Download Festival Program here.
Download Festival Flyer here.
Sir Donald Bradman’s profound and lasting influence on Australian life will be celebrated at a hometown festival at the Bradman Centre, Bowral on 8, 9 & 10 January 2016.
No Australian, past or present, has generated such an enormous range of memorabilia across such a variety of products. To complement the precious material displayed at the Museum three renowned private collectors of Bradman memorabilia have been invited to display and talk about their rare wares which date back to 1930.
This will be the most eclectic and fascinating display of Bradman collectables ever seen. Objects ranging from photos, cigarette cards, lapel pins, badges, programs, menus, and breathtakingly beautiful ceramics will thrill visitors to the festival.
An exhibition titled Bradmania opens in the “Greats Gallery” and will dramatically demonstrate how the game’s greatest batsman lifted the spirits of the nation at the time of Depression and World War.
A number of public forums will be held in the auditorium and the Museum has assembled an impressive array of speakers addressing topics which link to Bradman, his life, values, and enduring legacy.
Past & Present cricketers from the Sunshine Coast to Melbourne, including members of the Australian Cricket Society, will feature in numerous matches to be played on Bradman Oval. A highlight will be the hotly contested final of the local Highlands T20 smash being played on Friday evening.
Sunday’s match will feature a mix of past players, visitors and spectators who bid to secure a playing spot alongside some imposing players including the Bradman Foundation’s scholars, juniors and ambassadors of recent years.
Download Festival Program here.
Download Festival Flyer here.
2 DAY HomeTown Festival Pass – $150 each
9, 10 January 2016
- Unlimited Museum entry over 2 days including full program of talks and displays
- Saturday night 2 course dinner, Mittagong RSL
- Sunday buffet lunch with players & guests
- Bradman “Friends” Membership
BBQ Dinner – $20 per person
- Friday, 8 January 2016
- From 5:30pm
- Drinks available for purchase
Bradman’s Bowral Bus Tour – $25 per person
- Friday, 8 January 2016
- 5:45 – 7:15pm
- Bus Tour around Bradman landmarks with Rodney Cavalier AO
- Spaces are limited
Festival Dinner – $85 per adult, $50 per child
- Saturday, 9 January 2016
- 6:30pm for 7:00pm dinner
- Carrington Room, Mittagong RSL
- 2 course meal and souvenir menu
- Every guest receives a gift
- Guest speaker – Gideon Haigh
- Cricket trivia quiz
- Drinks available for purchase
Festival Lunch – $35 per person
- Sunday, 10 January 2016
- 12:30pm
- Main Hall, Bradman Museum
- Buffet Luncheon
- Drinks available for purchase
Download Festival Program here.
Download Festival Flyer here.
Mike Coward
Master of Ceremonies
Mike is a widely recognized master of ceremonies par excellence. His deep and passionate knowledge of cricket and its history sees him constantly in demand. An accomplished journalist, author and broadcaster he has been covering Test cricket since Ian Chappell’s 1972 Ashes series. He holds dear a keen interest in the history of the game in India with specific reference to Australia and is the author of its definitive history, Cricket Beyond the Bazaar, 1990.
Mike has worked closely with the Bradman Museum since its inception and was instrumental in the development of its library of filmed player interviews. He is also very active in the LBW Trust, a charity supporting the education of underprivileged overseas students.
Mike has recently and deservedly received the Australian Sports Commission’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports Journalism.
Chris Anderson
Forensic Document Examiner
Saturday, 9 January 2016 – 2:15pm: Analysing Don Bradman’s Signature
Chris is a forensic document examiner conducting a practice from his own laboratory in Sydney. He has worked in the field for the past 40 years commencing his training with the Australian Federal Police in 1976 before moving onto the Department of Immigration in 1984. From 1989 he has worked from his own laboratory.
His expertise as a forensic document examiner has led to his appointment to authenticate Bradman signatures on behalf of the Bradman Foundation. Since 2000 he has built up a database of over 1000Bradman signatures which he uses to compare with any signature presented for authentication.
Ronald Cardwell
The Cricket Publishing Company
Saturday, 9 January 2016 – 11:15am: Bradman in Print
The Principal of The Cricket Publishing Company, Ronald Cardwell’s dedication to the sport of cricket knows no bounds. Beginning as a gifted New South Wales schoolboy player, Ronald has maintained a close relationship with the game and its leading players, many of which he can claim as personal friends. Ronald has written and/or published over 40 books on less well known aspects of the game and its great characters and is the owner of a nationally significant cricket collection. In doing so he has preserved much about the game’s history that might have otherwise been lost.
In 2015 Ron organised and delivered the highly successful centenary symposium at the SCG commemorating the untimely death of the incomparable Victor Trumper.
Rodney Cavalier AO
Historian & Tour Guide
Friday, 8 January 2016 – 5:45pm: Bradman’s Bowral Bus Tour
Departs from Bradman Centre
All who know Rodney are familiar with his passion for cricket history and his writings about heroes like Victor Trumper, Bill O’Reilly and Arthur Morris. Rodney was NSW Minister for Education in the Wran & Unsworth Governments and Chairman of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust for a record term 2001-14. Rodney is undertaking extensive research into the Bradman family in its many branches as real people who lived real lives in the Southern Highlands and other places. The research has yielded a deeper insight into the familial and geographic environment experienced by the young Don Bradman as one of five siblings of George and Emily Bradman. Far from being isolated or a loner, Don had at least 71 first cousins and was active in the local community in rugby league, tennis, table tennis, shooting and Sunday School sports.
Rodney is also on the board of Highlands District Cricket and Chairman of the Southern Zone of Country Cricket NSW. He has offered to host a bus tour of Bowral and surrounds at 6.00pm on Friday 9 January when he will share some of his findings. Bookings essential as places are limited.
Michael Fahey
Sports Memorabilia Australia
Saturday, 9 January 2016 – 12:30pm: Don Bradman & The Baggy Green
Sunday, 10 January 2016 – 2:45pm: What’s it Worth?
The Principal of Sports Memorabilia Australia Michael is an accredited by the Australian Government to value sporting items under the Cultural Gifts Program. He is also the approved valuer for the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, Bradman Museum and Rugby Union Archives. An avid follower of cricket and Rugby Union Michael wrote The Baggy Green together with Mike Coward, in 2008. In so doing the pair assembled the first definitive history on the iconic cap, tracking its meaning and changing status since the late-nineteenth Century.
Michael will present on this topic and be available throughout the week-end to appraise items brought to the museum by the public and fellow delegates.
Gideon Haigh
Author, Journalist, Speaker
Saturday, 9 January 2016 – 6:30pm: Guest Speaker at the Festival Dinner
Sunday, 10 January 2016 – 1:45pm: The Legacy of Sir Donald Bradman
A staunchly independent writer, author and journalist Gideon brings scholarship, flair and intellectual rigour to the varied topics he has written and spoken about. A former journalist with The Age and currently with The Australian, he has also written for leading news houses in England, India, New Zealand and the UAE. His numerous books are widely acclaimed and his cricket works tackle the subject from myriad perspectives. Gideon’s refreshing player biographies include Warwick Armstrong, Jack Iverson and Shane Warne. A Summer Game is widely regarded as one of the best cricket histories ever penned and his dissertation on Kerry Packer’s intervention into the Game, The Cricket War, is another classic.
Together with Mike Coward, Gideon will offer his thoughts on recent developments and influences on cricket (and what Don Bradman may have thought about them) at the Festival Dinner on Saturday 9 January while on Sunday 10 January at 1.45pm he will address the Legacy of Don Bradman in the final of the Theatrette Forums.
Pawan Luthra
Editor, Indian Link Newspaper
Sunday, 10 January 2016 – 11:15am: Why is Don Bradman Revered in India?
As editor of Indian Link, Pawan’s energies are directed at running the newspaper aimed at the large Indian community around Australia. His family also runs Hindi-language radio stations in Sydney and Melbourne.
Having a unique perspective across both Australian and Indian cultures Pawan will assess just how and why Don Bradman remains so revered in India, a country in which he never played and 66 years after he retired from cricket.
James Merchant
Collector
Saturday, 9 January 2016 – 1:45pm: Collecting Bradman Ceramics
Sunday, 10 January 2015: 1:00pm: Collectors Talk
The Victorian based ceramics collector has graciously loaned his unparalleled collection to the Bradman Museum for the Bradmania exhibition and Festival. Visually striking and in mint condition these decorative pieces speak volumes for the respect held for Don Bradman and the commercial opportunity he afforded established and prestigious potteries like, Bristol Potteries, Burleighware, Crown Ducal and Royal Worcester.
As well as sharing how he came to develop his collection with delegates and members of the public, James will be releasing his long-awaited catalogue during the Festival.
Peter Schofield
Collector
Saturday, 9 January 2016 – 10:30am: Collector’s Talk
Sunday, 10 January 2016 – 10:30am: Collector’s Talk
Very few cricket devotees have the passion and dedication to amass a collection of the quality represented by Peter Schofield’s efforts over many decades. A former player and Level 2 accredited coach, Peter has had a lifetime fascination with the world’s greatest batsman. A consistent, focussed and dedicated collector of material relating to Don Bradman, Peter has created unique assemblage of material which for the first time is being publicly displayed.
Peter is also the author of 99.94 & Much More, a formal catalogue of his collection. During the Festival he will be releasing its revised edition. The Bradman Museum is very appreciative of Peter’s support for the inaugural Festival
Ian Stapleton
Heritage Architect
Saturday, 9 January 2016 – 2:45pm: Preserving 52 Shepherd Street
Ian Stapleton, is a partner of Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners Pty. Ltd., architects and heritage consultants. A leading Sydney firm, it has won some 50 architecture awards from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) in the fields of conservation and urban design. Projects have included the restoration and adaptation of the Sydney GPO, the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, the four historic glasshouses in the Royal Botanic Gardens and Bronte House.
In 1983 Ian was the second recipient of the Adrian Ashton Award from the RAIA for architectural journalism. His commercial publications include ‘How to Restore the Old Aussie House’, ‘Colour Schemes for Old Australian Houses’ and ‘Australian House Styles’. He is the author of conservation plans for places as far flung as Norfolk Island and The Swan Brewery, Perth and Sydney icons including Sydney University, the Strand Arcade, Bondi Surf Pavilion and the Macquarie Lightstation.
Recently Ian oversaw the restoration of Sir Donald Bradman’s boyhood home at 52 Shepherd St, Bowral and will speak specifically about that project at the Festival.
Download Festival Program here.
Download Festival Flyer here.
