The Brief

Established in 1951, Cabramatta Bowls Club has been an integral part of the local community for over 70 years and is home to several world champions.

The Sydney-based club, like many other lawn bowls clubs, was faced with the challenges of dwindling membership. The club’s inability to host night events meant a high reliance on games only being played during the day.  However, playing on the outdoor grass bowling green meant bowlers were impacted by weather conditions, bowling in the hot sun and games being cancelled due to rain. A further challenge for the club was the high cost of maintaining the quality and condition of the grass playing surface.

Cabra Bowls approached MakMax Australia to design and construct a full-cover tensile membrane roof. Whilst bowling green canopies are more common now, this was a new concept at the time and led to the creation of a state-of-the-art undercover lawn bowls facility.  The new roofing structure with integrated lighting provided a complete shade and weather solution over a single bowls green, meaning bowlers can play all year round – rain, hail or shine, day or night!