Copy of speech given by Rob Morton at the opening of the new Sandringham hockey ground at Brighton Secondary College on Saturday 31 March, 2001
Address on the occasion of:
the opening of the Brighton Secondary College Community Sports facility
Presented by:
Rob Morton, President Sandringham Hockey Club
On Saturday 31 March, 2001
Thank you Keith, and good morning, especially to
• Cr Simon Russell, Mayor of Bayside City Council
• Mrs Julie Podbury, Principal, Brighton Secondary College
• Mr Graeme Seamer, Representing the Regional Director of Education, Southern Region
• Mr Don Cameron, Chairman, Brighton Grammar Board
• Bayside City Councillors
• Brighton Secondary College Councillors, Captains
And to each of you who’ve come here today today either because of your interest in the school, or hockey, or the community or even all three. Thank you for your support.
In a few minutes, I’ll introduce the Mayor, Cr Simon Russell, to officially open the ground. But first I’d like to give you a brief history and acknowledge some of the enormous contributions made by a number of people over the past ten years that have led to the opening of today’s ground.
Hockey and the community
First let me take you through the changes in hockey over the past hundred years, because it was in this area a hundred years ago that the Elsternwick Hockey Club began as one of Victoria’s founding hockey clubs. Fifty years later the Sandringham Club began - initially with a women’s section in 1948; and forty years ago - not far from here at Elsternwick Park - this region hosted the training facilities for the hockey teams of the 1956 Olympics.
Fifteen years ago, hockey was so much a part of this community, there were nearly twenty grass hockey grounds on Council reserves and high schools in the Bayside area. Indeed up until then, Brighton High - as it was then known - had been one of the state’s top hockey playing schools, producing champions and champion teams.
However by the mid-1980s hockey was experiencing a major change – it had discovered the huge advantages of playing on a smooth, all-weather, synthetic surface. No more mud-stuck balls or unpredictable bumps.
And since then until today there has been nowhere in Bayside where children, women and men can play hockey at the standard the game now demands.
“So what?” some might say.
Well, just as we all benefit from a community of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds so do we also benefit from having a diversity of sporting and leisure backgrounds.
For hockey players it provides a lifetime interest as they accept the challenge of developing their skills within their personal limitations. It is played by children as young as six, and men and women as old as sixty - or in some cases older - and everybody in between. It is played by Europeans, Asians, Africans, North and South Americans, and those from the Indian subcontinent. Few other activities encourage and cater for such a mix of genders, cultures, and age groups.
It provides an opportunity to meet others in the community, to work with them on committees, to develop friendships and community spirit.
What’s more all of these people - whether they administer, coach, or play hockey - are upholding those values which the community seeks, but which in today’s world are becoming harder to achieve – values of teamwork, leadership and discipline.
As a result hockey helps children and adults develop positive personal attributes as well as the positive physical benefits that come from healthy outdoor activity.
By contrast, how often do we hear the community lamenting about undisciplined, self-centred kids hanging around with no where to go and nothing to do?
This ground gives them some where to go, somewhere to learn discipline, cooperation, and community leadership.
If some of what I’ve just read sounds familiar, it’s because it was part of a speech delivered at one of the council meetings in 1998 when we saw school students, parents and other Club members addressing council meetings late at night or coming along to hear the discussions and support the proposal.
It was this support and commitment which convinced those of us who were bringing the facility to fruition that our values, and what we believed in, were right. The dignity with which the students, players and ground supporters behaved through those times is a lasting credit to all involved.
Working for a ground
The first formal move to work towards a synthetic hockey ground goes back to a minute at Sandringham Hockey Club meeting on 30 October 1991 which reads “The President’s steering committee to organise a committee of practical people”.
Over the years there have been a number of people on that committee and I’d like to acknowledge some of them. Without doubt the longest serving member on that team was Ken John, recently elected VHA president. The number of hours Ken put in, initially working with other regional clubs to build and manage the ground at Mordialloc, and then here are countless. It has been a fantastic effort. For his sins he was recently elected President of the Victorian Hockey Association.
Con Bahramis was also there right from the start as a committee member, and then helping with construction issues and site meetings at Mordi. But I doubt he had any idea of the size of the challenge that was to come when he and Ken took on the responsibility of working with the school in about 1998. Nor I suspect did their wives, Jenny and Pat.
It was at that time that the Con and Ken team was forged. Some of you may have seen them out for their early morning walks around the suburbs as they considered each and every aspect of the project.
It has been remarkably demanding, ensuring initially that Council and Councillors were always fully briefed as we sought funding grants from both Bayside Council and the State Government – ultimately leading to contributions of $200,000 and $150,000 each – and support for construction at Brighton Secondary College.
We owe Con and Ken and their families a huge debt of gratitude.
Up until 1998 we had no idea where the ground was going to be, but we knew from the research we’d done that there was a huge need for it. When you count students playing hockey at schools in Bayside, together with residents who play Club hockey, there are over a thousand hocky players in this community.
Others who were key contributors in those early years include Julie Baker who between 1994 and 1997 incorporated the many changes to the monstrous document called the Business Plan. (I lost track of the number of times it was updated.) Thanks also to Barry Eastgate who helped get the cash flow and budget right.
And in the very early years there were key Club members such as Maxine Kiel, David McGregor, Nola Millar and Jenny Healy, all of whom helped keep the dream alive while, almost like nomads, we sought a permanent home for hockey in Bayside. My thanks also to the other Club and committee members who’ve been contributing ever since.
The Schools
I’d now like to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution made by the staff and council of Brighton Secondary College, in particular Julie Podbury, Linda Ward, Rob Newton and Keith Davidson.
Right from the start, in 1998 when the idea of jointly building a community facility was first proposed, Julie and the school have embraced and warmly welcomed us into their community. They have also provided us with after hours access to the their Board room for our club meetings, and done anything else they could do to help.
This is indicative of a school that contributes much to the local community. (For example the ground itself will be available to other schools and community groups for tennis, hockey, and other uses).
Even through the trauma and set backs of last year, particularly the fire and the long delays caused by the legal action taken by some residents, Julie and her team, remained positive and enthusiastic. They are an inspiration.
The other school which made an important commitment to the project is Brighton Grammar. The school’s Headmaster, Michael Urwin, and the school’s board, chaired by Don Cameron, have been supportive right form the start, knowing that it was going to require a substantial financial contribution to build the ground.
Their commitment to use the ground for the next ten years was vital in helping demonstrate both the wider community support for the project and ensuring it had a sound financial base, and is very much appreciated.
Government assistance
Two other major contributions need to be acknowledged, the $150,000 provided by the State Government’s Department of Sport and Recreation and the administrative and financial contribution made by Bayside City Council
It was Council’s submission, particularly through the work of Mike Hoy, which resulted in the State Government’s contribution. Mike was not a stranger to the need for hockey ground in the region having first met with steering committee in 1995 as the club sought to understand the processes required for a project of this size. His comments then helped us prepare for what we knew would always be a major challenge in a community where open-space is so limited.
The support also of other council staff, particularly Richard Mulligan who assisted with the administration of permits and related planning processes is also gratefully acknowledged.
However their contributions would not have been required were it not for the continued support of the council itself, particularly Graeme Disney and Simon Russell, which invested $200,000 of Council funds into the project.
Contractors
And finally, I’d also like to express our appreciation of the work the contractors – Don Vary, the Project Manager; Chris Simpson from Synthi-Grass Australia; Gary Scantleton of Musco Lighting and landscaper Cindy who worked with the school’s students to establish the surrounds. The stop/start nature of the project made it extremely difficult to plan and manage and we thank them for the forbearance, particularly through those periods when uncertainty prevailed. Thankyou.
Opening
I’d now like to introduce the Mayor of Bayside City Council, Simon Russell.
Councillor Russell has supported this project from the start. His years of experience in serving this community not only helped him appreciate the contribution this facility would provide but, together with Graeme Disney, also enabled him to provide much valued advice and support as we worked through the many challenging issues that developed.
On behalf of Sandringham Hockey Club, I’d firstly like to formally thank Council for their generous financial and administrative support and now like to invite Simon Russell to open the facility.
Thankyou.