construction when the Council finally gave us clearance to inspect it” four spacious changing rooms with lockable storage cupboards for kit and valuables; top quality showers and toilet facilities for the teams; separate rooms for the referees; and a well equipped first-aid room. The existing committee room had been enlarged with additional storage space to make it more functional for such occasions as Saturday lunches. There was also an area to show club memorabilia that had remained hidden in cupboards for most of the time. The security system was extended to enable the different parts of the combined clubrooms and changing rooms to be used separately. For instance, it allowed teams to use the changing rooms without access to the bar or committee room.

The downside was that the new rooms looked so much better than the old so Rod Abbott compiled a list of 125 tasks to bring the place up to the mark. These included an exterior repaint, a new carpet for the bar area, refurbishment of the toilets and new toilets for the disabled. A budget of $18,000.00 was allocated so the fund-raising had to continue (again).

The touring Japanese Wasada University team were the first to use the facility. The team had won the Japanese University Championships and was visiting Australia during the Rugby World Cup to celebrate their success and was jointly hosted in Melbourne by The Harlequin Club and The Melbourne Rugby Club. As usual it was a close call. After some last-minute hold-ups the Council give us the keys on the morning of 8th October 2003 and Wasada University had their first training run that afternoon!   They also trained on 9th and 10th before playing a match against a combined Harlequins and Melbourne side on Saturday 11th.

In the end a changing room is a changing room and it was very difficult to make it seem special.  Blocks of tiles in the Harlequin colours were used to decorate the shower area in the Harlequin room, but it all still looked a bit bland.  The idea of a life sized Harlequin figure in the entrance was suggested. Mike Bull was able to scan the figure into a computer, scale it up and cut it out in wood.  Jim Blackie was called on to paint “the dancer” in club colours and “Fred”, as he affectionately became known, was hung in the entrance.  Charlie Grieve added the Harlequin Club lettering below and the building started to feel like home.

Geoff Lake, Mayor of the City of Monash, officially opened the changing rooms and clubroom extension on 7th November 2003. The opening was followed by a demonstration of youth rugby and women’s rugby. The International Harlequin Tournament, which was being held to celebrate the club’s 75th anniversary, was then formally inaugurated, a fitting occasion to showcase the club’s extended facilities to the wider rugby community.

Match quality floodlights on the main pitch were also part of the Tony Barnes vision.  Investigations had revealed that this was going to be a significant and costly that would have to wait until more funds were available. An extraordinarily generous decision by the Gyles family to donate the funds for the lights in memory of their son, Philippe, who died so tragically late in 2002, enabled the installation of the lights to be brought forward. The Victorian Government Department of Sport and Recreation granted the Club half the cost of the lights up to $50,000.  Planning and Building permits seemed to take forever but finally it was possible to appoint a contractor and start installation. Conway Taylor, a stalwart of the “gerries” in the 80’s had sold his packaging business and was looking for another challenge. Tony Barnes and the Abbotts decided he should manage the lights project. It was a good decision, and the lights were duly installed ready for the 2004 season. The Philippe Gyles Memorial Lights were inaugurated in April 2004 with a celebration match between the Harlequins U18’s and Box Hill U18’s. 

The vision was now complete and the Club could rightfully boast the best rugby facilities in Victoria. They were in-fact the envy of many northern clubs.  It was time to again raise our sights. With the best playing facilities we needed to become the best club playing.