Spotlight on Aussie icons

IT WAS the Taylors in the spotlight last week, but this week I would like to turn the attention to a couple of Noosa’s sporting celebrities Dawn Fraser and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.
These two wonderful ambassadors have been busy over the past few weeks doing what they do best, give people inspiration.
The Aussie larrikin Dawn popped in to catch up with her old Olympic mate Betty Cuthbert at her aged care home in Mundurah WA, just to say gidday.
Betty, a four-times Olympic Gold medallist, is wheelchair-bound and almost deaf due to her 46-year battle with multiple sclerosis, and could only utter “you came to see me’’.
They both welled tears of joy when the pair held each other in an embrace that left the staff completely gobsmacked.
Dawn has nothing but admiration for her.
“You talk about strength in people… she’s got to be the strongest person I’ve ever known in my life, here she is suffering MS for 50 years, and she’s still alive today.”
Both Aussie icons are in their 78th year, and it was more than a half a century after they each won gold at the 1962 Commonwealth Games.
The three-time Olympic freestyle champion is baffled by the sprint queen’s resolve.
“She’s as deaf as a doornail but she still has a contagious smile and laughter and that says a lot about a person’’.
Dawn left with this beautiful statement: “the friendships you make in sport are there for ever’’.
Totally agree champ.
OK let’s return the serve now to the former Wimbledon and French Open champion Evonne Cawley, who is trying to unearth the next Indigenous tennis champion.
Forty-five years ago in a small NSW country town Barellan, a young promising tennis player got a break that would allow her to achieve her first dream play tennis and be a champion.
The local community rallied to help cover the costs of going to train in Sydney, buy cloths and suitcase.
Evonne says, “if it wasn’t for their support I probably wouldn’t be here today”.
Along with her husband Roger, her foundation’s CEO, they have visited at least three centres in every state in the past 15 months, hosting clinics.
While winning Wimbledon is the thrust of this national initative, Evonne’s other goal is that every child remains at school.
“I’ll help kids achieve their dreams, but they have to stay at school and find out there where they want to be.”
Their foundation has given out 43 scholarships, and all recipients are at really good schools.
Indigenous players between the ages 5 and 15 are invited to a tennis ‘come and try day’, with the Cawley’s simple resolution ‘hopefully they will have a good time and will want to keep playing’.
Gee what a great pair of champions on and off the playing field and what an honour they live on the Sunshine Coast.
Until next time.