Old prison sheds could be key to unlocking football-netball club upgrades

By Tyler Maher

Feb 10, 2025

The dilapidated state of the Murchison-Toolamba away change rooms, with the urinal split between both home and away rooms by a plaster wall. Photo by Megan Fisher

One prison’s trash is another football-netball club’s treasure.

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That’s how the saying goes, isn’t it?

Murchison-Toolamba Football Netball Club is hoping so, anyway — and has the backing of state Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell to explore the opportunity.

With nearby Dhurringile Prison now decommissioned, the Kyabram District League outfit wants to see the transfer of sheds on the property to Murchison Recreation Reserve, in order to be repurposed into ‘new’ clubrooms for the facility, which desperately needs it.

The wider concept works for the education sector — with demountables no longer needed at one school repurposed as classrooms for another as regular practice for decades.

Why couldn’t it also work for decommissioned prison sheds?

Ms Lovell spoke in parliament last week on the matter, and said the idea would help expedite initial upgrades to the club’s facilities, as well as allow it to happen at a fraction of the cost of building new rooms from scratch.

"I urge the Minister for Corrections to meet with the Murchison-Toolamba Football Netball Club to explore opportunities for transferring to the club the sheds from the Dhurringile Prison, which has been decommissioned,“ Ms Lovell said.

“The club has had a close association with the prison, including hosting prisoners as players through the prison outreach program. It’s a great opportunity for the prison and the Victorian Government to consider ways they can give back to the football club, which has been overlooked for funding in the past.”