Football Forensics launch new sporting chapter

 

 by Robert Allen

A new football group on the Queensland scene is keen to recruit new members with an interest in the history of Australian Rules Football.

The Queensland Australian Football Forensics will be officially launched at the Pineapple Hotel on 30 March.

The Forensics’ story began several years ago after a chance meeting between Greg Parker and Murray Bird, two football researchers who were both examining aspects of the game’s early history in Queensland.

Word of mouth soon led them to other like-minded researchers and the Queensland Australian Football Historical Society was formed in 2008.

Members are currently researching or writing the history of a number of past and present local clubs, including Mayne, Yeronga/South Brisbane, Wilston-Grange, Taringa/Western Districts and Southport.  Research is also being done on the game’s history in other regions, including Cairns and Ipswich, and there are plans for a wider history of the game in Queensland. 

The group’s research reputation has grown, and members are often asked to help identify old photos, track down player records or advise on how to preserve important club documents.

Now, the group has decided to broaden its aims and seek further recruits under a new name: the Queensland Australian Football Forensics.

Robert Allen said the Forensics’ new motto was “Bringing life to footy’s past.”

 “Australian Rules Football has a rich history, and we know a lot of people are interested in the game, where it came from and where it might be heading,” he said.

“Some people grew up in Queensland with a love of the game; others brought it with them from interstate or were converted from other codes.

“We don’t mind how long you’ve followed the game, or who you barrack for.  The Forensics is for anyone interested in the history of our game, whether it happened last season or a hundred seasons ago.”

 The group’s research goals are:

 

  • To share ideas, information and resources to help fellow researchers achieve the best possible outcomes in their respective projects;
  • To identify, record and preserve historical documents and artifacts; and
  • To advise the leagues and clubs about the best way to preserve records for posterity.

 

The Forensics’ wider goals are:

 

  • To promote the continued development of the game in Queensland;
  • To promote an appreciation of the game’s history; and
  • To provide forums for the gathering of like-minded fans.

 

Regular functions including guest speakers are planned during the football season.

 

 

 

About Robert Allen

Robert is a football history tragic who lives in Brisbane with his three children and a ginger cat named Thomas O'Malley. He recently completed a biography of Roy Cazaly, in which he endeavoured to avoid what Gideon Haigh has called the two facets of most Australian sports biographies: cut-and-paste and tongue-in-bum.

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