Annie Gillespie

Even before I met Annie Gillespie it was obvious that she is an Australian Rules footy fan. Greeting visitors in the entrance way to her room at Murray House in Wentworth is a small AFL flag mounted from the wall. The red and white swan emblem leaves no doubt as to Annie’s affiliation with the Sydney-based team. Then, within a few minutes of my first meeting Annie, she was chuffed to proudly show me a letter from Barb Cullen, an archivist for the Sydney Swans. The letter, dated March 9, 2022, is a certificate of appreciation, thanking Annie for “organising the raffle program when the South Melbourne Football Club relocated to Sydney”. It was during the mid-1980’s when Annie’s fundraising team, affectionately called Ocker’s Locker, was crucial to the club, both