We never know who will come through the doors of the Hawks Museum. Our visitors come from near and far. They may have supported the Club from the time they were two, or they may be recent converts to the brown and gold. Some come in search of information of past players. Sometimes, we have great pleasure in welcoming the families of our former players. These relatives often have wonderful stories or memorabilia of their player. In fact, in a lovely surprise, we had family members of two former players visit on the one morning. The stories multiplied.

Bev Boulter with the Hawthorn Players' Cricket Team Photo, her father was the Wicket Keeper.

The first was Bev Boulter, daughter of Bert Ashby, who played 25 games over eight seasons as a Maybloom, 1928-1935.  Bev told of her father’s time at Hawthorn as both a footballer and a cricketer and was very happy to see her father in the photo of the 1931 side.  Bert was also the wicket keeper in the Hawthorn Footballers’ cricket team that won an Eastern Suburbs ‘B-grade’ premiership in 1932-33. His daughter explained that he went on to coach Hawthorn-East Melbourne in district cricket. He remained an avid supporter of the Hawthorn Football Club.

Sophie, Sebastian and Ned highlight 1981 team photo featuring Rick Davies.

Next came the family of Rick Davies, the strong-marking forward and ruck who was recruited from Sturt in 1981. Rick’s daughter, Sophie and her two sons, Sebastian and Ned, came from South Australia to see the club’s facilities and their grandad’s photo in the museum. They were guided through by family friend, David Steinhardt, who is Hawthorn’s Licensing and Retail Manager. Sophie was able to relate many of her father’s exploits with the Hawks and with friends such as Robert DiPierdomenico and Kelvin Moore.  Rick played his first game against Melbourne in Round 1, 1981. His last came in Round 22, 1981, also against Melbourne. He finished his Hawthorn career having played 20 games. 

These two players may have been from different eras, but they were Hawthorn and their families can find evidence of their playing careers in the Hawks Museum. We don’t know who will come through our doors next. Perhaps it will be you!

Hawks Museum Opening Hours: 9am – 4pm, Monday – Friday, or by appointment