SHRINE TO GAMES
The Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame to house permanent exhibit.
THE 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games will go down in history – with a new “shrine” to commemorate the event.
The Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame in Southport is adding a major space to its collection dedicated solely to the Commonwealth Games.
The first batch of memorabilia was delivered to the site yesterday, including volunteer uniforms, a Borobi doll, photos, novelty-size tickets, the iconic Games promotional surfboard, pins and more.
“All those things are of interest,” Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame secretary Paul Stevens said. “What we’re trying to create is a legacy.
“The Hall of Fame houses a good range of sporting memorabilia used by elite Gold Coast sports people, but it also houses things like honour boards, and local award recipients.
“The other memorabilia in the general hall is made up largely of athlete donations. We’re not an organisation that goes out and buys material.
“If there are any athletes who have small items of apparel that they no longer have use for, we’re more than happy to have it on display.”
To give the space a more personal touch they’ve also put a call out for photos and even drawings.
“I would have thought kids’ impressions of what they saw is just as much a legacy of the Games as any other part of it ... even if mum and dad have some photos of their son or daughter with Kurt Fearnley, give us a copy.
“Those things are valuable as well.”
Founding president Daphne Pirie said it was hoped the tribute space would be a huge coup for the hall, sporting community and wider city.
“We have been preparing and buying showcases so we can suitably display anything we can get from the Commonwealth Games,” she said.
“We wanted to make a lasting tribute to the Games, something that sits in well with honouring our champions, while inspiring the future.”
The shrine will be in the old Gold Coast Bulletin building, which is contained within the hall’s grounds.
“I don’t think there was a hesitation at all from the Bulletin in saying that sounds like a reasonable outcome,” Mr Stevens said. “Let’s go for it.”