Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last year I attended the Queens Park Junior Football Club in my electorate to present some trophies. I went there as a representative of the Perth Football Club as I am the director of junior development at that club. While I was there I was pleased to receive a copy of a book titled Queens Park Junior Football Club Kicks Off!!! A History of the Queens Park Junior Football Club 1965-2008 written by Rebecca Doughty. The book describes a history which demonstrates the strong relationship between sporting organisations and community. I would like to share some of the stories written in this book with the parliament today.

Queens Park Junior Football Club has existed for 44 years. This is not to be confused with the senior Queens Park Football Club, formerly the Canning Football Club, that was established in 1912 consisting mainly of volunteer firefighters, who have been in the press quite a bit lately. The story of the junior football club begins with Sister Kate’s Children’s Home which operated from 1936 until the 1980s. Sister Kate was sent from England to Australia to help disadvantaged children. The Parkerville Children’s Home she established is still operational today as a shelter for homeless youth and children at risk, something I have spoken about in this House before. Later she established the Queens Park children’s home for Aboriginal children and operated it for 15 years until she died in 1946. After Sister Kate’s death in 1946, Sister Kate’s assistant and friend Miss Lefroy continued to operate the home and established a football team. Children who attended the Queens Park primary schools engaged in football at Sister Kate’s and, after it had been established, these children played with the Queens Park Junior Football Club. There are plans to redevelop Sister Kate’s into an aged care facility for Aboriginals and a website has been established to support this plan.

In 1958 a group of neighbours who had moved into the newly built homes in Donaldson Street, Queens Park, became close friends and took up the challenge of starting a football club. The group attempted to collaborate with Sister Kate’s club although establishing Sister Kate’s club formally was proving difficult. Eventually Queens Park Junior Football Club was born as its own entity and Sister Kate’s team joined them. They officially entered competition in 1965. Back then the club consisted of just a handful of kids.

Over the years the club has expanded and is now a very important club within the Perth junior district. The original president was Colin Willey, from 1966 to 1968. He also held the position of secretary in the years 1973 and 1974. In the last few years in my role as director of junior development at the Perth Football Club I have had the pleasure of dealing with Peter Salter and Dianne Brown who have both been presidents of the club. They have an enormous capacity for work and they have managed to hold this club together through some very difficult periods, which has benefited the club. During their time there has been an increase in the number of players representing Queens Park in the district representative sides.

I wish this proud club, all its members and particularly its volunteers all the best for the future and know that they will be around for another 44 years at least. I thank them for the book, which is extremely interesting. I am probably going to put it in the Parliamentary Library and I am very happy to stand up here and talk about their club. Thank you.