The voices of Raiders greats - both from on the field and behind the scenes - will be captured in perpetuity in a series of oral histories, to be known as The Bleeding Green Interviews.
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Raiders club historian Dr David Headon is commandeering the oral histories project to ensure some of the club's greats get to tell their story.
The Raiders secured $15,300 through the ACT Heritage Grants program to complete the project. The club and other supporters were expected to match that amount, ensuring the project runs over a number of years and preserves as many voices as possible.
Dr Headon, who also wrote the history of the club in his 2019 book Absolutely Bleeding Green - The Raiders Story, said he would start recording the oral histories of 10 Raiders greats - and then hopefully do more after that.
The 10 selected for the first round of oral histories are:
- Retired long-serving Raiders chief executive officer, chairman and current club patron John McIntyre
- Canberra Raiders CEO Don Furner (and his mother Marian)
- Louise Grant, the widow of the Raiders first captain David Grant, who died of a heart attack in 1994 at the age of just 38
- Raiders legend Mal Meninga
- Former Raiders coach Tim Sheens
- Current Raiders coach and former player Ricky Stuart
- Former player Glenn Lazarus
- Women's rugby league stalwart and Raiders board member Katrina Fanning
- 1982 reserve grade coach Billy Sullivan
- Former Raiders captain Alan Tongue
Dr Headon said the loss of the Raiders' first captain, David Grant, at such a young age of 38 in 1994, and the passing last year of club chairman Dr Allan Hawke emphasised the need to secure the oral histories before it was too late.
Each interviewee was selected to "represent with accuracy and flair the uniqueness of the Raiders narrative" and the team's "undisputed place as part of the DNA of the city".
"The time is right not only to be talking to people with such great knowledge, but also to former players," Dr Headon said.
"We tried to get the right mix.
"This is just the first round and I would be optimistic that at the very least there will be a second round of interviews, over the next two or three years."
The 10 video-recorded oral history interviews are expected to be ready and released as part of the 2024 Canberra and Region Heritage Festival.
Dr Headon will lead the project, assisted by Adrian Constance.
The Raiders oral histories will be stored in the ACT Heritage Library, and made available online for fans to enjoy. The interviews will also be transcribed.
"So it will be really widely sent out," Dr Headon said.
The interviews are expected to run over two or three hours.
"You really have a chance to work hard and go back a long way and get not just the Raiders story, but their story," he said.
"It's another chance for this club, this community to find its unique place in rugby league."
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Megan Doherty
I like telling local stories and celebrating Canberra. Email: megan.doherty@canberratimes.com.au
I like telling local stories and celebrating Canberra. Email: megan.doherty@canberratimes.com.au
