Burned down bowling club stripped bare
There is not a single piece of metal in sight other than the support beams in the floor slowly being chipped away.
The historic Brakpan Bowling Club that burned down in late March has since been looted and stripped bare of valuable features.
The club, a feature of the town since 1919, saw thousands of bowlers on its greens over the decades it was in use.
It seems as if vagrants living in the building started the fire. The building was neglected since its closure about six years ago.
Following the blaze, the CPF, SAPS, and ward councillors regularly patrolled the area to prevent looting of the burned building. However, their efforts were in vain, with daily reports of people carrying away valuable pieces of infrastructure.
The building has been stripped almost completely bare in the few months since the fire, with window frames, the corrugated iron roof, gates, pipes, and cables carried away.
The steel support beams on the floor are slowly getting exposed by chipping the concrete away. It is a concern that the floor might collapse on the thieves and injure or kill them if they continue.
Another concern is the thieves cannot be prosecuted because no one is willing or able to lay criminal charges against them for the theft.
The grounds where the club was located were also once home to the Brakpan Tennis Club, another ruined local landmark.
They join the old Brakpan Library, the Casbah Roadhouse and other prominent local buildings looted and destroyed by vandals and thieves.
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