Thursday, April 24, 2025
HomeNewsMural honours league legend

Mural honours league legend

One-hundred-and-one years to the day after 15-year-old Maggie Moloney wowed the crowd at Sydney Showground watching the world’s first women’s rugby league game in September 1921, a mural honouring her was officially launched at the corner of James and Morehead Streets, close to her childhood home.

Her granddaughter Maureen said: “Her interest in football came from kicking a footie in the streets with her big brother Bryan who played for South Sydney. She grew up knowing all the rules and was so excited when she discovered that there was going to be a women’s game.”

In the mural on the back wall of the St Vincent de Paul Community Centre, the artist Sharon Billinge has captured Maggie from a very worn and creased photo believed to have been taken moments after the match in which she scored four tries in front of a 30,000-strong crowd that the 1921 press reported had “come to jeer [but] stayed to cheer”.

The artist has also included a Dally M branded football in the mural. NSWRL authorities had issued a ban on the women’s match, but its first star, Dally Messenger defied the ban and used the women’s game to launch the football bearing his nickname with a half-time kicking exhibition.

Among the 30 members of the Moloney family who attended the opening was her eldest granddaughter Margaret Heard who bears a striking likeness to Maggie in the mural. She recalls the weekend visits Maggie made to their home as they grew up in Seven Hills. “Nan used to sleep in one of our beds in the big room she had built on the back of the house for us four girls to sleep in, and she would tell us stories at night.” Maureen agreed, “She just loved running, high jumping and athletics.”

Maggie lived until 1971 and throughout her life was always interested in sport. She was a major Rabbitohs supporter and loved the Seals Club at Maroubra Beach where she lived as an adult.

Kath Haines, a rugby league historian who lives in Redfern, collaborated on the mural project with 107 Projects and the City of Sydney. She noted that “Maggie Moloney’s story isn’t well known but she was a true groundbreaker and I love that her hidden story can reveal history on a wall in Redfern so close to where she starred as a 15 year old. As the women’s league only survived until 1923, she didn’t have a continuing career, but Maggie is very much a trail blazer as Dally Messenger was for the men’s game. It would be fitting if the NRLW medal awarded to its Player of the Year were named the ‘Maggie M’ after Maggie Moloney.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

spot_img
- Advertisment -spot_img
- Advertisment -spot_img

Waterloo South consortium to deliver homes from 2031

The NSW government has signed contracts to develop the first stage of the Waterloo South renewal project with the Stockland, Link Wentworth Housing, City West Housing and Birribee Housing consortium.

Park reopens with resident-led legacy

REDFERN: Upgrades to the Douglas Street Playground officially opened on March 8.

Volunteers’ News – April 2025

Volunteers’ News – April 2025.

A ministry concludes

After 18 years with the South Sydney Uniting Church (SSUC), which publishes the South Sydney Herald, March 30 marked the closure of ministry for the Rev. Andrew Collis.

‘Johnny Mac’ – connection and understanding

Eleven years after his passing, Bishop John McIntyre’s legacy continues to inspire community action and faithful presence.

Chau Chak Wing Museum returns human remains to Papua New Guinea

The University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum has repatriated 16 human crania to Papua New Guinea.