Shaun Johns was only three months short of a 15-year tenure as the general manager of Carlingford Bowling Sports and Recreation Club before he resigned to take up his newest role: general manager of Club Austral.
But it’s a move that brings him closer to home – and to his family.
“I see my kids more now than I did at Carlingford,” Johns said.
“My predecessor did a good job setting it up, and now they needed a bit of a change and I’m here to help them out.”
Johns’ connection to Club Austral started long before his appointment. A keen bowler himself, he played in a few tournaments at the club, even while still working at Carlingford.
“I did like the place already. It’s been really good because I’ve seen the club’s progression.”
Located on the outskirts of both Liverpool and Camden councils in Sydney’s southwest, Austral is undergoing rapid residential development, with farmland making way for new housing estates – and a growing community in need of modern facilities.
“When I moved out here, there was nothing around – all they had was a typical club back in the day where there was a mum-and-dad caterer and that was basically it,” Johns said.
“All around, it was five-acre farm residential blocks. Now when you’re going past, they’re all starting to go, and there are 50-metre residential blocks going in. You can see there’s massive potential for the club going forward.
“The whole area is screaming for a big club with a lot of facilities for the broader community.”
Johns added: “The club’s got a very important role to play in the local community. We are the only real dedicated club, so we’re the hub of the community – we’re always really busy.”
Johns has already hit the ground running. Just two months into the role, he’s presented a five-year plan to the board to help guide the club’s growth.
“The board has been very receptive, which means we can then start going down that path,” he said.
One of Johns’ key strengths, honed at Carlingford, is finding ways to diversify revenue streams – something he’s eager to replicate at Austral.
“At Carlingford, we got to a point where two-thirds of our running profit came in before we even opened the doors, and it’d be great to achieve something like that here because it’d just take a lot of pressure off everyone,” he said.
“[Club Austral] is in a great financial space already, but I think it can be in an even better one.”
It’s a lesson learned the hard way. When Johns first arrived at Carlingford, the club was on the brink of closure.
“We had a couple of local businessmen help us get out of the situation … we were probably about six weeks from putting our hands up,” he said.
“Navigating through that was a long, hard grind.”
Despite the challenges, Johns still enjoys the club sector, an industry he joined after starting his career as a chef.
“I love this industry,” he said.
“Not every day is the same. There are different challenges. You can see where your hard work goes, enjoy the members’ faces and appreciation when you do things well, and you’re giving back to the community – without having to deal with the red tape you get in a government department.”