Baulkham gives PNG jumper power

This article has been adapted from worldfootynews.com

Midway through last year’s footy season, Elliott Takolu from the Salamanda Port Powers club in Lae, Papua New Guinea, put out a call on Facebook.

He was seeking a set of football jumpers if any clubs had a set to spare.

Takolu’s request struck a chord with Far North Queensland teacher Wesley Hull, who used his ties with local club Pyramid Power to amplify the message; calling on footy-loving locals and friends to assist.

In less than an hour Hull found what he was looking for, in the form of old friend and legendary Baulkham Hills Junior Football Club volunteer Gab Donnelly.

Donnelly, the 2012 Club Volunteer of the year, offered a set of 20 unused Hawks jumpers, which were posted to Cairns in quick time. 

But Takolu and excited Salamanda Power players had to temper their enthusiasm at receiving their authentic Australian kit, as the jumpers went mysteriously missing for more than a month in transit from Queensland to Lae.

 Above: The Hawks jumpers laid out at Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns

 But to the collective relief of everyone vested in the project, the jumpers eventually appeared, none the worse for wear.

Takolu and his charges were humbled to receive their official attire, the brown and gold stipes replacing the mismatched assortment of singlets and shirts the players were used to donning on game day.

Salamanda Port Power took to the field wearing their new jumpers, and the brown and gold stripes proudly decorated their home ground for future games throughout the 2013 season.

Above: Baulkham Hills Hawks juniors

Those jumpers had completed a journey from Sydney to Lae, with a Cairns stopover, and changed the image and history of a club many miles away from the source of the jumpers.

Additionally, this exchange of requests and responses brought together three clubs separated by many miles, but united by a love of Australian Rules football, proving there are ways and means for clubs from all over the world to come together to support each other.

Gab Donnelly, on behalf of the Baulkham Hills Hawks, summed it up best with her comment at the time: “Happy to help!”

 

Above: Salamanda Port Power players proudly wear their new kit