ABOUT US
The North Freo Bowlo was established in 1957 with 140 local members and ‘one of the most modern and attractive bowling club houses in the state’, according to the Daily News.
Today, lawn bowls is experiencing a revival in Australia because it is affordable, low-impact and accessible. The North Freo Bowlo contributes to this re-imagining of lawn bowls to reflect the changing demographics of our community.
The North Freo Bowlo has refreshed the use of the remaining green for social lawn bowls and activities like croquet, pétanque and skittles as well as other low impact uses such as outdoor movie nights. The adjacent grassed area is available for higher impact activities including marquees, food trucks and staging, allowing us to host a wide range of events.
We respect and celebrate the character, culture and heritage of the club whilst invigorating it with creativity and innovation.
The North Freo Bowlo is an incorporated association governed by a volunteer board.
We welcome new members and volunteers!
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Peter Blackall’s family have lived directly opposite the NFB for over 20 years and Peter is a Member of the North Fremantle Primary School Board. Peter brings 25 years of local and offshore experience in project delivery including fundraising with Article 25, the World’s largest Architectural NGO. Peter has a deep passion for community-led place creation through linking F&B with sport and the arts.
Julia Jones has been a resident of North Fremantle since 1989. She has many fond memories of quiz nights, comedy and live music at the North Fremantle Bowling Club and is excited to see the Club invigorated again. She is a former board member of North Fremantle Primary School board and a member and volunteer of the North Fremantle Social Farm. She is the Founding Director of an international online education company and a best-selling author.
Jen Leys is a Producer at Performing Lines, working on contemporary theatre and dance projects and tours with leading independent West Australian artists. She has worked in live performance for 20 years within international, national and local contexts, representing companies including Black Swan State Theatre, Strut Dance and Askonas Holt (UK) to create opportunities for artists such as Bangarra Dance Theatre, Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, FORM Dance (Parramatta) and a breadth of Australian performance practitioners. She completed a Masters in Performance & Culture, with a thesis on the Vision and Social Role of Festivals Today (2008). Jen moved to North Freo in 2018 and loves its genuine sense of community. She lives here with her family including two young boys and an enthusiastic Jack Russell.
Emily Anderson has been a North Fremantle resident for almost 10 years with two young children. Emily has been an active member of the North Fremantle Primary school board for the last four years, starting as a community representative and then as a parent representative. Emily has a background in Sport and Recreation, State Government, Local Government and Community Development. She has more recently worked in the not-for-profit space in injury prevention and community safety promotion in areas such as falls prevention for older people and supporting those impacted by road crashes. Emily is excited to be part of the North Freo Bowlo Committee and for her family to become regular attendees at the Bowlo’s events.
Julia Rejall has been a resident, business owner and general fan of North Fremantle for over 20 years. Since arriving from Canada, the area has held a special place in Julia’s heart. Recently, Julia and her husband were honoured to share in the commercial history of Queen Victoria St, being the establishing owners of Bruce Town café. Now with 2 small children she has returned to work in Financial Services, adding to her over 10 years experience in that industry, including roles in Commercial Banking, Financial Markets and now, Supply Chain Finance. Julia is passionate about community integration and promoting positive and practical change. Having been an enthusiastic bowls club patron, she looks forward to having a roll and a pint on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Craig Suttar (B.Eng Mech. & B.SC Physics) is a seasoned CEO & Co. Director, whilst currently specializing new energy project development, Craig continues to execute M&A, investment banking and corporate advisory assignments. Starting his career in venture capital upon a strong technical foundation, Craig has navigated diverse sectors, fostering growth and strategic alignment of stakeholders. Craig is also Non-Executive Director at not-for-profit educator Fairbridge Inc and has a particular desire to support multi-generational indigenous welfare and has been a North Fremantle resident since 2008.
Vale Rob Fittock
Rob was first involved in the North Fremantle Bowling Club from 2004 to 2015. During that time he initiated events including the Dog’s Long Table Brekkie and Eat No Evil food truck on Sunday arvos and was involved in upgrading the kitchen, BBQ alfresco, light towers, CCTV and more. He worked with groups such as Regis, St Pats, and the RSL to hold events at the Club.
In 2021 Rob became a key player in the revival of the club, and again became a committee member, providing an invaluable link between the past and the future. In the last few years he has contributed greatly to our efforts to respect and celebrate the character, culture and heritage of the club whilst invigorating it with creativity and innovation.
Rob and his wife Robyn have dedicated years of volunteer work to our community. We will miss him terribly and appreciate everything he has done for our Club!
ADVISORY
Dylan Smith has been a resident for 15 years and has fond memories of lazy Sunday afternoons at the North Fremantle Bowling Club. Dylan is a former Board Member of North Fremantle Social Farm, former Committee Member of the North Fremantle Amateur Football Club and former Director of Community Foundations Australia. He currently holds the role of WA State Manager at Philanthropy Australia, having previously been the founder and Executive Officer of the Fremantle Foundation.
Sharon Pratt laid the foundations to her career in Financial Management and then gained significant experience in managing Clubs of 300+ Members. Sharon has 5 years of recent experience managing the Navy Club Fremantle and the NFB Team are extremely grateful to have Sharon on the bid team in an advisory role. Sharon will have oversight on organising staff and volunteer rosters and schedule, Training and mentoring staff, Sales management, coordination of external partner, Stock management, ordering and logistics, Building positive relationship, Facilitating meetings – Agenda & Minute, Cash handling, Customer Service and General office accounting support.
Rebecca Clarkson lives in White Gum Valley and spends time in North Fremantle to visit her parents who live here. She is a Community Engagement Specialist with fifteen years professional experience in community partnerships, stakeholder engagement and social policy at a range of private, government and non profit organisations. She believes there must be better ways to address chronic social challenges that includes all sectors of the community.
Julian Tompkin is a North Fremantle local who is passionate about the suburb’s unique history, character and cultural life. Following an extensive career in the music industry, Julian was a founding partner in Triple 1 Three, the company behind cultural brands Otherside Brewing Co. and Freo Social. Julian is a Board Director of Tura New Music and has been a judge on the Walkley Book Award. His cultural discourse and research have been both awarded and widely published – including in The Australian Newspaper, for which he is a long-time contributor.
Katie Stubley is a North Fremantle local and is passionate about creating change in her own neighbourhood. Katie works in the field of social design and systems leadership. She has worked locally and internationally across numerous settings including UN SDG Leadership Labs, MIT IDEAS Asia-Pacific Program and with Commonland to generate Ecosystem Restoration in the southwest of Australia. She lectures at UWA in social impact and previously at UNSW in Design for Social Innovation.
