Olympic Medallist Edgar Gray
OLYMPIC MEDALLIST EDGAR GRAY
Mr HARRISON (Kiama) [5.14 p.m.]: This evening I request the Minister for the Olympics to commemorate in some meaningful way within the Olympic village my friend the late Edgar "Dunc" Gray. I am indebted for information provided to me today by the Parliamentary Library and should like to have that information recorded in Hansard. An account of Dunc Gray’s achievements reads as follows:
Goulburn, New South Wales, born Edgar Gray, was one of the world’s top amateur cyclists for an incredible thirteen years and with his victory in the time trial in 1932, became the first Australian to win an Olympic cycling gold medal.
Christened Edgar but known for some reason as "Dunc", Gray began his cycling with the Goulburn Amateur Cycling Club around 1925 and was soon riding, and winning, regularly in Sydney. He specialised in sprints and time trials, but was versatile enough to tackle any event, as shown by a string of state titles from the sprint to the ten miles and his first national title, the mile, which he won in 1928.
His form was considered good enough to earn him a trip to Amsterdam as one half of the two man Olympic cycling team. He did well enough at the games, exceeding even his own hopes with a hard earned bronze medal in the 1000 metres time trial; the only event he contested.
On his return to Australia, Gray continued the sequence of Australian title wins which he had commenced in 1928 and, with the sole exception of 1933 when he did not compete, Gray won at least one championship every year from 1928 to 1940. He was still going strong when the war caused the Australian championships to be discontinued.
Selected again for the Olympic team in 1932, Gray improved on his 1928 third placing in no uncertain manner, recording a stunning 1:13 in the time trial to slash an amazing 29.2 seconds from the previous Olympic record.
In 1934, he won the same event at the second Empire Games celebration, his time was 1:16.4 giving him a margin of 1.6 over R McLeod of Canada . . .
Gray contested and won the sprint at the 1938 Empire Games, beating teammate, R Porter, by a wheel in an exciting finish, the time for the last 220 yards being 13.6.
Winner of three events (time trial, sprint, ten miles) at the 1939 Australian Championships, Gray took the time trial again in 1940.
When war curtailed competitive cycling, Gray was still at the top of the tree. He did not, however, race again after the war.
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In the period between 1928 and 1940, Gray won two Olympic and two Empire Games medals, twenty Australian titles, thirty-six New South Wales state titles, and thirty-six club championships.
I was born in the same town as Dunc Gray, the city of Goulburn. I did not have the privilege of knowing him when I was growing up - by that time he had left Goulburn - but in the latter years of Dunc’s life he was a much-respected resident of the township of Kiama. I enjoyed a very close friendship with him and his dear wife, Grace, over a period of some 14 or 15 years. It is a matter of pride to me that I had the opportunity of attending their fiftieth wedding anniversary and had the pleasure of attending Dunc’s ninetieth birthday and Grace’s eightieth birthday. Sadly, Dunc passed away on 30 August 1996. He is much missed by the sporting fraternity of Australia.
Until the time Dunc died at 91 years of age he was actively involved in preparations for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and I have a deep regret that he did not live to celebrate the Games. At the time of his death he was the oldest Australian Olympic gold medallist, something of which he and his family were very proud. Dunc’s family have asked me to say that if within the precincts of the new Olympic village some kind of museum were to be established they would be proud to provide, on the basis of a permanent loan, his medals and the memorabilia he accumulated over his long sporting career. I appeal to the Minister for the Olympics, who is represented in the Chamber this evening by the Minister for Sport and Recreation, to recognise this great Australian.
Ms HARRISON (Parramatta - Minister for Sport and Recreation) [5.19 p.m.]: In the absence of the Minister for the Olympics I thank the honourable member for Kiama for his contribution and I support his comments. I had the pleasure of meeting Dunc Gray in my capacity as Minister for Sport and Recreation. Not only was he entertaining, he was a very impressive man and a great ambassador for the sport of cycling. Dunc Gray was the Australian champion 20 times and was Australia’s first gold medal cyclist in the Olympic Games. His achievements certainly deserve recognition and I shall take this issue up with the Minister for the Olympics on his return. I take this opportunity to thank the Gray family for their generous offer of his memorabilia for a museum should one be established.