By Tyler Wright
One Dandenong Ranges local is calling on community members to share stories about the history of the Monbulk Rangers Soccer Club.
Crispian Deacon, Emerald resident and former soccer player, was enlisted by the club to search through the archives and compile a comprehensive history from its formation in 1970 through to 2022.
“The soccer club was originally going to have a celebration of 50 years in 2020, but because of Covid they needed to put that off – so they contacted me [in March this year] in regards to the possibility of putting a document together,” Crispian said.
“I said ‘well, it’ll probably take me 12 months to do that’ – they were happy with that – so they’re going to coincide [the book] with a 50 year celebration next year.”
Crispian is also looking for personal anecdotes from those previously involved in the Sherbrooke Rangers Soccer Club which “amalgamated with the Monbulk Soccer Club in 2009”.
“I’ve been reaching out via Facebook to various groups; the Monbulk Historical Society and the Gembrook [history] group, the Emerald [history] Facebook group… and some of my personal contacts too because I was involved in the [Monbulk] club in the very early 80s as a kid and I still keep in contact with some of [them],” Crispian said.
Monbulk Rangers Soccer Club president Beau Newman said “anything,” from committee documentation and match records to team photos, is welcome to be submitted.
“A book is a solid object – you can give it to life members and it’s also a good centrepiece for those who are really connected to the club – they’ll really enjoy being able to go back through time and see how the club has evolved and how football in the area has evolved,” Beau said.
“I’d [also] like to have a [display of] the evolution of playing kits from the 70s all the way up to now – that’s a mini goal for me,” Beau said.
As far as the final document is concerned, photographs and text will definitely be included but matters of the presentation and distribution of the book are still being discussed.
Crispian expects the work to be completed in March 2023.
“Some people that have been committee members and done lots of work in the community and haven’t been recognised; this is a chance to get as many of those people recognised as possible,” he said.
For those who have information on the history of the Monbulk Rangers Soccer Club they believe will be valuable to the project, they can contact Crispian through email on deaksy1@bigpond.com or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crispian.deacon
Alternatively, the Monbulk Rangers Soccer Club admin can be contacted through info@monbulkrangers.org.au for more information.
