Skip to main content
Sporting Hall of Fame

The Sporting Hall of Fame is an educational resource that acknowledges and honours members of the Bankstown community for their outstanding sporting achievements.

 

About the Hall of Fame

​In August 2011, Council endorsed the proposal to revive the Bankstown Sporting Hall of Fame within the new Centre of Excellence constructed at Bankstown Memorial Park.

The Sporting Hall of Fame is an educational resource that acknowledges and honours members of the Bankstown community for their outstanding sporting achievements. The Hall of Fame serves as a point of interest to residents, visitors, sport enthusiasts and school children.

In 1988, Council and Bankstown Sports Club established a Sporting Hall of Fame as part of the Bicentenary Program. On 26 November 1988, 101 names, representing 25 different sports were unveiled on a roll of honour or board located at Bankstown Sports Club. The original intention was for Council to add new names as they qualify, however, this only happened in 1991 when a further 7 names were recognised and added to the board. Athletes inducted into the Hall of Fame during this period included Steve and Mark Waugh, John and Isla Konrads and Terry Lamb to name a few. The 2012 Bankstown Sporting Hall of Fame recognises all inductees from t​he 1988 Hall of Fame by automatically inducting them into the new Sporting Hall of Fame.

In 2012, the Steering Committee setup by representatives from Council, Bankstown Sports, Bankstown-Canterbury Torch Newspaper and Bankstown District Cricket Club called for nominations from the community to form a new induction cycle at the official opening of the new facility in March 2013. From the nominations, 23 athletes and administrators were chosen by the Committee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Among the athletes inducted were Hazem El Masri, Brett Emerton, Ian Thorpe and Bilal 'Billy the Kid' Dib.

Sporting Hall of Fame​ inductees
Search by sport category

Athletics

Baseball

Basketball

Boxing

Cricket

Cycling

Gymnastics

Rugby League

Rugby Union

Soccer

Swimming

Touch Football

Track & Field

Weightlifting

Wrestling

All Filters
Weightlifting
Don Mitchell
Don would become the champion of New South Wales many times over. In a 12 year period in the 1970s and 1980s he would win national titles with 200kg lifts. His Australian snatch lift record stood for 13 years. The pinnacle of Don's sporting career came in 1980 when he would finish seventh at the Moscow Olympic Games.
Swimming
Don Talbot (GMS)
In 1956 Don would begin his career and over a thirty year period would coach Olympic champions and World Record holders acheiving major successes and steering Australia at Olympic, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. Don's proudest moment came when Australia was crowned number one at the 2001 World Championships in Japan. “He'll go down as one of the great coaches in Australian swimming history, he'll be remembered as a tough, hard, uncompromising coach who is well respected by his peers, and someone who's brought an ethos of team into the Australian swimming team because swimming can be a very, very individual sport, it's a very selfish sport, but Talbot was able to transcend it..”
Gymnastics
Ellen Maher
Ellen Maher has been training in the Special Olympics gymnastics program at the Y Bankstown since she arrived as a five-year-old with a fear of heights
Karate
Eugene Penna
Eugene achieved his sporting goal by 1981 when he was selected to represent Australia for the first time in Hong Kong. His national Representation in World Championships would continue on until 1987. During this period he won the National Championship in the 75-80KG Division Sparring Individual and the team event in 1986.
Basketball
Fiona Hinds
Fiona began her career in Special Olympics Sports in 1989 as a member of the Revesby Workers Activities Club which enabled her to participate in a variety of sports before deciding to concentrate on basketball. She reached the pinnacle of success with Paralympics Gold in Barcelona in 1992.
Water Polo
Frank Jordan
Frank's preparation for his record breaking swims as a 16 year old can be traced to his outstanding belt swims for Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club. From 1945 to 1953 he would win eight successively with one third place. In 1952 he was selected to represent Australia at the Olympic Games in Helsinki and at 19 years of age he would be the youngest member of Australia's Water Polo team.
Swimming
Garry Gudgeon
In 1980 Gary, at 16 years of age, represented Australia at the Arnhem, Holland Paralympics. He continued to wear the green and gold in 1988 while travelling to Hong Kong, New York., Indonesia and Nashville, USA.
Soccer
Garry Manuel
Garry's introduction to Soccer began at an early age when he joined East Bankstown Soccer Club in 1957. In 1964 he would join Prague 1st Division and play in the position of striker. Garry would achieve international representation as a 17 year old in 1967. He wore the green and gold on six occasions to 1974.
Roller Speed Skating
Gary Baker
As a a speed roller skater Gary would reach national level by 1987 winning a Silver medal in the 500m outdoor. He would become the Australian Champion and race over 300m to 10,000m.
Ten Pin Bowl
Gary Burling
From 1950, Gary would excel in other sports before concentrating on Ten Pin Bowling. He won the Masters Championship in Australia in 1966 and in the same year he represented Australia at the Asian Championships. Gary continued to wear the Green and Gold for Australia in International Competitions until 1987.
Canoeing
Gary Coulthart
In October 1984, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Gary and his twin, Bryan of Sefton didn't just break records they annihilate them. As 15 year olds, the brothers sliced a massive 1 hour and 35 minutes 50 seconds from the ‘junior' record for the Windsor to Brooklyn Outward Bound Canoe Classic. They would win the Australian Open Touring Canoe 2 (TC2) the following year in Perth and continue the momentum by dominating Murray River Red Cross Canoe Marathon crossing the line six minutes ahead of their nearest rivals and would take out both class and overall handicap honours. They would also participate in the American titles finishing a commendable fourth.
Basketball
Gary Jackson
Gary is truly a local sporting hero as his formative years were spent in Bankstown from 1953 until 1978 when he then moved to America to play for the Baton Rouge Raiders. On his return to Australia he retired from the national team and continued to play in the league regionally.
Baseball
Gary White
Gary is regarded as one of the top catchers in Australian baseball history. Baseball historians Flintoff & Dunn called perhaps the most significant hit in Australian baseball history when he hit in the winning run in the 11 innings final of the 1999 Intercontinental Cup. Since turning professional in 1986, Gary has worn the gold and green for Australia from 1995 to which concluded with the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Volleyball
Geoffrey Hart
Geoff excelled in many sports during his school years. In 1981 he began playing Volleyball and early success saw him concentrate on this sport. In 1982 he was selected to represent Australia at 15 years of age in the under 17 and under 20 teams. He continued to wear the green and gold overseas and in Australia until 1991.
Rugby League
George Peponis
George Peponis reached many highs in his illustrious career. He was the first Canterbury junior to play for Australia while still at the club, the first junior to captain Australia and was captain when Canterbury won the 1980 premiership.The first Greek born footballer to represent Australia at Rugby League, Peponis graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1978 after being offered a unique scholarship programme run by Canterbury Bankstown.
Booking information

Guided tours of the Hall of Fame are available by appointment with the Bankstown District Cricket Club and are suitable for families, schools and community organisations.

Memorabilia from athletes is displayed throughout the facility and the interactive touchscreens allow users to scroll through the inducted athletes and see their achievements.

The Hall of Fame also operates as a business meeting space ideal for workshops or seminars. It can seat 25 people board style or 60 people theatre style with a kitchen available for use.

Click here for more information on using the Hall of Fame