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About

Home » About

About NSW GBOTA

The NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers Association was first formed in 1939. The Association has two prime functions; Racing Operations & Membership.

Our branch membership is divided across NSW into areas, shown below.

The NSW GBOTA currently operates seven venues and six of these venues operate for racing, while Appin Way is a trialling facility.

 

NSW GBOTA History

Resulting from a Royal Commission in 1932, the introduction of non-proprietary Greyhound Racing in Australia commenced. Non-proprietary meaning that Greyhound Racing could only be conducted by clubs or Associations with voting members and not by individuals or private companies.

In 1936 a group of enthusiasts associated with Greyhound Racing formed a body of owners and trainers to gain some form of financial assistance to ensure the existence of Greyhound Racing and from this small beginning the NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers’ Association Limited was formed.

The Association was incorporated as a Company on July 31, 1939. The then Secretary was to select and engage an organiser to move among owners, trainers and breeders and join them together as a united body with the instruction to form branches and district associations to enable the Association to serve the whole of the State of NSW. It does this today with seven districts and thirty branches, with some 1,200 members actively involved in the Greyhound Racing Industry.

In 1939 the first Memorandum and Articles of Association were drawn up and registered. The aims and objectives of the Association were set out and there have been few changes since that time. Pages 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the current Articles outline these objectives.

Ten Directors are elected by the members themselves by way of a postal ballot. These ten Directors manage the Association’s affairs and finances. Districts the Directors represent are: Metropolitan (3 Directors), Newcastle and Hunter River (2 Directors), the other Districts having one Director each and are: South Coast and Southern Tablelands, Northern Rivers, Western, North and North Western and Riverina.

In 1948 the Association petitioned the Government to allow the Association to hold the licence for Greyhound Racing at Harold Park and following the introduction of night trotting, the then current licence holder, The NSW Trotting Club (as it was then known) relinquished the licence to the Association and the two bodies, until September 1987, conducted their own sport at Harold Park. The success of the Association’s operations at Harold Park is well documented and until Greyhound Racing ceased there in 1987, the track was considered the premier track in Australia.

In 1959 the Association purchased land and a factory at North Rocks in NSW where it designed and built greyhound race and trial track equipment for the Australian and overseas market.
The factory proved a worthy asset as it did much to ensure the continuation of Greyhound Racing. In the 1960’s many trial tracks were closing down as the land on which they were built was becoming much sought after by developers for housing. The Association realising the danger to Greyhound Racing if trial track facilities were not available to owners and trainers, encouraged new proprietors to secure land and offered the services of its factory to advise and supply equipment at a minimal cost. The factory was eventually sold in the late seventies.
From that small beginning in 1936, the Association currently owns the land and holds licences to race at Temora (1953), Lismore (1954), Appin (1967), Bathurst (2003) and Gunnedah (2003). It also owns the land on which the Muswellbrook Club is situated.
The Association also holds the licence to race at Wentworth Park, Bulli, Gosford and Maitland.
In 1992, the Association purchased a property at Lidcombe which it had rebuilt and re-furbished for the Registered Offices of the Association.
In 2010 the Association moved to the 2nd Floor of the Wentworth Park Grandstand and that location is now the Association’s Registered Office.

Below is an honour roll of Association Chairpersons & Executive Officers:

ASSOCIATION CHAIRPERSON ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
1939 – 1951 Mr Reg Cassidy 1939 – 1961 Mr Vic Peters
1951 – 1964 Mr Alan Johnson 1961 – 1962 Mrs Lillian Peters
1964 – 1978 Mr Russell Westerweller 1962 – 1974 Mr Norman Thomas Smith
1978 – 1985 Mr Robert Wilson Payne 1974 – 1992 Mr Edward Thompson
1985 – 1987 Mr Peter John Mosman 1992 – 1994 Mr Brian Rowe
1987 – 1994 Mr Hilton William Baker 1994 – 1995 Mr Willam Charles
1994 – 1996 Mr Cyril Joseph Rowe 1995 – 1995 Mr Gary Cassidy
1996 – 2000 Mr Robert John Fletcher 1995 – 2018 Mr Brenton James Scott
2000 – 2010 Mr Gabriel (Bill) Mangafas 2018 – 2019 Mrs Ellen Harris
2010 – 2018 – Mr Geoffrey Leon Rose
2018 – 2020 Mr Joseph Cotroneo
2020 – 2021 Mr Bryan Young
Current – Mr Geoffrey Leon Rose
2019 – 2022 Mr Stephen Noyce
2022 – 2023- Mr Allan Hilzinger2023 – Mr Daniel Weizman

Life Members and DSA

The NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers’ Association Limited Life Membership Criteria

Article 5(h) of the Association’s Articles of Association states:

“The Directors shall have the power, by resolution to make any Member a Life Member of the Association. A Life Member may be a member of a branch or on the Direct List. A Life Member shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership and be subject in all respects to the provisions of the Articles, with the exception of those provisions relating to the payment of subscriptions.”

Life Membership Recipients

Ronald Best 1978
Samuel Ernest Scully 1978
Harold Staff 1978
Russell Lockyer Westerweller 1978
Harold (Dick) Eugene Buttsworth 1979
Michael (Mick) Morris 1979
Herbert (Bert) Augustus Neale 1979
Robert (Bob) Wilson Payne 1979
Rex Frederick Jackson 1980
Laurence (Laurie) Marcusson 1981
John (Jock) McDonald 1985
Peter Allen 1986
Neville Flanagan 1986
Peter John Mosman 1987
Norman Thomas Smith 1988
Percival (Perce) Fletcher 1989
Hilton William (Bill) Baker 1992
Reginald John Hurst 1992
Lionel Edward Nye 1992
Cyril Joseph Rowe 1992
Edward (Ted) Thompson 1992
William (Bill) Edward Wehrstedt 1992
William George Bates 1993
Arthur John (Joe) Collier 1993
Reginald John Hoskins 1997
Phillip Mark Perkins 1997
Leonard James Herbert 2000
George Vincent Hayes 2001
Rita Mary Nye 2001
John William Varley 2001
Harold Woods 2001
Ellen Mary (Molly) Harmer 2002
Robert John Fletcher 2005
William Albert Thorn 2005
Barry Thomas Henry Colless 2007
Geoffrey Leon Rose 2008
William Schwencke 2008
Gabriel (Bill) Mangafas 2010
Harold Hughes 2011
Glenevan Jones 2011
Gary Robert Sadler 2011
Patricia West 2011
Murray Buffolin 2012
Joe Cotroneo 2015
Fay Kosowski 2015
Susan Absalom 2016
Jennifer Green 2018
Joe Bertinato 2019
Norman Curby 2019
Gary Minter 2019
Ross Penney 2019
John

Margaret

Margaret

Tom

Bryan

Kevin

Diane

Darren

Miles

Bright

Enright

Green

Young

Keys

Controneo

Curby

2021

2022

2022

2022

2022

2023

2024

2024

 

Distinguished Service Award Criteria

  1. Recipients of the DSA will be determined by the Board of Directors from nominations received by (or) made to Directors.
  2. As a minimum pre-requisite, any nominated person must have been a member of the Association for at least 20 years on a continuous basis unless extenuating circumstances exist whereby membership of 20 years (but not continuous) could be considered.
  3. Any nominations whereby the nominee has served in a Branch Official capacity for a period of 20 years (continuous or non-continuous) will be automatically endorsed by Directors.
  4. Any nomination where the minimum pre-requisite (Clause 2) has been achieved but the ‘branch official’ requirement has not been met, will be considered on merit.
  5. With reference to nominations received under Clause 4, Directors will assess the nominees on their overall contribution to the GBOTA, at branch level and/or voluntary and paid employment and/or other services or contributions to the Association. At all times, the recipients will be considered as having contributed in a distinguished manner.
  6. Directors are automatically eligible for the Distinguished Service Award after serving six years on the Board of Directors.
  7. Any nomination where the above pre-requisites have not been met, but Directors consider the nominated persons contribution to the Association or the Greyhound Industry generally (as a member or non-member) to be obvious, substantial and well above that which would normally be expected, consideration may be given to the awarding of the Distinguished Service Award.

Distinguished Service Award Recipients
(Listed in alphabetical order by Branch)

Name Branch Approved
Samuel Taylor Auburn-Lidcombe 1988
Sue Absalom Auburn-Lidcombe 2015
Warren Absalom Auburn-Lidcombe 2012
T O’Brien Bankstown 1977
Wal Murphy Bankstown 1993
Alan Harvey Bathurst 2006
Geoffrey Case Bathurst 2009
John Buttsworth Bathurst 2007
R H Taylor Bathurst-Orange 1996
Bev Mahoney Camden 2012
Ross Penney Camden 2015
Ronald Williams Camperdown St. 1987
Jean Langbridge Central Coast/Gosford 2000
John Brown Cessnock 2004
Margaret (Peggy) Lomas Cessnock 2004
Glenevan Jones City 2003
Graham Randell City 1984
Irene Hughes City 2001
J Mangravitti City 1983
Margaret Greer City 1988
Norman Curby City 2004
W Hore City 1976
Darren Curby City Branch 2012
Brian Pearce City Parramatta 2014
Nola Deane City Parramatta 2014
John Varley Central Coast 1974
John Ryan Direct 2004
Stephanie Burnett Employee 2001
James Jenkens Employee 2015
Ron Oldfield Employee 2000
Arthur Ritzau Georges River 2006
Keith Brierley Georges River 1984
Terry Ransom Georges River 2004
Wayne Winslade Gosford Tuggerah & Lakes 2008
Jennifer Winslade Gosford Tuggerah & Lakes 2004
Jennifer Green Kurri Kurri 2011
Keith Hamilton Kurri Kurri 2004
P H Shadlow Kurri Kurri 2004
Flora Crockett Liverpool 1984
Dave Matthews Leichhardt-Annandale 2015
Allan Lambley Leichhardt-Annandale 2001
Gary Keenan Leichhardt-Annandale 2006
Geoff Appleby Leichhardt-Annandale 2004
Dave Devlin Lismore 1997
John Walsh Lismore 1996
Patrick Maloney Lismore 1996
Roger Falls Lismore 1997
F. (Dolly) Flynn Liverpool 1988
Joyce Cotterill Liverpool 1987
Richard Bligh Liverpool 2016
Robert Williams Maitland 2005
Doug Mason Marrickville 1977
Alfred Hayes Matraville 2005
Domenic Traino Matraville 2005
Ted Topham Matraville 1977
Gary Minter Newcastle 2014
Vera Dolling Newcastle 2004
Bernie Blissenden Parramatta 1995
Mark Gill Parramatta 1987
Barry Thomas Allison Richmond 2004
Brian Semms Richmond 1989
Joe Lopes Richmond 2002
Shirley Dawn Allison Richmond 2004
Ted Curran Richmond 1997
Fred Boswell South Sydney 1982
J Mathews South Sydney 1982
Geoffrey Goode Temora 1995
Barbara Masters Wollongong 1998
Murray Buffolin Wollongong 2006
Vince Masters Wollongong 1998
William Thorn Richmond 1993
Raelee Shearer

Vivian Jones

Gosford

Liverpool

2022

2023


History Of Greyhounds:

Going To The Dogs is a wonderful book about the history of racing in NSW by Max Solling & John Tracey, published by Halstead Press. The book is available for purchase from NSW GBOTA. Below is an extract from the book:-

The greyhound is one of the oldest purebred domesticated dogs in existence. Gentle and affectionate, they were prized as a hunting dog capable of outpacing quarry.

Originating in the Middle East, they are depicted in Egyptian engravings and sculptures. Their value in life recognised by the numerous images that adorn Egyptian tombs. Phoenician traders are believed to have brought greyhounds to Britain around 1,000 BC, and as the dogs moved north to Scotland, they developed a rough coat as protection against harsh conditions. The Celts occupied northern Europe and the British Isles from the fifth century BC, and wherever they went they brought their dogs with them, one of which may have been an ancestor of the Deerhound.

Coursing, one of the most ancient field sports, dates from around 150AD when Greek philosopher and historian Arrian (c86–160AD), born in Nicomedia in Asia Minor, became a citizen of Athens. Later, through consular work, he became a Roman citizen, senator, and one of the most distinguished authors of the second century Roman Empire. He wrote the earliest known treatise on the greyhound (Cynegeticus, translated as Arrian on Coursing) who wrote “I have myself bred up a hound whose eyes are the greyest of grey; a swift, hard-working soft-footed dog; in his prime a
match at any time for four hares,” and a little later, “The true sportsman does not take out his dogs to destroy the hares” wrote Arrian, “but for the sake of the course and the contest between the dogs and the hares, and is glad if the hare escapes.”1 He referred to greyhounds as Celt Hounds, and described coursing among the Celts of Gaul. The competitive running of greyhounds in England, Ireland and Scotland began in the 16th century, and it’s probable that gambling was present from the beginning. Henry VIII arranged coursing matches involving hares and sometimes deer as quarry, and also regulated formal procedures on betting. Henry, an inveterate gambler, popularised sports and wagering among the aristocracy who often bet heavily. The Privy Purse expenses of Henry VIII in one year reveal a loss of £30,000 on gambling, which included coursing. From his reign (1509–1547) gambling debts were not recognised by the law, and except for a brief period under George II, such debts could not be legally recovered in Britain until 1960. The rationale was that all agreements in a wagering spirit were outside the affairs of a court of law.

In common with the royal Tudor line, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth I enjoyed watching coursing, and also liked to bet. However she was concerned about the absence of a set of rules for determining excellence.2 Queen Elizabeth therefore instructed her Earl Marshall, Thomas Howard (1473–1554), 4th Duke of Norfolk, to draw up a set of rules of coursing that would define the points of the course on which the relative merits of the dogs could be judged and, as a consequence, coursing became known “The Sport of Queens”.

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