Bowls marks 180 years, ramps up Brisbane 2032 pitch
Hobart's Sandy Bay Bowls Club held a celebration on Monday to mark 180 years since the first recorded game in Australia.
That match took place a few kilometres up the road at the then-named Beach Tavern between English immigrant and father-of-19 Frederick Lipscombe and T Burgess.
'We know it was 25 ends, which started the tradition of 25 ends in Australia,' Bowls Australia president Iain Evans said.
'Mr Burgess won on the very last end. It was a very close game.'
The sport, which has become intertwined with Australian culture and more recently, allowed players to forgo footwear, spread its wings to Sydney and Melbourne in the following decades.
The Hobart event featured a barbecue, tea and coffee and sandwiches, while young and old got to have a crack on the green.
Bowls Australia used the anniversary to ramp up its push for the sport's inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
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