Record donation for netballers

By Lachlan Ellis

Local netballers have thanked a bank branch for its generous donation – the largest the branch has ever made – to improve on-court facilities.

The Bacchus Marsh Community Bank Branch donated $80,000 to the Darley Football Netball Club, which will replace the existing, ageing netball shed with a new facility.

The new facility will include sheltered seating, change rooms, a first aid room, and more.

Dozens of Devils netballers braved a cold night last Thursday to thank Ian Prince, Paula McMillan, and Claire Sutherland from the Community Bank for their support, presenting them with a framed Devils netball skirt.

Mr Prince, Branch Manager of the Bacchus Marsh Community Bank Branch, said it was fantastic to work with the club.

“The new netball sheds will be available for the Darley Netball Club but also for the community of Darley and Bacchus Marsh in general. Local schools will be able to use it. It’s also going to complement what they’re doing with the new pavilion,” he told the Moorabool News.

“It’s going to be great having new shelters and changerooms for the netballers. This project to date is our biggest contribution, so we’re very excited, and pleased for the community and the kids coming through. It’s only going to make Darley a better place to live.”

The donation came about after the club formed a committee to discuss what was needed, before approaching the Community Bank.

Committee member Robyn Bewley said the new facilities would be a fantastic asset for both the club, and the wider community.

“We’ve had a vision for a number of years about what we wanted to do at the netball court. We formed a committee headed by Danielle Dale, we got a plan drawn up from the discussions of what we wanted,” she said.

“We went to the Community Bank Branch with that, and they kindly gave us the money to be able to bring it to life. We just don’t have state of the art facilities here, but with this and the new rooms, we can be a hub for not only community events, we can also bring people from out of Bacchus Marsh to use the facilities and raise awareness of the town.”

While initially it was thought the new facilities wouldn’t be ready until next year, Mr Prince said he believes “be done over the next month or two, so they’ll get some use out of it this year”.