- Bruce Hallman left his lucrative property to the Donvale Bowls Club
- Puzzling given he was a member of the Doncaster Bowls Club
- Donvale president Ian Bramstedt grateful for donation
The president of a suburban bowling club in Melbourne has explained how “going the extra mile” for a non-member allowed him to ultimately gift him a property worth more than $1 million.
Donvale Bowls Club president Ian Bramstedt told Sunrise’s Matt Shirvington and Natalie Barr on Friday that he was surprised to hear his club was the beneficiary of money left by Bruce Hallman, who died in August last year.
Hallman was a member of rival Doncaster Bowls Club for 15 years, but decided not to leave them his important legacy.
“It was fantastic news, we are delighted,” said Bramstedt.
“It will allow our club to continue to grow and prosper, it’s still hard to believe… it has secured our future.”
Bramstedt said a Donvale member who drove to Hallman’s nursing home a day before a membership drive in 2019 was the likely catalyst for the generous donation.
“He played pennants against our club several times and we thought one day we would bring him over and buy him a few beers,” he said.
‘(By all accounts) he had no family and was an eccentric character, we would all have liked to know him better.
Donvale Bowls Club president Ian Bramstedt has explained how “going the extra mile” for a non-member ultimately allowed him to gift him a property worth more than $1 million.
Ian Bramstedt told Sunrise’s Matt Shirvington and Natalie Barr that he was shocked to hear his club was the beneficiary of money left by Bruce Hallman (pictured), who died last August.
‘He fell ill during the (Covid) pandemic so couldn’t join our club, which is a shame… he clearly liked our hospitality.
“But of course we really appreciate your generosity. Now we don’t need to go sell sausages at Bunnings.”
Bramstedt added that Hallman’s will was closely scrutinized to ensure the seven-figure donation was not accidentally passed to the wrong bowling club.
Doncaster took legal action but chief executive Trevor Dawson was informed there was no further course of action.
According to News Corp, there was speculation that Hallman had been “unhappy with some members of his former club”.
But Dawson stressed that was not the case.
“There was no tension between Bruce and any of our members,” he said.
Donvale already has plans to improve its facilities, including covering the greens with a dome for year-round play and installing lights for night play.