Cowboys force mourned
ONE of the founding fathers of the North Queensland Cowboys, former Townsville Rugby League president Ray Stuart, died recently on the Sunshine Coast.
Raymond Francis Stuart was born in Marrickville, NSW on August 3, 1941 and grew up in Tempe, inner Sydney, attending Tempe Primary School followed by Tempe Junior Technical College.
His dad Frank took Ray and his brother Ron to numerous St George football games and Ray became a staunch one- eyed supporter and lifetime member of the “Saints”. During his senior schooldays, he represented his school in rugby league and many other sports.
He played for the local Tempe Iona Football Club and represented Sydney schoolboys in the state championships.
Ray’s dream was to join the navy and at the age of 15 he joined the Royal Australian Naval Reserve until he was old enough to join the permanent Royal Australian Navy in September 1958.
Ray spent a total of nine years in the navy, serving on HMAS ships Voyager, Gull, Vendetta, Sydney, Derwent and Melbourne until his discharge in September 1967.
Ray was then employed in management positions with the Ipec Transport Group and was transferred to Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra and eventually to Perth, where he met and married his wife Annie in 1984.
Further transfers saw Ray and Annie moving to and living in Tasmania, Sydney, Brisbane and Townsville.
While in Townsville, Ray was heavily involved in the administration of rugby league, serving as secretary of the Souths Football Club for several years and as Townsville Rugby League president for two years.
During those years he was also a member of the Queensland Rugby League Northern Division board.
In 1989, when the idea was floated that North Queensland should have its own national rugby league team, Ray was one of six visionary Townsvilleans who formed the original steering committee, which eventually led to the creation of the North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League Club.
Their judgment was vindicated in 1995 when the Cowboys joined the Winfield Cup ( now NRL) competition and went on to win the NRL grand final in 2015.
After 15 years in Townsville, the constant tropical heat was the reason Ray suggested he and Annie pack up the car, two dogs, cat, pot plants and the boat and head south. They arrived at the Woombye Caravan Park on November 30, 1997.
In January 1998, Ray transferred from the Townsville RSL sub- branch to the Nambour sub- branch and in 2003 became an active welfare officer for the RSL, holding the official position for 10 years. He continued assisting widows and members until his recent illness, also serving as vice president, deputy president and president.
Ray also introduced garden clean- ups for subbranch members and widows and assisted RSL widows in gaining war widow status with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Former Townsville Bulletin sports editor Doug Kingston, who recalled that fateful North Queensland Cowboys steering committee meeting in 1989, said the bid to get a national rugby league team may never have eventuated had Ray not attended that initial meeting.
“Most people regarded the idea of getting a team in the national competition as piein- the- sky and consequently only six people turned up to that meeting,” Mr Kingston said. “As Townsville Rugby League president, Ray’s involvement gave the bid respectability in North Queensland rugby league circles and I think it is fair to say the bid may not have got off the ground without his support.”
Ray is survived by his wife Annie, children from his first marriage Susan and Jennifer, and grandchildren Braedon, Luc and Lia.
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