Geelong Cricket Club opens new Bruce Moore Room

THE Geelong Cricket Club has officially opened a new version of the room that honours one of the most important figures of its early years.

Club representatives gathered in the Bruce Moore Room, part of the Joel Selwood Stand at GMHBA Stadium for the opening on Saturday during the club’s Victorian Premier League game against Footscray.

The room, located on level one of the stadium, neighbours the Merriman Balcony and offers expansive views over the club’s ground and turf wicket at Kardinia Park.

Ronna Moore in the Bruce Moore Room, named after her father.

It replaces the original Bruce Moore Room, which was named after Moore following his death in 1995 and was part of the now-demolished Ford Stand.

Other attendees at the launch included Geelong MP Christine Couzens and Kardinia Park Stadium Trust chief executive officer Gerard Griffin.

Geelong Cricket Club president Jennie Deckker thanked the Victorian government for its investment into Kardinia Park.

She acknowledged the work “that began many presidents ago”, as well as advice and support from Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria.

The room neighbours the Merriman Balcony and offers views over the Geelong Cricket Club ground and turf wicket.

“Geelong Cricket Club is an important part of the history of Geelong, and our place in the future of Australian and international cricket continues.

“We are proud to have had Geelong represented at the highest level of cricket, including players, coaches, scorers and administrators, and now we have arguably the best off-field facilities of any Premier club.”

Moore’s daughter Ronna said her father would be “very embarrassed” to have the room again named after him.

The Bruce Moore Room is located on level 1 of GMHBA Stadium. The Chin Chin restaurant can be seen above.

“He was a very modest guy, a very industrious man, he was a disabled person – he only had the function of one arm – but that didn’t stop him from competing in cricket and football, and then morphed into an administrator.

“When the cricket club started, it was really only because of the efforts of a handful of people, and Dad was only one of them.

“He’d be very concerned to remember all the other guys too – Ray Gallagher, Bob Merriman, Noel Pritchard, Phillip Marshall, all of the others.”