FIVE talented athletes were inducted into the Goulburn and district Sporting Hall of Fame on Saturday night, October 22.
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The following athletes have excelled in their chosen sports and will be recognised for their accomplishments; Cameron Roberts (Triathlon & Duathlon), Ellen Ryan (Lawn Bowls), Peter Shepherd (Hockey), Henry Gundry (Rowing) and Cooper Mooney (Clay Target Shooting).
There was also a surprise inductee, Cr Margaret O’Neill who has chaired the Hall of Fame committee since its inception over 25 years ago and has been an advocate for sporting bodies and individual sports people for her entire 34 years on the Goulburn then Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
The announcement by Mayor Bob Kirk came as a complete surprise to Cr O’Neill who was honoured and overwhelmed.
“I live for sport and to see our sports people succeed,” she said. “Sport has always played a huge part in our community and brought in tremendous benefits to it not just financially, but in the well-being of our people.
“It takes years of commitment and hard work to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as it recognises those who have competed at a national or international level,” Cr O’Neill said of the athletes.
“Sport plays a major role in our community, and Goulburn’s sporting organisations have been critical in the development of these athletes.”
Inductee Cameron Roberts, in his acceptance speech, thanked the council for its support of sport including the Ray Harvey Sports Foundation which Cr O’Neill helped to set up and administer.
He also mentioned the benefits he had received from the South East Region Academy of Sport, which the council also supports. Both these institutes had played a part in his success. Roberts thanked his parents for going above and beyond and being there for him during the highs and lows of his sporting endeavours.
He also acknowledge the assistance he had received from running coach Phil Austen, who had travelled from Sydney with his wife Trish to attend the induction with the Roberts family.
Peter Shepherd noted that when he started his hockey in Goulburn there were 17 fields, now there is only one. “Given Goulburn’s tremendous success in hockey this situation needs to be rectified urgently for our up and coming players,” he said.
The other athletes also spoke about the tremendous support they had received from family, friends, coaches and sporting clubs and training institutions in their sporting endeavours.
Below are the bios for the sports people who were added to the Goulburn and District Sporting Hall of Fame in 2016:
Cameron Roberts
- 2011 – Selected by Athletics NSW to represent NSW at Australian Championships for 3000m Steeplechase (Sydney)
- 2011 – Selected by Athletics NSW to represent NSW at National Cross Country Championships (Canberra)
- 2012 – Australian Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships Canberra, 3rd place 16-19 age group
- 2012 – NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Open Cross Country Champion.
- 2012 – NSW Combined High School Cross Country Championship 3rd
- 2012 – Selected by NSW Combined High Schools to represent NSW at National All Schools Triathlon Championship (Busselton)
- 2013 – Selected by Athletics NSW to represent NSW at National Cross Country Championships (Adelaide)
- 2013 – Selected by Triathlon Australia to represent Australia at World Triathlon Championships (London) 8th, 16-19 age group
- 2014 – Australian Sprint distance Triathlon Championships Elwood, 3rd, 16-19 Age Group
- 2014 – ACT Junior Triathlete of the Year
- 2014 – Australian Champion 20-24 Age group – Sprint Duathlon Championship (Adelaide)
- 2014 – Australian Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships Devonport 2nd 16-19 Age group
- 2015 – Australian Champion 16-19 Age group – Sprint Triathlon Championship (Elwood)
- 2015 – World Champion 20-24 Age group – Sprint Duathlon World Championships (Adelaide)
Cooper Mooney
- 2010 - Started Competition shooting at the age of 12 with the Goulburn Clay Target Club
- 2011 - NSW State Carnival, winning State Sub Junior Single Barrel Champion
- 2012 - Shot First 50 Targets straight in A Grade
- 2012 - State Carnival, placed in 2 events whilst in A Grade
- 2013 - State Carnival Made Southern Zone Junior team, Team of 3 shot well and won the Junior inter zone teams Match
- 2013 - shot first 220 Targets straight at the Goulburn CTC
- 2013 - moved to the Highest grade of AA at the age of 15
- 2013 - Made Junior State Team and won State Team High Gun
- 2014 - State Carnival, State single barrel Junior champion, State point score Junior champion, State inter zone teams match
- 2014 - was the No1 Junior to make the Southern Zone Team & won the Southern Junior Team High Gun
- 2014 - Represented NSW at National Championships
- 2015 - Southern Zone, Won single barrel championships overall high gun & made Men’s Open Team
- 2015 - State Carnival,
- 2015 - Won NSW inter zone opens team match
- 2015 - Made the NSW Junior Team
- 2015 Won: NSW Night Double Rise Championship
- 2015 National Championship, 3rd Junior Champions of Champions, 2nd National Junior Double rise championships, 1st Open Men’s AA Grade Single Barrel, Overall National Junior single barrel champion, Overall National Junior High gun champion
- 2016 - Made the Australian Oceanic Open team representing Australia in New Zealand, Over the 3 days Australia won Gold in each event.
- 2016 – Individual wins include; Gold Double Barrel Junior Section, Gold Open Point score, Overall Junior Champion
Ellen Ryan
- 2008: Club Minor Pairs
- 2009: Club Mixed Pairs
- 2010: Club Minor Singles
- Club Triples
- 2011: Club Major Singles
- Club Mixed Pairs
- Australian U18 Nationals Singles Bronze Medal
- 2012: Australian Open U18 Singles Gold Medal
- Australian U18 Nationals Triples Gold Medal
- U18 NSW Female Bowler of the Year
- SERAS Athlete of the Year
- 2013: Club Major Singles
- Australian U18 Nationals Singles Bronze Medal
- Australian U18 Nationals Triples Gold Medal
- 2014: Australian U18 Nationals Pairs Gold
- Australian U18 Nationals Fours Bronze
- U18 NSW Female Bowler of the Year
- Australian Junior Golden Nugget Winner
- 2015: Australian Open Womens Singles Winner
- Commonwealth Youth Games Mixed Pairs Gold Medal
- Commonwealth Youth Games Womens Singles Silver
- Australian Sides Gold Medal
- NSW Number 1 Pennants
- Selected Australian Jackaroos Squad
- Australian U25 Silver Nugget Bronze Medal
- 2016: World U25 Womens Singles Gold Medal
- World U25 Mixed Pairs Gold Medal
- Australian Sides Gold Medal
- NSW Number 1 Pennants
- Australian Golden Nugget Bronze Medal
- Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship
- Australian Premier League – Murray Steamers
- Squads and Representative Years
- 2011: Henselite Sponsorship
- 2011 to 2014: New South Wales U18 representative
- 2011 to 2013: South East Region Academy of Sport
- 2013 to 2016: Australian U18/Development Representative
- 2015 to current: Next Gen Australian Commonwealth Games Squad
- 2015 to Current: New South Wales Womens Open representative
- 2015 to Current: Australian Jackaroos Squad
Henry Gundry
- 1999 to 2001: ACT Academy of Sport, Scholarship Holder
- 2002 to 2005: Australian Institute of Sport, Scholarship Holder
- International Rowing Achievements
- 1999: World Junior Rowing Championships – Bulgaria, Men’s Quad Scull, Placing 4th
- 2000: World University Games – Rowing Men’s Single Scull, Placing Bronze
- 2001: World Under 23 Rowing Championships, Austria, Men’s Double Scull, Placing 8th
- 2002: World Under 23 Rowing Championships – Italy, Men’s Quad Scull, Placing 4th
- 2003: World Under 23 Rowing Championships – Serbia, Men’s Quad Scull, Placing Gold
Domestic Rowing Achievements – National Championships
- 1998: School Boys Coxed Four – Gold
- 1999: Junior Men’s Double – Gold
- 1999: Junior Men’s Quad Scull – Gold
- 2001: Youth Olympics Rowing – Men’s Double Scull – Gold
- 2001: Men’s Double Scull U23 Bronze
- 2005: Open men’s Quad Scull – Gold
- 2005: Open Men’s Double Scull – Silver
Peter Shepherd
- Born in Crookwell in 1954, Peter started playing hockey at age 6 for Crookwell Juniors. Peter was inspired and encouraged by his father Horace, himself a State Representative Hockey player.
- 1964 – Played first Representative Hockey for Crookwell at age 10
- 1969/1970 – Represented NSW in State Touring side – under 16’s
- 1981 – Joined Goulburn competition with Fireflys Hockey Club and condintes to play with this club to this day. Peter is now a life member
- 1979 to 1983 – Represented NSW in the State Country Team
- 1981 – Represented Goulburn in the Seniors Team
- 1996 – Represented NSW in the Veterans 40’s team in Launceston Tasmania
- 2009 – Commenced playing for the Goulburn/ACT Veterans, playing every year in the National Championships
- 2010 – First represented Australia in the Trans-Tasman Championship in Newcastle NSW – 55’s Team, Gold Medal Winners
- 2012 – Represented Australia in the Veterans World Cup in Canterbury England – 55’s Team, Gold Medal Winners
- 2014 – Represented Australia in 60’s Team in the Netherlands for World Cup, Gold Medal Winners
- 2015 – Represented Australia in the Trans-Tasman – 60’s Team Melbourne VIC, Gold Medal Winners
- 2016 – Represented Australia in World Cup in Newcastle NSW in 60’s Team, Silver Medal Winners
- 2017 – Selected for the Trans-Tasm
Darryl Fernance
Photojournalist at the Goulburn Post
Photojournalist at the Goulburn Post
