HASTINGS — The Hastings Club, a venue built by the Hastings community and maintained by its members for decades, has entered liquidation—forced to shut its doors after a major building leak went unrepaired for months under Mornington Peninsula Shire’s control.
A Community Club Brought to Its Knees
In 2017, the Shire declined to renew the club’s 50-year lease and assumed ownership of the building. Since then, club leaders say maintenance has been inadequate, culminating in a serious leak in late 2024 that made the premises unsafe and forced a prolonged closure.
Despite alerting the Shire immediately, it took up to five months for repairs to be completed. During that time, the club had no income, cancelled over $100,000 in bookings, and still had to cover insurance premiums and operating overheads.
“This is a club the community built—brick by brick,”
Said Kevin, a former board member and passionate Hastings local.
“We would not be in this position if the Shire had acted promptly and fixed the leak.”
During a recent visit to the site, Peter walked STPL News through the venue and pointed out the section of the floor where the leak had occurred—still only partially patched, with final works yet to be completed months after the issue was first reported in October.
The atmosphere was striking. Once a vibrant and welcoming community hub, the now-empty building felt eerily still. The silence and disrepair gave the impression of a place frozen in time—reminiscent of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining.
The Hastings Club has been forced into liquidation after being closed for 5 months. Credit: J Scicluna 
The club says that if the council had fixed the leak promptly, that they would not have been forced into liquidation. Credit: J Scicluna 
Seeing the empty club was a sad sight. Credit: J Scicluna 
The now empty walls are earily reminicent of the Overlook Hotel from the horror movie The Shinning. Credit: J Scicluna 
The club had a water leak that forced an immediate closure. The Shire has taken over 5 months to patch the hole up and it is still not fully repaired. Credit: J Scicluna
A Legacy of Volunteerism and Support
The Hastings Club was founded in the 1960s by locals who raised the funds and constructed the building themselves. Over the years, volunteers completed several renovations, with support from members, sporting groups, and the wider community.
However, since 2017—when the Shire opted not to renew the club’s lease—the building has been under council control. Despite holding responsibility for maintenance, Shire works have reportedly been inconsistent or delayed.
“They took the building, but they didn’t invest in it,”
Kevin said.
“They let it fall apart.”
Serving the Community – Not for Profit
Operating as a not-for-profit, the club has long prioritised affordability and community service. Membership was $25 per year. The venue hosted senior citizens groups, card clubs, Probus, U3A, sporting clubs, school graduations, and charity fundraisers.
“We never charged the community groups,”
Peter said.
“They’d come in, have a bowl of food or a drink. We were here to support them.”
The club also contributed financially to local infrastructure and charitable causes, including a park and gym, literacy programs at Hastings Secondary College, and specialist medical equipment for a young athlete who went on to represent Australia in wheelchair basketball.
Shire Promises Withdrawn
Verbal commitments of support were reportedly made by former Shire CEO John Baker, who stepped down in October 2024. Kevin and Peter say those discussions gave the board confidence to rebuild post-COVID and pursue a fresh direction—particularly after ending pokie operations in April 2024.
“They told us if we got rid of pokies, they’d see us differently,”
Kevin said.
“We did it, but nothing changed.”
Revised business models were submitted to the Shire, including options to expand the club’s community use as a flexible venue. According to Kevin, those proposals were dismissed or not followed up.
In a particularly difficult exchange, current Acting CEO Bulent Oz reportedly advised the board to seek community support rather than council assistance—despite Hastings being, as Kevin noted, “the lowest socio-economic area in the Shire.”
“You can’t tell people who are already doing it tough to raise $300,000 to save their club,”
Kevin noted.
Perceived Bias Against Western Port
Frustration with the council is compounded by a growing sentiment that the Western Port side of the Peninsula is being overlooked.
Kevin pointed to other townships receiving significant Shire and state funding in recent years—while Hastings infrastructure remains underinvested and neglected.
“Other towns receive millions. Meanwhile, they took five months to fix a leak here and gave us nothing,”
He said.
More Than a Venue – A Lifeline
The club’s facilities included four versatile event spaces, often used simultaneously for sporting presentations, school dinners, and community meetings. The building could accommodate 150 seated guests or 400 standing.
“You’d come in on a Friday night and see 100 locals having dinner, talking, feeling connected,”
Peter said.
“Now they’ve got nowhere to go.”
What Comes Next?
Kevin and Peter believe a new club could be formed if $200,000–$300,000 in funding was secured. Community support is strong, and conversations have begun with other sporting and community groups across the region about shared uses for the venue.
“This is more than just a building,”
Kevin said.
“It was created by hardworking people, not handed down by the Shire. And it can still be something”.
Kevin noted that Cr Michael Stephens has been highly supportive, as have several other councillors representing the Western Port area. However, he added that support from councillors on the Port Phillip side of the municipality has been less enthusiastic, contributing to the broader perception of imbalance in council investment priorities.
If you want to support the Hastings Club, Kevin and Peter ask that you write to your local councillor or the mayor:
- Mayor Anthony Marsh – [email protected]
- Deputy Mayor Paul Pingiaro – [email protected]
- Cr Kate Roper – [email protected]
- Cr Andrea Allen – [email protected]
- Cr David Gill – [email protected]
- Cr Max Patton – [email protected]
- Cr Cam Williams – [email protected]
- Cr Bruce Ranken – [email protected]
- Cr Michael Stephens – [email protected]
- Cr Stephen Batty – [email protected]
- Cr Patrick Binyon – [email protected]
4 Responses
I read about the Hastings Club struggles on the Hastings Community page on Facebook.
Frankly, I am appalled at the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and its actions.
50 years ago, dedicated community volunteers raised the money to build the club and did the work themselves. At that time, there was a Hastings Shire Council and they gave the group a 50 year lease.
When the three local councils merged into the MPSC, the group were advised that as the club was on government-owned land, (not sure if owned by council or by the Crown) they would take over ownership and take on maintenance.
Thanks to lean times during the pandemic and compounded by the councils failure to sort maintenance issues quickly, those that built the club and managed it, have been left high and dry.
Local council is preoccupied with looking after matters on only one side of the Mornington Peninsula it seems.
Taking advantage of a group of dedicated volunteers, who have contributed everything to their club, is beyond the pale.
I hope that when we have a new federal representative, Hastings will be properly represented.
MPSC have questions to answer and apologies to deliver.
It’s time for a reckoning.
This demonstrates how the Western Port People have been treated by Morninton Shire Council.
The difference and Gap of what has happened on the Port Phillip Bay side of the Shire is enormous.
The Shire has taken over sporting clubs field and premises charge theses clubs rent which in lots of cases the clubs built. The Shire has given very little service to these clubs.
The Hasting Club is such a huge loss to the community that one cannot describe the effect it has had on many people. This Shire has not only destroyed a club but the social effects are enormous. One case to hand the Senior Citizens have not only had no place to call their meeting home for years now. This club has supported so many groups it is unbelievable a Shire can just pull the rug from under its rate payers.
It is not the Mt Martha Golf club which they continue to support and will need an estimated $1.5 million needed over the next five years to fix “ageing infrastructure” and according to Cr David Gill, the shire is effectively paying $9000 a year for each of Mount Martha Golf Club’s 250 members. Paid parking for non residents income looking better and better.
Someone who knows the story and its associated problems needs to contact A Current Affair and see if they would take up the cause.