The famous Club in the Scrub will have a new fossicking dump ready for the 2023 tourist season as they pull themselves up by their bootstraps after a tough year. 

Jessie Yates, manager of the Grawin Club in the Scrub said business had been down by about 40% since one of the two fossicking dumps had been closed. 

“We love our tourists here and of course we do a lot of business during the tourist season but it would be a lot better if half of them could read the signs. The big, really big signs we had everywhere.” 

 “We had a couple of incidents and had to deal with people suing us, anyway to cut a long story short we had to close down what is known as the second dump.” 

“We have contacted the Glengarry Grawin Sheepyard Miners Association Inc. (GGSMA) and miners from across the area will drop off enough dirt to keep the tourists happy. It will be all new dirt so it’s sure to make a few fossickers rich,” Jessie said. 

Grawin was established in 1908 with the discovery of opal at Hammond Hill. 

Further discoveries in 1920 just up the road at Richards’ Hill put the unofficial village on the map, however, it wasn't until the 1970s that it became a major field in its own right.  

Since the first discovery of opal in the region, people have come and gone in tides with each new strike, seeking their fortune in search of the beautiful rock. 

The Club in the Scrub was started about 1976, after a few of the miners and their families got together in protest after a pub up the road put the price of beer up during a flood as the publican had to fly in the grog. When he failed to lower the prices when the roads opened it really raised the ire of the locals. 

“The club has been entirely built by volunteer labour with the main material being cypress pine. The white ants don't like this variety of pine so we will be here for a while yet,” Jessie said.  

Always unique. The Pub in the Scrub is an attraction in its own right. IMAGE: Facebook

Leading up to January 1990, when the club became a registered venue with a club liquor license, members would put their names on cartons of beer, under the pretence of bringing their own beer to the club and having a Sunday drink with mates.  

Up until then the police would come out and do a raid one or two times a year. Once the formalities were over they would down a couple of ice cold stubbies and return six months later for another raid. 

Another issue now facing the club is the introduction of the Director Identification Number. 

Company directors are required by law to apply for a director identification number (director ID). A director ID is a unique identifier that a director will apply for once and keep forever – which will help prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identities. 



Jessie Yates said they lost three board members because they didn’t want to go through "all the government crap". They didn’t want to be overly identified at all.  

“After a bit of trouble we managed to get a new mob to apply and it’s all good now,” she said. 

“We are looking forward to the 2023 season with no Covid, no floods and a new fossicking dump. We have well over 400 members. We can boast that we have a member in every state and territory of Australia.”