Powering community pride in Gisborne Golf Club recovery

Australia’s love of and participation in local sport is something we celebrate and cherish in this country, and for good reason.

Aside from the collective health benefits of regular exercise, local sports participation brings with it a sense of belonging, purpose and community for millions of Australians every day.

For a good chunk of people (3.5 million to be exact), golf is the sport of choice, with 17.6 per cent of adult hitting a golf ball in 2023 according to Golf Australia’s latest stats.

Those figures also revealed that golf club membership also grew by 10.2 per cent over the past three years, highlighting our love affair with the hallowed fairway.

When that’s all taken away however, the results can be genuinely devastating.

The Gisborne Golf Club and the local community, situated in the small rural hamlet of Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges, is reeling from the recent loss of their clubhouse (also doubling as the local RSL branch), after an electrical fire swept through the facility last month.

The damage to the Gisborne Golf Club was extensive

Firefighters took two hours to bring it under control with around 20 fire trucks fighting the blaze, which was as fast moving as it was ferocious.

Invaluable golf and RSL historical memorabilia were destroyed in the fire only a week before ANZAC Day, compounding the impact on local members of both community groups.

Following the initial response from local firefighters and emergency services, attention has now turned from containment to rebuilding, as Gisborne’s Club General Manager Brett Campbell explained.

“We have been working hard to arrange temporary portable buildings for the Pro Shop and office team, which we’ve managed to get up and running.

“We are still facing power and internet issues across the site, but we’re working with local suppliers to make these and other club functions operational.”

The IPS 37 kVa gen set was delivered to power the temporary clubhouse

To help with the massive effort, Isuzu Power Solutions (IPS) offered a remote power source in the form of a 37 kVA enclosed generator set to help power the temporary setup.

The generator has been invaluable in getting the locals back onto the course and playing golf only 48 hours after the fire took place, highlighting the versatility of remote power units for disaster relief and recovery.

Spearheading the effort was keen golfer and Isuzu Australia’s Chief of Sales and Aftersales Ben Lasry, who lives close by the golf club and was awoken by the sirens of responding fire crews.

“We heard the sirens and saw the smoke that night and I knew straight away something significant had occurred at the clubhouse,” Ben said.

“I’ve spent a lot of time over the years playing on the course and spending time at the clubhouse and I know how critical places like this are to the ongoing health and wellbeing of a small town like Gisborne…it’s been a real hit to morale.

“We made the decision to prepare one of our mid-sized gensets and get it across to Brett and the guys at the GGC to help in any way possible.

“This is precisely what these products are designed to do, particularly following a disaster like this.”

Whilst the rebuilding effort is underway in earnest, the timeframe for a new, finished clubhouse is estimated to be up to 12 months.

“We understand the club is now looking to possibly deploy other IPS gensets to serve as remote power to other sections within the temporary site.

“To later hear that the unit has helped get the temporary site up and running and functional again so quickly was sensational news.

“We’re happy we could lend a hand and get the community back together again playing the sport they love,” Ben concluded.