Vote for the Tweed’s greatest sports stars of all time
The Tweed Shire has a long history of producing world-champion sports stars. See who made our list of the region’s greatest sportspeople of all time.
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The Tweed can lay claim to some of the greatest athletes Australia has ever seen.
From world surfing champions, footballers, hockey stars, legends of the pool and a host of other sports, the region has produced countless stars who have mixed it with the world’s best.
We have trawled through the record books and spoken to those in the know to compile a list of the top 32 sportspeople from the region.
See the full list below, and don’t forget to vote on who you think should be number one.
SURFING
Wayne Bartholomew
Murwillumbah born Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew is a godfather of Australian surfing.
Having helped establish the world tour in the mid ‘70s, the fierce competitor took out the title in 1978 and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1999.
Remembered as a big waver rider and master of the tube, ‘Rabbit’ was one of the first outsiders to dominate Hawaii. Following a long and successful career in surf administration, Bartholomew was awarded the Order of Australia in 2009.
Joel Parkinson
Tweed Coast resident Joel Parkinson spent 18 years riding the highs and lows on the professional circuit until retirement in 2018.
Having finished runner-up on the ASP world tour on four occasions between 2002 and 2011, Parko’s anguish was eventually rewarded in 2012.
In an epic season finale, the regular-footer not only conquered Hawaii’s Pipeline, he outclassed 11-time world champion Kelly Slater on the way to claiming the world crown.
In May, Parkinson’s unique style and grace was officially recognised as the 44th inductee into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.
Mick Fanning
Born in Sydney’s west, Mick Fanning’s career in waves flourished from the age of 12 when his family relocated to Tweed Heads in the early ‘90s.
In a career that paralleled great mate Joel Parkinson, Fanning won the first of three world titles in 2007 before topping up the cabinet again in 2009 and 2013.
A natural footer known for his ‘razor sharp brand of high-speed surfing’, Fanning’s no holds barred approach went viral in 2015 after he punched a shark in the final of the J-Bay Open in South Africa.
Stephanie Gilmore
Not just one of the Tweed’s best, Stephanie Gilmore ranks among the top athletes Australia has produced.
The Kingscliff-raised Gilmore burst onto the pro surfing scene as a 17-year-old in 2005 when she swept aside seven-time world champion Layne Beachley as a wildcard entrant at Snapper Rocks.
Two years later, she was crowned world champion in her rookie year on the tour.
With an effortless style and infectious smile, ‘Happy’ would continue to dominate, and in 2010 landed a fourth consecutive world title.
A traumatic assault later that year temporarily derailed her charge, before victory in France at the Roxy Pro Biarritz saw her regain the title in 2012.
Now, with an unprecedented eighth title this year – which she described as ‘the greatest performance in my entire career’ – there’s a feeling the final chapter is still to be written.
SWIMMING
Josh Watson
One of a long list of Olympians coached by Greg Salter at Kingscliff Swim Club, Watson swam backstroke in the 4x100 metre medley relay team that won Commonwealth Games gold at Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
And in 2000, he was part of the squad that picked up Olympic silver in Sydney.
Chris Fydler
Fydler was part of the gold medal 4x100m men’s freestyle team that celebrated with imaginary guitars after handing America its first defeat in the event at the 2000 Olympics.
For the one time Tweed River High student, it was the crowning glory of a decade-long career that included appearances at three consecutive Olympic Games.
Dyana Calub
Another Kingscliff trained backstroker, Calub finished with a relay silver medal at the Sydney Olympics before she exploded two years later in Manchester, winning two Comm Games gold medals including an individual in the 50m event.
Matthew Abood
A Kingscliff Swimming Club junior, Abood won gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai and again in 2014, at the Glasgow Comm Games.
In 2016, he returned from Rio with Olympic bronze.
Lara Davenport
Davenport was born in Sydney, but in 2006 her decision to relocate to the Kingscliff club would deliver Olympic gold two years later.
After helping Australia qualify for the final of the 4 x 200m freestyle relay in Beijing, she then watched her teammates including Stephanie Rice, combine to smash the world record.
Sophie Edington
Primarily a backstroker, Edington’s best results followed her preparations at Kingscliff. She competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but found her best form during 2005 in Montreal, where she won two gold medals in relays at the World Championships.
HOCKEY
Nathan Eglington
The Murwillumbah born midfielder’s name is forever etched in Australian hockey history.
Eglington was a member of Australia’s gold medal winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics – the country’s first in men’s hockey.
In all, ‘Eggy’ represented the Kookaburras on 140 occasions scoring 50 goals, he was also part of the successful 2005 Champions Trophy side, and the gold medal winning combination at the 2006 Melbourne Comm Games.
Jason Wilson
A former Kingscliff striker, Wilson started his club career in 2003. His rise to the top included Delhi Comms gold in 2010 – where he struck two goals in the final – and three consecutive Champions Trophy victories from 2010.
Gabrielle Nance
Kingscliff born and bred, Nance is a former Hockeyroos forward who represented at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2018 Comm Games. In 75 appearances in the green and gold she scored eight goals.
Matthew Butturini
Another from Murwillumbah to shine with the stick, Butturini obtained international honours as a centre and defender and was part of the bronze medal side that competed at the 2012 London Olympics.
A 2010 World Cup winner, Butturini was also part of two victorious Champions Trophy sides.
Dylan Wotherspoon
In over 90 Hockeyroos appearances to date, Wotherspoon has slotted more than 30 goals. A product of the Redbacks Hockey Club in Murwillumbah, the forward picked up gold at the 2018 Comm Games.
Savannah and Madison Fitzpatrick
No one bleeds hockey quite like the Fitzpatrick sisters. With father Scott, a former Kookaburra, and mum Margie a state rep, the Cabarita Beach born siblings were destined to go all the way.
Since their early days at the Casuarina Hockey Club, the pair, now in their mid-20s, have combined for over 150 Hockeyroos appearances and have both represented at the Comm Games.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Larry Corowa
A proud Indigenous man, Larry Corowa lit up the Sydney premiership with electrifying speed in the late ‘70s. In an era of brutal defence, the ‘Black Flash’ announced himself in 1978, when at just 20, he scored a season-high 24 tries from the Balmain wing.
Later that year, his status as the fastest man in the game was confirmed when he defeated the Stawell Gift winner over 100m at Wentworth Park.
Two Test matches and four NSW appearances followed, before he returned home to the Tweed at the end of 1984.
In 2003 he was named in the Balmain Tigers team of the century, a fitting tribute to accompany the MBE he received earlier in his career for services to sport.
Ross Conlon
One of Australia’s pioneers of the around-the-corner kicking style in the early ‘80s, Conlon once famously launched a waterlogged leather Steeden through the posts from halfway.
A robust centre, the Murwillumbah junior starred at three Sydney clubs before making his last appearance in Balmain’s 1988 grand final loss to Canterbury.
A three-time State of Origin performer for NSW, in his only Test, the right-footer slotted four goals for Australia in their 1984 win over Great Britain at the SCG.
Anthony Laffranchi
Laffranchi represented NSW in four Origin clashes and played five times for Australia, including the 2008 World Cup final loss to New Zealand.
In an 11-season NRL career, the Murwillumbah Colts product topped 100 games for both the Wests Tigers and Gold Coast Titans.
Usually a back-rower, Laffranchi played prop in the 2005 grand final, scoring a try in the Tigers’ maiden premiership.
Michael Gordon
A Tweed Coast Raiders junior, Gordon made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers in 2006.
Over 14 seasons across five clubs, the versatile outside back with the reliable right boot accumulated 1,730 points (14th most in the NRL) and suited up for the Blues on one occasion in 2010.
Tarryn Aiken
In just over a season, Aiken transitioned from Australian touch footy rep to Origin player of the match in 2020.
In a meteoric rise, the former Tweed River High student’s blistering skills saw her debut for the Broncos in 2019. By season’s end, she’d won a premiership and then represented Australia at the World Cup 9s.
Another NRLW title followed in 2020 along with her Maroons Origin debut. Still only 23, the playmaker’s best days may still lie ahead.
AFL
David Hale
Hale’s rise to the AFL ranks began in 2000 at the Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Football Club.
After getting a start at North Melbourne in 2003, the forward kicked 119 goals before he was offloaded to Hawthorn in 2010.
With the Hawks on the cusp of a dynasty, it proved to be a blessing in disguise. Hale eventually signed off a stellar 237-game career in 2015, picking up a flag in each of his final three seasons.
Sam Gilbert
Another from the Coolangatta-Tweed Heads club, Gilbert was an AFL latecomer having played rugby league for the Bilambil Jets until the age of 16.
In a 208-game career, the defender played in one of St Kilda’s most successful eras, despite the heartbreak of two grand final defeats and an agonising tie.
In 2020, Gilbert accepted a two-year suspension for an anti-doping violation while playing with VFL club Sandringham.
FOOTBALL
Eliza Campbell
Since 2012, the veteran goalkeeper has represented four A-League clubs and spent several seasons in Norway.
In 2017, the Bilambil junior played the first of her two matches for the Matildas, keeping a clean slate in Australia’s 3-0 victory over China in Melbourne.
RUGBY UNION
Rory Arnold
Rugby’s Arnold twins, Rory and Richie first laced on a boot in Murwillumbah. Richie went on to forge a solid provincial career, but it was Rory who made it on the international stage.
Known as the ‘human skyscraper’, the lock-forward debuted for the Wallabies in 2016 and to date has 32 caps including appearances at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
LAWN BOWLS
Pat Smith
In a region known for its lawn bowling prowess, Pat Smith’s legacy is unsurpassed.
Following her silver medal at the 1986 Comm Games, the Murwillumbah bowler was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for services to the sport.
She had previously competed at the Brisbane games in 1982, the first at which ladies’ lawn bowls was recognised as an official sport.
An Australian Sports Medal recipient following more than 50 years of dedication to the game, Smith passed away five years ago at the age of 97.
Kelvin Kerkow
With a 2006 Comm Games gold medal and over 300 Aussie appearances, Kerkow was responsible for bringing the sport of lawn bowls to the front page.
Equally remarkable, is the adversity the South Tweed bowling star overcame to reach the top.
At age seven, and suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome, Kerkow took up the sport during the two years he took relearning how to walk.
PARALYMPIANS
Kate Wilson
Born in 1998 with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism that affects the limbs, Wilson took up swimming in her primary school years in Kingscliff before going on to represent Australia in Rio at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Competing in the S6 class, she swam five events with a best of seventh in the 100m breaststroke final.
Bill Chaffey
No one epitomises resilience better than Tweed Valley triathlete, Bill Chaffey.
Hit by a truck while cycling as an able bodied athlete, Chaffey rebounded to become a five-time para-triathlon world champion between 2009 and 2015.
At Rio in 2016, he was considered unlucky not to finish on the podium at the Paralympics.
ATHLETICS AND TRIATHLON
Melissa Hauschildt (nee Rollison)
For pure all around athleticism and endurance, Melissa Hauschildt is tough to beat.
A six-time Australian long distance champion, Hauschildt also won silver at the 2006 Comm Games in the 3000m steeplechase. But it was her transition to triathlon where the former Tweed Heads star left an enduring mark.
A three-time world champion between 2011 and 2013, Hauschildt took out the world 70.3 Ironman triathlon twice before gapping the field in the 2013 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships.
Paul Matthews
Casuarina triathlete Paul “Barny” Matthews first took to the water and bitumen as an 11-year-old in the mid-90s.
In New York in 2010, he ensured his place in the history books by taking out the city’s inaugural Ironman Syracuse 70.3 Triathlon. Encompassing a 1.9km swim, 90km bike and a 21.1km run, Matthews broke the tape in three hours and 49 minutes.
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