HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM
With Sydney Swans HQ well established for our players, staff and community, our attention now turns to the final – and perhaps most significant – project to cap off our world class new home.
Our new museum will be a celebration of more than 150 years of our great football club.
Planning is well advanced as we look to bring to life all the key stories, players, people, trials and triumphs that have made the Sydney Swans story so special to so many.
Taking pride of place in the Sydney Swans HQ foyer, the museum will be an experience for everyone from our true believers to our newest fans, to learn, reminisce and engage in the Bloods story.
It is only fitting that our new home, which will drive our success onwards into the future, pays respect to the history that forged us into the strong club we are today.
We have created an incredible new home at Sydney Swans HQ, and our new museum is an important finishing touch. I can’t wait to see it come to life.
Thank you for your support.
Cheer Cheer
Tom Harley
The Sydney Swans. Established as South Melbourne FC in 1874, ours is one of the oldest football clubs in the world. A founding member of the VFL, the club’s relocation to Sydney in 1982 was the genesis of today’s AFL national competition. Our football club is one with a truly unique and rich history.
It is a story to celebrate, protect, and preserve for future generations. A story that must be told. And the majestic Royal Hall of Industries is the ideal setting to do so. A building with grandeur, heritage, and character. Perfect.
The Sydney Swans Museum will capture 150 years of evolution, development, crisis, heartache, and triumph. Where we have come from and who we are today. Our DNA. It will celebrate the people, the events, and the defining moments that have shaped our club.
The Museum will house our Hall of Fame – we can tell much of our history through our greatest players. Legends, Champions, and Hall of Fame members. It will be a high-class, reverential, prestigious tribute.
A visit to our museum will deliver a spiritual-like experience. You will not only see and touch our history in a physical way – you will experience it in a profound, emotional way. It will have a powerful impact. You will sense the presence of your heroes, both current day and greats from another time. You will know others have walked this path before
us and laid the foundation for the famous Bloods culture.
It will salute the club’s resilience. Its ability to endure in the face of great adversity. Its longevity. Its courage. The courage to relocate to Sydney. Its values and what it stands for. Its strength to call out wrongs and lead by example. Its empathy and its caring. Its honesty. The honesty and accountability required to compete at the highest level for 150 years.
It will be our Field of Dreams. People will come and want to return. For this will be something unique,
something special. The Swans faithful drawn by glorious memories; the next generation captured by a sense of discovery and the magic of the experience.
And all will know the Sydney Swans cares deeply for its history and those who have worn its famous colours. For the years teach much which the days never know.
- Dean Moore
MUSEUM OVERVIEW
A contemporary and exciting museum space celebrating the history and achievements of the Sydney Swans from our beginnings as South Melbourne in 1874, right through to the present day. Visitors will be invited to immerse themselves in this unique experience.
The Formative Years wall will detail the timeline from the club’s inauguration to our first premiership in 1909.
The Historical Timeline will outline South Melbourne’s journey from 1909 onwards, with standout memorabilia and artefacts.
Our Hall of Fame, the hero of the museum space, will present Legends, Champions and Members individually mounted to celebrate their significant contributions to our club.
As we march Onwards to Victory our recent achievements will be showcased through a digital display complete with an ever-changing news bulletin, as well as through physical displays of treasured memorabilia.
Our Glorious Guernsey will be digitised and projected onto a mannequin to celebrate its evolution over time.
Meanwhile digital displays will offer interactive access to player information and statistics across both AFL and AFLW.
“PRESERVING THE ESSENCE OF THE SYDNEY SWANS’ JOURNEY IS PARAMOUNT; IT’S A TESTAMENT TO THE ROOTS THAT GROUND US, THE MOMENTS THAT DEFINE US, AND THE LEGACY THAT CONTINUES TO INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION OF ATHLETES AND FANS ALIKE.” – Premiership player and former captain, Josh Kennedy
PREMIERSHIP CUPS
A significant feature of the foyer, this display comes to life as a captivating homage to the team’s rich history and legacy. Visitors are taken on a chronological journey through time with a blend of classic photographs, newspaper clippings, and vintage match posters, to encapsulate the essence of each victorious Premiership.
EST. 1874
BLOODS
THE FORMATIVE YEARS
Our Formative Years wall will offer a visually engaging timeline between the club’s inauguration through to the 1909 Premiership. From there, visitors will be taken on a journey through the Swans’ rich history from further premierships in 1918 and 1933, through to our relocation to Sydney and our modern day success.
WE ARE A FOOTBALL CLUB
From mid-1993 to early 2013 I had the extraordinary honour and privilege of chairing our club.
Post stepping down as chairman, I was invited to assume that role with the Sydney Swans Hall of Fame, established in 2009 under the stewardship of Rick Quade.
The Hall of Fame recognises players and coaches who have represented the club with distinction, and we have a general category which covers everyone outside those two groups. There are three tiers: Hall of Famers/Champions/Legends.
Since 1874 over 1800 players have worn the famous red and white colours. Each an important part of the history of this club. Each with a story to tell. Of those, 76 have been honoured by admission to the Hall of Fame. It is rare air.
Other greats will follow and with the recent and exciting introduction of our AFLW team we look forward in the years ahead to welcoming women into this hallowed chapter of the Swans. So why is our Hall of Fame so important? Why do we pay homage to the past when our success will be judged by future endeavours?
The answer lies in the statement on the entrance to the club Board room.
It says simply “We Are a Football Club”.
A football club at any point in time is the sum of so many disparate parts and the glue that holds it all together is nowhere more evident than the
players.
The players across all eras are the heroes and the embodiment of why so many people support a club; in our case the most recent survey indicates we have about 2 million supporters.
Sydney Swans HQ at the Royal Hall of Industries to me has the appearance of a majestic Football Cathedral. The area devoted to honour those inducted to our Hall of Fame akin to an altar where we give thanks for their involvement with our club. For their skill. Their bravery. Their capacity to entertain us. And in many cases, their iconic status going back 150 seasons.
I cannot think of a more worthy way to honour 150 seasons of players wearing the red and the white representing one of the oldest continuously operating football clubs in the world than financially supporting the Sydney Swans Hall of Fame.
- Richard Colless,
Sydney Swans Chair of the Hall of Fame, and previous Chairman of Sydney Swans Football Club
THE HALL OF FAME
The Hall of Fame is an eloquently crafted tribute to those who have been inducted and demonstrates the honour with which the club reveres its best.
Each Legend, Champion and Member of the Hall of Fame will be immortalised on individual plaques that feature their portrait and key achievements, affixed to a light-box background.
Artists’ impression only. Designs are subject to change.
Artists’ impression only. Designs are subject to change.
BLOODS
“WE WANT AFLW TO GROW AND I WANT TO LEAVE A LEGACY ON AFLW”
– Chloe Molloy, Sydney Swans co-captain and dual All Australian
INTERACTIVE BLADES & ELEMENTS
THE RED AND THE WHITE
Celebrating our present-day playing groups, this section includes immersive full-length digital displays, enabling visitors to navigate through the profiles of AFL and AFLW players. Visitors will have the opportunity to access a treasure trove of exclusive multimedia content to enhance their understanding of the rich history of our club.
“AS A PAST PLAYER WHO REPRESENTED THE CLUB IN BOTH SOUTH MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY, TO HAVE A MUSEUM AVAILABLE FOR PLAYERS AND SUPPORTERS TO VISIT TO REFLECT ON THE JOURNEY WE HAVE SHARED OVER 150 YEARS, WILL BE A WONDERFUL ASSET TO OUR CLUB AND OUR PEOPLE”
- Tony Morwood, Hall of Fame inductee and Team of Century member
OUR GLORIOUS GUERNSEY
We will celebrate the evolution of our guernsey over time through a high-end graphic projection of each iteration. It’s here that we will share the story of the guernsey’s evolution, along with the stories behind our special event guernseys including Marn Grook and Pride.
BLOODS
ONWARDS TO VICTORY
Emphasising the club’s resilience and contemporary relevance, this section will spotlight key events and achievements, including the euphoric triumph of the 2012 Premiership. The display will pay homage to the illustrious career of Adam Goodes, a revered icon whose retirement from the game marked the culmination of an era defined by exceptional talent, leadership, and unwavering dedication to the sport.
Additionally, the exhibit will commemorate the inception of the Pride Game, the introduction of AFLW and Lance Franklin’s 1,000th goal.
This display will showcase an eclectic array of contemporary artifacts and memorabilia, carefully curated to reflect the evolving identity and spirit of the Sydney Swans.
TRUE BELIEVERS ODE
What is the Sydney Swans?
It’s not just the premierships, the great players, the wins, the losses, the high stakes and big business of a national competition. It’s much more than that.
It’s a young child at their first game. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the tribal energy, and the colours. Those magnificent colours! Red and white. The journey has begun.
It’s family and friends. Kindred spirits. It’s a sense of belonging. A state of mind. A constant companion.
Respect, admiration, nervous anticipation, exhilaration, anguish, relief, joy, pride, and loyalty. A kaleidoscope of feelings. An emotional vulnerability.
It’s a river of memories that lets you drift to another time and place. Precious memories that never fade. Timeless.
It’s the dreams. Always the dreams. It’s the hope of glory. Stories still to be written. One more mountain to climb. Just one more.
And it’s the love. A deep connection. A place where you belong. A place to call home.
It’s your club.
To bring our museum to life we are seeking funding support. There are many ways to become involved and multiple naming rights opportunities available.
To hear more about this project and discuss how you can contribute, please contact the Foundation team for a confidential conversation.
Amanda Thompson HEAD OF FOUNDATION
thompsona@sydneyswans.com.au
Grace Hull
COORDINATOR
“IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE PREMIERSHIP, IT’S ABOUT THE WAY WE ARE RESPECTED”
- Bob Skilton
