Golf club to close after long history

Katanning Forrest Hill Golf Club will close down after 55 years.

The club was formed in 1948 by members of the Richard Hooper Golf Club which, until then, had played on a nine-hole course laid out in the then disused racecourse at what is now O’Callaghan Park.

Club secretary Bernadette Bradley announced the call last month, saying the decision was emotional but inevitable.

“We’ve been struggling for about three or four years now,” she said.

“There’s been a lack of numbers and decline in members, which means a lack of finance to keep the place going.

“We can’t afford to pay people to do maintenance. At the moment, it’s just a green paddock out there.”

The building, owned by the Shire of Katanning, will be cleared out and in the coming weeks, objects will be donated to comm-unity organisations.

“What happens to the building and land is a Shire concern,” Mrs Bradley said.

“We would like to see the building made use of because there is a lot of potential, but it will take hard work.”

Margaret Innes, a club member since 1987, will say goodbye to the artwork she painted on the walls of the building over many hours.

“Most of the work done around here is done by volunteers, so it is very emotional for me that those mural(s) I’ve painted can’t be saved,” she said.