Shock new detail surfaces after lawn bowler’s $1million revenge from beyond the grave in Melbourne
- Bruce Hallman left his lucrative estate to the Donvale Bowls Club
- A mystery, as he was a member of the Doncaster Bowls Club
- Donvale chairman Ian Bramstedt grateful for the donation
The president of a suburban Melbourne bowls club has explained how “going the extra mile” left a non-member with a legacy of more than $1 million.
Donvale Bowls Club chairman Ian Bramstedt told Sunrise’s Matt Shirvington and Natalie Barr on Friday that he was stunned to learn his club were the beneficiaries of the money left by Bruce Hallman, who died in August last year.
Hallman was a member of the rival Doncaster Bowls Club for fifteen years, but chose not to leave his important donation to them.
“It was fantastic news, we are very happy about it,” Bramstedt said.
“It will enable 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 prior to a membership drive in 2019 was the likely catalyst for the generous donation.
“He played pennants against our club a few times, and we thought we’d take him down one day and buy him a few beers,” he said.
‘[By all reports] he had no family and was an eccentric character, we would all have liked to get to know him better.
Donvale Bowls Club chairman Ian Bramstedt has explained how ‘going above and beyond’ to a non-member ultimately saw them gift an estate worth more than $1 million
Ian Bramstedt told Sunrise’s Matt Shirvington and Natalie Barr that he was stunned to learn his club were the beneficiaries of the money left by Bruce Hallman (pictured), who died last August.
‘He got sick during the [Covid] pandemic, so he couldn’t join our club, which is a shame… he clearly loved our hospitality.
‘But it goes without saying that we really appreciate his generosity, we now no longer have to sell sausages at Bunnings.’
Bramstedt added that Hallman’s will was carefully analyzed to ensure the seven-figure donation was not accidentally passed on to the wrong bowls club.
Doncaster took legal action but executive chairman Trevor Dawson was told there was no way forward.
According to News Corp, there was some speculation that Hallman had been ‘unhappy with some members of his old club’.
But Dawson insisted this was not the case.
“There was no tension between Bruce and any of our members,” he said.
Donvale already have plans to upgrade their facilities – including covering the greens with a dome for year-round play and installing lighting for night games.