More than $100,000 damage was caused as a result of the blaze, which ripped through the club about 5.20 am.

Fire extinguishers and lawn balls were also strewn across the bowling green, and the clubrooms allegedly trashed before being set alight. Thirty firefighters from six CFA units including Marong, Maldon, Kangaroo Flat and Lockwood worked to control the blaze, but the damage had already been done. Two youths have since been arrested by Bendigo detectives, and charged with a string of offences, including criminal damage by fire, burglary and theft. The pair, aged 13 and 14, were last night released on bail.

While police and fire crews surveyed the damage yesterday morning, Lockwood and District Bowls Club members gathered outside the club. Fighting back tears, Lockwood South and District Bowls Club mens president Noel Ramage said the bowls community were devastated by the arson attack.

"It's about more than just the clubrooms_ it is also about the many hours of work we put in to building them, and all the memorabilia that is lost," he said. Opened in 1993, the Lockwood South clubrooms were solely built by members.

Bendigo Bowls Association president Ted Cutlack said the blaze was a cruel blow for the district's close-knit bowls community. "This is one of our smaller clubs who have worked very hard to get their clubhouse and bowling green up to a high standard," he said.

"Now this is a disaster." CFA duty officer John Cutting said the blaze was well advanced when fire crews arrived on the scene about 5.20 am. "The damage to the clubrooms is severe - they basically have to be pulled down," he said.

"We also had to call in a council building surveyor to assess the structure of the building."