South Hedland Bowls Club to come alive with fundraising evening for China’s Boxing Gym after devastating fire

The South Hedland Bowls Club is set to host a fundraising evening on May 20, complete with raffles and auctions, in an effort to rebuild a beloved Port Hedland boxing gym gutted by a deliberately lit fire.

Firefighters were called to China’s Boxing Gym on Sutherland Street around midnight last Thursday night. Pilbara District Police later confirmed they believed it may have been lit by an arsonist.

The gym, which has been a source of activity for youth for more than a decade, was run by local icon Lewis Kew Ming, also known as China.

The fundraiser organiser has called on the Hedland community to come together and “do something small for someone who has given so much to this town.”

Speaking to the North West Telegraph, Daniel Dunne — a close friend of China’s — said his wife had organised the fundraiser as it was “the least we could do”.

“That gym is China’s life. He used all his own money to fit it out and he does it out of the generosity of his heart to make sure kids around town have something to do and someone to talk to,” he said.

While the structural damage is expected to be covered by insurance, much of the contents — including the boxing equipment — would not.

At the time of print, a GoFundMe page for China’s Gym had raised more than $15,000.

Anyone wishing to donate to the fundraiser can do so on gofundme.

The fundraising evening will kick off at 6pm on May 20 at the South Hedland Bowls Club.