The Seisia community came together on Wednesday to celebrate the reopening of the Seisia Fishing Club. Photo: Facebook (Seisia Fishing Club).
From worn out to full of life, the Seisia Fishing Club is back to welcoming community members for a cold drink and a feed after closing its doors in 2023.
Returning lifetime members and new members came together for the grand reopening on 28 May, sharing a drink and memories of the club as it entered a new era.
“The club goes all the way back to 2009, and we’ve got some lifetime members here who filled people in on the history,” club president Eddie Newman said.
“It was great just to see them smile again and have something back in their community.”
Secretary Pauline Long said as a not-for-profit organisation reliant on voluntary work, the club closed when there were not enough people to keep it running, and over time, the building became worn down.
With a fresh team ready to take on the job, worked commenced earlier this year to enable the club to roll out the welcome mat for the dry season.
“Because it’s community owned and run, it does mean a lot to the local community to have it there, particularly some of the Elders,” she said.
“They came down to our opening night on Wednesday, they helped and volunteered, you know, signing in new people as they came, so it was really lovely.”
Ms Long said although she was new to the organisation, it had been great to hear about the history of the club from some lifetime members who had been around since it first opened.
“Seisia is a lovely community on the coast, so it’s somewhere for people to walk down and have a meal and a couple of drinks and relax,” she said.
“Because there were a lot of events in the past, like fishing competitions, regattas and a whole lot of other things they’d have at the club, it’s a really good community social venue for people.”
She said she believed the reopening was sustainable with the great team and support they gathered this time around, with president and licensee Mr Newman being a “well-liked and respected” previous mayor and member of the community.
“He’s got a big crew of family and friends that support with the cooking and are always around the club,” Ms Long said.
“There’s a lot of other people in local businesses who want to come along and help out at night, and some of the lifetime members really want to be involved.
“It’s really a community club; it belongs to them, so we’re trying to make it sustainable, and I think this time, we’ve got quite good organisation and a lot of good support.”
Pauline Long and Eddie Newman are ready to welcome patrons with a cold drink and hot meal. Photo: Supplied.
