By Tanya Steele
A catered lunch has been paid forward to a local food charity in Ferntree Gully this week after a last minute cancellation, displaying kindness and connection in the foothills of the Dandenongs.
The annual luncheon for a sporting club was cancelled after Knox Council building auditors raised health and safety concerns after asbestos was found in their clubrooms in Ferntree Gully.
The Ferntree Gully Cricket Club had to cancel their annual President’s lunch planned for Saturday 15 February and President of Ferntree Gully Cricket Club Lee Thompson said the club had to vacate the Wally Tew social rooms due to a health and safety issue.
“Something good came out of something bad and we were able to donate the food to Foothills Community Care,” he said.
Foothills Community Care was donated a large amount of luncheon food that was pre-purchased by the cricket club and it has since been providing tasty additions to their meals.
CEO of Foothills Stephen Barrington said the donation has been a gift that keeps on giving and a great story out of a terrible situation for the cricket club.
“We’re incredibly grateful,” he said.
“We feel sad for them and their situation and grateful at the same time that they think of us.”
Mr Thompson said the clubroom closure came up because building auditing being undertaken by Knox Council for renovation works set to start in March or April this year.
The cricket club were informed last that week they would have to vacate the building – after a little back and forth between the club and the council they realised that they would have to last minute cancel their event.
“We had already locked in a lot of things like catering,” said Mr Thompson.
A Knox Council media spokespersons said Wally Tew Pavilion has been closed for asbestos-removal works following a routine inspection, with works expected to be completed by 28 February.
“It is common for buildings constructed in the 1970s to contain asbestos and council has a proactive program to monitor the condition of its buildings,” they said,
“The pavilion will be closed again from mid-next month as it undergoes a major upgrade to deliver better facilities for local sporting clubs.”
“Council received $2 million in state government funding towards the upgrade, while our Annual Budget 2024-25 includes $11.4 million for sporting pavilions upgrades, including at Wally Tew Reserve.”
Mr Barrington said the cricket club have been great supporters Foothills for a long, long time and the charity group were able to pick up the food on Saturday morning.
“The cricket club, for years has had an annual Christmas appeal for us and they do other things as well – this is just another example of great community collaboration,” he said.
It has already been used in a variety of ways with the group freezing some of the more perishable items straight away.
“We got salads that were able to use on our Monday night meal and jacket potatoes that we’re able to use this week,” Mr Barrington said.
“The big pieces, the beautifully roasted meat – that we’ll use next week in one of our community meals as well,” he said.
The cricket club like many sporting groups holds an annual President’s lunch and this year Mr Thompson said due to the work at Wally-Tew they are unlikely to be able to reschedule the event.
“You invite life members, and sponsors and celebrate, it’s something most clubs do,” he said.
Mr Barrington said it was an unfortunate situation as the group had already booked and paid for the function.
“We love our local community and we support each other well,” he said.
The Wally Tew grounds are busy currently undergoing refurbishments as well and the recent clubroom change after the audit means that the club will operate out of the Dobson Park Pavilion for the time being.
On social media, the club has expressed its sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by the changes and has thanked its members for their ongoing support during the difficult period.
“We appreciate everyone’s understanding and continued support as we navigate this unexpected challenge,” a club spokesperson said.
“We look forward to seeing everyone at Dobson as we continue with our activities.”
