In every part of life there are fantastic stories to be heard. Some of remarkable movements, others as simple as a young child kicking a ball for the first time. Across our QCSA Family this is no different. For far too long these stories have remained untold to a wider audience. Only through the lenses of those that were there, or sometimes anecdotal experiences shared with peers, may we be lucky enough to be brought along on the journey as well. But we aim to change that.
This will be the first of - hopefully - a number of features that we will be able to churn out and share with our QCSA family. Our first story - and one that this author is incredibly proud of being able to pen - revolved around one of QCSA's newer clubs. The history of this club, however, actually places it amongst one of Queensland's oldest clubs.
Today we feature the story of the Dinmore Bushrats and how their President Mr Scott Morrison (no, not that one) was able to resurrect this historic club.
Dinmore, located 33km south-west of Brisbane's CBD and taking about half an hour to get to - on an extremely good day - is an example of what community focus around a central goal can achieve.
Dinmore Bushrats' President Scott Morrison has a lot of fond memories of his childhood soccer days. "Dinmore Bushrats was my junior club and the club that my family played for." Morrison tells us. The way he writes about Dinmore and retelling its more recent history is filled with passion and romanticism.
Just like Leonardo da Vinci and the Ninja Turtles that bear the names of the other three divine artists of the revolution, Morrison's journey re-establishing Dinmore as a footballing force is filled with struggle - but with the end product being one of sublime beauty.
Morrison is straight to the point. "We were always seen as the underdog but let our soccer do the talking for us on the field." Morrison states, proudly. With a sense of the workman's background, Dinmore's first President after their reestablishment outlines to us the work he had to do to get this great club up and running again.
For years Morrison saw the club's committee leave the club and the field dormant. "I watched this once mighty club's slow fall from having junior & senior teams to having no teams and just being a name, existing off the field but not on the field. The field and facilities were in disrepair and the committee existed of a handful of players from the 1950's & 1960's." he tells us.
"They had their monthly meetings and AGM, mowed the field themselves and basically had no interest in getting kids involved in playing soccer."
Seeing this killed him. So he did what he felt he could do. He tried to get involved. But he found resistance. The club was not willing to change. They simply weren't interested.
By 2009 the grounds were unplayable, the toilet block was unrecognisable, needles filled the grounds and the clubhouse had become home for disadvantaged youths. The club then ceased to exist.
Seeing his opportunity, Morrison formed a Committee - made up of people from various fields of work but not necessarily all soccer-minded - re-registered the Dinmore Bushrats name and started the battle to getting the field back.
"When I invited people to come together to rebuild this club I selected a group of people from a broad range of industry and background and not necessarily with football minds. This was to allow out of the box ideas, bring together our different views and put them into place to make this happen."
"I didn't get the field back in our name but negotiated use of the field for the club and began the task of fulfilling my promise to the local community of fielding junior teams and giving them a club to be proud of. I could not sit back and see the club become a sporting memory."
Morrison's and his Committee's work have not been in vain. The club grew from 23 players in 2018 to 83 players in 2019. Once the community saw what Morrison was trying to do, they jumped on board.
"The goal was always to create a community within a community and we have done that. We are very well received within the Riverview/Dinmore area and have a strong partnership with a number of local community groups including; Riverview State School, Riverview Neighbourhood Watch, Riverview Community Centre, Riverview Neighbourhood House and the RivCom Church."
Indeed, the work Dinmore have done has been recognised.
"In our first year back (2018) we received an Australia Day award nomination for our family funday Return to Riverview (R2R), where we put on free rides, markets, food vans and soccer. And after our second season back we were awarded the 2019 Organisation of the Year at the Ipswich City Council sports awards. We sponsored a breakfast day every Friday in term 4 for kids on their way to school who had not eaten before leaving for school. We cooked pancakes and sausages for kids in Maculata Park Riverview so they have eaten before they go to school. This was done in conjunction with Riverview Neighbourhood House who sponsored every Wednesday."
Whilst Dinmore is very much focused on developing football and the club first, the Committee recognise the importance of continuing to be part of the wider community, to engage players.
"We are actively involved in community events in the local area and I believe go above and beyond to get these kids on the field and show them the benefit of team sport. There's no point denying that our club is in the middle of a low socioeconomic area and not everyone has a car to get to games or even boots sometimes. So we get in and introduce the parents and if somebody needs a hand to get to a game a ride is organised. We have donated boots that kids can use if they can't afford their own. We are in a position to offer low fees and have access to local community groups like Riverview Neighbourhood House that can assist with fees and uniforms to allow these kids to play."
Whilst it’s still early days for the newly reformed Dinmore Bushrats, with the passion of the President, the support of the committee and the engagement of the wider community their future is certainly bright.
