Ray Weinberg – MCG Guide
When Ray Weinberg arrived at boarding school in Melbourne in 1940 he heard for the first time about something called the Olympic Games. Before the decade was out he got to know about the Olympics first-hand, representing his country as a sprint hurdler. He competed at the 1948 and1952 Olympic Games, and coached the outstanding Australian athletics team at the Mexico City Games of 1968.
A badly-timed eye affliction stymied his hopes of competing on the Melbourne Cricket Ground at the 1956 Olympics. However the venerable stadium is now his second home. The sprightly octogenarian is a guide at the MCG, steering visitors around the vast venue and sharing stories and insights about the great ground's history. Despite his firm grasp on the past, he is enthusiastic about the present and the future.
'I liked the MCG as it was (before it was rebuilt) and I like it even more now,' he says. 'The facilities provided are outstanding right around the ground, not just in the Members. It is the people's ground, and we are enormously fortunate to have it.'
A sporting landmark
'The MCG is a landmark and an icon, and it belongs to the people,' Ray says. 'It isn't owned by the Melbourne Cricket Club or the Melbourne Football Club; it is owned by the people of the state. We have members to cover the costs of operating it, but anyone can be a member. There is no other ground in the world of comparable size or significance that is as close to the central business district as the MCG. I rather like the description by sports commentator Tim Lane that it is 'Melbourne's third cathedral'.
A guided tour of history
After retirement Ray became a volunteer guide at the MCG. Despite not competing in the 1956 Olympics, Ray is uniquely poised to provide insights into the history of Melbourne's famed sporting venue. Apart from his reservoir of athletics stories, he is attuned to Australian Rules football having trialled with Carlton Football Club as a teenager. His cricket knowledge stretches back to the relationships he formed with Sir Donald Bradman's legendary 1948 Invincibles when he shared a sea journey with them from England to Australia.
The Long Room
'The Long Room is probably my favourite place. Since the refurbishment the atmosphere has been retained, and probably improved upon. It is still redolent of all the members who have been in there through the years, but it is open to more people. They've done a superb job with the new building.'
