Heroes and Legends Rugby League Museum
The Heroes and Legends Rugby League Museum is just 14-months old and already Museum manager Frank Puletua, former Penrith and South Sydney prop and historian Terry Williams have big plans for the future!
These include developing a touring program for country areas, expansion of their existing educational programs and the creation of a dedicated museum website. Their main target is to provide a positive experience for a wide audience that extends well past their dedicated rugby league fan base.
Terry reminds us that, “you don’t need to know about art to enjoy an art gallery” and Frank sums up their main aim to reach a big audience; “you don’t need to know League or have an appreciation of the sport itself to enjoy and get a positive experience from our Museum”.
In collaboration with M&G NSW, Frank and Terry plan to travel to regional areas to showcase the collection. Frank believes the country regions of NSW and Queensland are the strongholds of the game and recognition is certainly overdue in representing the contribution of these areas in the history of the game. The traveling exhibition will collect local stories and players’ histories of rugby league that the Museum will share and preserve. Frank is confident that the program will receive a warm reception, “we’ll certainly get support from the game, the past and present players and the Men of League Foundation”.
The story of Rugby League is at the heart of the Museum but it’s a story intertwined with human aspects and social history and is relevant to everyone, including those who know little about the game. By connecting individual peoples’ lives to the Rugby League story, Australia’s broader history – ANZACs, the World Wars, the Depression and other important parts of our history come alive.
Terry reminds us that, “you don’t need to know about art to enjoy an art gallery” and Frank sums up their main aim to reach a big audience; “you don’t need to know League or have an appreciation of the sport itself to enjoy and get a positive experience from our Museum”.
It’s an exciting time for the Heroes and Legends Rugby League Museum and M&G NSW plans to follow its development at every turn. The Museum is hosting this year’s IMAGineE awards on the evening of 8th November, so its a good chance to look around for yourself.
Simon Conyard. M&G NSW Digital intern.
