August 4, 2015
Kingaroy RSL will begin a six-month, $1 million upgrade of its Tobruk Room if members approve the project at a special meeting later this month.
The upgrade would be the first the club has undertaken since it renovated the main interior area in 2003, and all work would be carried out by South Burnett tradespeople.
The club has mounted plans for the project in its foyer and called a special members’ meeting for later this month to discuss and vote on the matter.
If approved, work would start in mid-September and should be concluded towards the end of March 2016.
Club Manager Maxine Tessmann said the Tobruk Room – the old KC’s Nightclub – was under-utilised and club officials have been considering ways to expand its use for some time.
The proposed upgrade would “open up” the room and improve internal access by demolishing the existing bar and introducing a ramp to provide disabled access.
The brick wall on the car park side of the room would be replaced with floor-to-ceiling glass windows which would allow more natural light to enter.
Patron privacy would be preserved by building a children’s playroom and a new outdoor beer garden near the room’s external entry doors.
The beer garden would use an area currently occupied by two disabled car parking bays, which would be relocated.
The kitchen servery area would also be upgraded and modernised, and a new bar built on the opposite side of the room immediately next to it.
The room’s toilets will also be discreetly shielded by a privacy screen, and a unisex disabled toilet added to the existing male and female facilities.
Maxine said club officials hoped the upgraded room would become the club’s preferred new dining and entertainment area.
This would free up the existing main area for gaming, light meals and smaller functions.
“We’ve had an upgrade in mind for some time, and with business so flat in town at the moment this seems the right time to do it,” she said.
“A million-dollar injection into the town’s economy should give a lot of people a lift.”
The upgrade would also include a $100,000 replacement of the club’s 30-year-old air-conditioning system, which is nearing the end of its useful life.
Once built, an interior decorator would be hired to handle the room’s final furnishing and fit-out.
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington inspected the plans on Monday and said she was impressed with the concept.
“I think this is a wonderful idea and the club should be commended for taking such a forward-thinking approach,” she said.
The special meeting to discuss and vote on the project will be held at the RSL at 9:30am on Sunday, August 23. All current financial members of the RSL Club are encouraged to attend.
Very dull presentation, no colour, looks like how a prison dining hall would look. If you are going to “sell” something you need to present your product in the best possible way, a “table for two” is actually a table for nine
Wonder if this will end up with the same fate as the Dalby RSL ..
Seriously! What a joke, what a sad looking room.
In fairness, we should point out that the photos are computer-generated renderings designed to make the new architectural features planned for the Tobruk Room easy to see.
As we said in our report – but perhaps didn’t emphasise enough – the club plans to hire an interior designer to complete the room’s final fit-out once physical renovations have been carried out. These photos are only a guide to the room’s new layout, not its final appearance.
I think this is going to be a great thing for families like myself & it’s great to see a business helping its own community out by using all local business… Well done :)