It was a Sydney soap opera of biblical proportions, and the "little people" are celebrating.
Members of the Waverley Bowling Club in the city's eastern suburbs have rejected a move by the Easts Group to amalgamate the bowling club with the nearby Bondi Golf and Diggers Club.
Easts took over the Waverley club in a 2010 merger but the bowlers said Easts failed to live up to promises they would upgrade and invest in the facility.
Instead, Easts produced a proposal which could have seen the club's Birrell Street headquarters sold to make way for a childcare centre and retirement village.
Several hundred people attended a rowdy extraordinary general meeting to stop the Waverley bowlo from being relocated to the golf club's site, about three kilometres away.
Loyal bowling club members voted down resolutions which would have paved the way for a redevelopment of the site.
A post on the Save Waverley Bowling Club Facebook page read: "VICTORY IS OURS!!!! The little people did it. We will always remember that 22nd August 2017 was the day we saved Waverley Bowlo!!!!"
Waverley Bowling Club president Patrick Fitzsimons said the resolutions pertaining to the club's merger with North Bondi were "substantially" defeated.
"Anybody who could even think of destroying it, to cash in on what you got for next to nothing, it's ridiculous, and I think people in the area realised that and that's why they came out and voted against it," he said.
Club saved after 'rowdy' meeting
Benjamin Howell has been a member at Waverley for four years and voted against the plan.
"It did get very rowdy at a few points," he said.
"I think it was about two to one in favour of the nos."
Easts declined to comment after the meeting.
Lifelong Waverley resident Dr Marjorie O'Neill said members had expected Easts to reinvigorate the bowling club, not relocate it and develop the land.
"But this is the voice of the little people, this is the voice of the community, we don't want our club being sold off, we don't want to lose our bowling club, we don't want to lose our green space, we're here to stay," she said.
Easts has proposed merging the Waverley club with the Bondi Golf and Diggers to create a new recreational facility complete with bowling greens.
Waverley resident, Bob Horsell, 77, was among those who voted against moving the club.
"People power is the winner tonight, there's no doubt about that," he said.
