About
After years of discussion, the Tasmanian Greyhound Hall of Fame kicked off in 2007. Simply put, a vehicle was needed to highlight the outstanding achievers of our great sport, both people and greyhounds. There are three categories, namely Associates, Trainers and Greyhounds. The inductees are presented in December each year at the Hobart Thousand Dinner. So well has this been received that it is now the Hobart Thousand – Hall Of Fame Dinner.
Four people make up the Hall Of Fame Committee. The co-ordinator and researcher is Greg Fahey, with a representative from each of Tasmania’s three Clubs. This gives greater balance of views and greater integrity. The Committee are happy to receive submissions from anyone in the Greyhound Industry regarding the Hall of Fame, but the Committee alone decides on the Inductees. The other representatives are Gary Sutton (Devonport), David Crosswell (Launceston) and Les Keefe (Hobart). Each Committee member is supplied with an abundance of relevant material regarding possible participants, and then have an extended annual meeting at Longford to decide each year’s Inductees. If a Committee member has a conflict of interest with a possible Inductee, they stand down from that decision and the other Committee members make the decision.
We intend to keep the bar raised to a very high level, and are not aiming at any particular number of inclusions. If a person or dog warrants inclusion, they go onto a short list of possibles. Two dogs and two people per year are a standard, but this could be higher or lower as the Committee sees fit. When the H.G.R.C. moved to Elwick Racecourse, they were promised an area for a museum. This will happen at some future stage, with Hall of Famers taking pride of place, but thanks to the co-operation of all three Tasmanian Clubs, we can proudly display our Hall of Famers on the H.G.R.C. Website.
Special thanks must go to Philip Northeast for his efforts and expertise in building the web extensions needed for this to happen.
Every endeavour is made to ensure that all details regarding the Hall Of Fame are correct. However, we take no responsibility and accept no liability for any errors. Much of the research goes back to as far as the 1920’s and 1930’s, and because many Greyhound records have either been lost, destroyed or not been maintained to the standard of today, some research material has been anecdotal. Material has come from personal records, archival records of various newspapers both here and interstate, word of mouth, and most importantly where possible, from the people and families themselves that make it to the Hall of Fame.
We wish to thank the Hall of Fame participants and in many cases, their families for their availability and the generosity of their support, in the search for all of the relevant facts. So far, we have had people travel from as far as New Zealand and Queensland to accept the award for a family member or greyhound that has been elevated to Hall of Fame staus.
Greg Fahey