New South Wales Hall of Champions facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hall of Champions collection |
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Part of the collection
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| Location | Australia Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia |
| Owner | State Sports Centre Trust |
| Official name: Hall of Champions (collection) | |
| Type | state heritage (movable / collection) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 1295 |
| Type | Olympic Objects |
| Category | Collections |
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The New South Wales Hall of Champions is a special museum located at Australia Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia. It's owned by the State Sports Centre Trust, which is part of the government. The amazing collection of items in this museum was officially added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. This means it's recognized as a very important part of New South Wales' history and culture.
Contents
History of the Hall of Champions
The idea for this collection started in 1978. It was begun by the Minister for Sport at the time, Ken Booth. The Hall of Champions was created to celebrate and honor sportsmen and women from New South Wales. These are athletes who have achieved great things in sports, both in Australia and around the world.
Every year, a special committee chooses new athletes to be added to the Hall. When an athlete is chosen, they are "inducted." This means their photo and a story about their sporting life are put on display. These athletes often give items from their careers to the museum. These items then become part of the exhibitions, which change regularly.
The collection is all about the athletes who have been inducted into the Hall of Champions. By 1997, there were 269 athletes on the "Roll of Honour." The Hall of Champions was first located in Sports House in The Rocks area of Sydney. But in 1984, it moved to its current home at the State Sports Centre in Homebush.
What's in the Collection?
The Hall of Champions collection is full of interesting items from the world of sport. You can find many different things there, such as:
- Sports clothing
- Equipment used in various sports
- Medals, pennants, and certificates
- Trophies and badges
- Photographs of famous athletes
The collection also includes "ephemera." This is a fancy word for items that were only meant to be used for a short time. These include things like tickets to sporting events, programs, souvenirs, magazines, autographs, and scrapbooks.
Why the Collection is Important
The Hall of Champions collection is very special. It's the biggest and most varied collection of sports items held by any museum in New South Wales. It covers about 36 different sports. The items in the collection span a long period, from the 1880s right up to today.
Many items are linked to important Australian athletes and major sporting events. These events include the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. The collection was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. This happened because it met certain important standards.
Demonstrating History
The collection shows us a lot about the history of sports and culture in New South Wales. It has some very rare items that are important to Australia's sporting past. For example, you can see the gold, silver, and bronze medals won by Andrew "Boy" Charlton. He won these for swimming at the 1924 Olympics.
Another rare item is an honor cap from the very first rugby league team in 1907. There's also the gold Olympic certificate won by Fanny Durack. She was a swimmer at the 1912 Olympics. Fanny was the first woman ever to represent Australia at the Olympic Games!
Learning from the Collection
The collection can help us learn more about the history of New South Wales. Some of the scrapbooks in the collection are put together around specific sports themes. These scrapbooks are a great resource for anyone wanting to do research on sports history.
Rare and Unique Items
Some items in the collection are very rare because they belonged to famous athletes. For example, the museum has almost every award won by the swimmer Shane Gould. The only awards missing are her gold Olympic medals, but it includes her Olympic certificates!
