WORTH PRESENTING: Founder Carl Sharpe believes a home must be found for Orange Sporting Hall of Fame so that the city’s greatest athletes can be recognised. Photo: STEVE GOSCH
YOU’VE heard of Jade Warrender, Orange’s Hockeyroo who tragically ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in a training exercise earlier this year, putting her dream of becoming an Olympian on the back burner for another four years.
You’ve probably heard of Jason Belmonte, too, the two-handed bowler who dominates the sport of tenpin bowling and cleaned up on the Professional Bowlers Association circuit last season.
They’re two of the city’s highest profile athletes and members of the Orange Sporting Hall of Fame.
But can you name more?
Or if you wanted to find out more on the 59 other members of the exclusive club, would you know where to look?
Chances are you’re probably stumped.
Hopefully, change is in the air.
There are renewed calls for the Orange Sporting Hall of Fame to be reopened, possibly at the Orange Function Centre.
From Kangaroos to Wallabies, Hockeyroos and world champion boxers, some of the world’s finest rowers and multiple world title holding pistol shooters, Orange has had a plethora of sporting champions dominate on the world stage.
Hall of fame founder Carl Sharpe said it was important the city’s sporting heroes are commemorated properly.
“The people need to be recognised,” Mr Sharpe said.
“We’ve had 50 or 60 Australian representatives come out of Orange. People don’t realise the calibre of champions we’ve had in this town.”
The first Orange Sporting Hall of Fame was on display at the Orange Visitors Centre from the early 1990s.
But the memorabilia on show has now been in hibernation for close to a decade after the display was taken down in 2004.
“[Mayor] John [Davis] has always been on about it,” Mr Sharpe said.
“Every year at the Sports Awards he says he hasn’t forgotten.
“The visitors centre would have been a perfect place. It’s supervised and there’s the large turnover of people seven days a week. People walk in and see it and there’s always people there they didn’t realise represented Australia.”
Mayor John Davis said it was a disgrace that the Hall of Fame was not being displayed.
“I share [Mr Sharpe’s] disappointment,” he said.
“It would certainly be a great asset for the new museum.
“A lot of trophies have gone back to people who owned them.”
Cr Davis said he would raise the issue in the new council term.
Council spokesman Allan Reeder said the Hall of Fame is available on the council’s website with plans for the memoribilia to be displayed in the new museum when it is built.
nick.mcgrath@ruralpress.com
