David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last Thursday, Cricket ACT announced ACT and Australian Indigenous cricketer Neil Bulger as the 15th member of the Cricket ACT Hall of Fame. Neil first came to Canberra in 1972 to play League, but ended up playing cricket for Queanbeyan. He was named ACT First Grade Player of the Year in that first season, as well as making his debut for the ACT that same summer. In the wake of his performance for the ACT, he was approached by Queensland but returned to Tumut to play footy. He returned to Queanbeyan for the '79 season and resumed playing for the ACT, going on to represent the territory in 27 matches. During his career, Neil was named ACT First Grade Player of the Year three times, ACT Representative Player of the Year twice, and twelfth man for the Prime Minister's XI when the match resumed in 1983-84. He was appointed vice captain of the Australian Indigenous team that toured England in 1988, a moment he described as one of the proudest of his career. He played for Queanbeyan for 25 seasons in all, and his contribution to the club was recognised by both the club and the then City of Queanbeyan Council with the naming of the Neil Bulger Oval in 2015.

Neil passed away last year and was named in the Cricket ACT Men's Team of the Century this year. He was a giant of the game, and I pay my respects to his family, particularly his brother Vince who has just been named in the Australian over-seventies team, which will tour the United Kingdom later this year.

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