Charity Cup history given to Queens

FORMER Gympie Ambulance officer Ron Lawrence has handed over a framed pictured of himself with the famous Charity Cup to the Queens Hotel.

FORMER Gympie Ambulance officer Ron Lawrence has handed over a framed pictured of himself with the famous Charity Cup to Queens Hotel manager Toni Kenny to include in the pub's football memorabilia.

Kenny has been slowly collecting Gympie Rugby League memorabilia to display in the Mary Street pub and said the picture was greatly appreciated.

Lawrence said the Charity cup was first played for by Gympie Rugby Union in 1904 and was eventually passed over to league when the code was introduced.

The club that won the cup held onto it for twelve months until the next match.

There are 14 different club names listed on the cup, the first on the cup is City while the last is Wanderers.

The Charity Cup was not contested from 1941- 1945 because of the Second World War.

Lawrence said the cup originally had a lid but a wining team during the 1930's and 40's is thought to have lost it in the Noosa River after celebrating the win.

There are also rumours that the coveted cup was found buried in sand at Noosa Beach with its handle hanging off. This was repaired by a Gympie jeweller.

The beneficiary of the Charity Cup days was always the local ambulance then called the QATB and that's how Lawrence came to having the photograph.

The photo was taken in 1989 as a promotion for the day.

The money raised from the game was given to the QATB in appreciation for their service to league through out the year.

The cup was considered by many players and supporters as being as important as the Premiership Cup and many thousands of dollars were raised to assist the finances of the local ambulance.

Originally published as Charity Cup history given to Queens