Celebrating 30 years since the first Multi-Cultural Day

This weekends Multicultural Round (Round 3) at Belmore Sports Ground will mark 30 years since the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs last hosted a Multicultural Day on home turf.

As the Club prepares to celebrate a cultural extravaganza at the weekend, we are reminded of a special Club motto: Respect the past, create the future.

It was on 12 April 1993, when the Bulldogs joined forces with the New South Wales Rugby League to recognise the local community for the first time.

The joint promotion was to encourage a richer turnout at rugby league matches, and was a day that not many could forget. The event attracted over 27,000 fans to Belmore to watch and join in on what can only be described as a celebration.

Fans were treated to Lebanese, Greek and Korean folk dancing, a Maori Haka, food from all quarters of the community and a game of rugby league between two of the leagues' greatest rivals.

The opponents on this historic day were the Parramatta Eels and in true Canterbury spirit, the Bulldogs side were determined not to disappoint the local crowd.

In 40 minutes, Canterbury turned the lazy, sunny afternoon most were enjoying, into the joyous 42-6 celebration most of the 27,804 wanted at Belmore Sports Ground.

Canterbury led Parramatta 14-2 at half-time and it could have been 40-2, such was their control and purpose. Even when assured the win; it wasn't enough for the side of '93. They wanted a performance to remember; one to complement the multicultural celebration and the record crowd it attracted, with thousands more turned away.

“It is one of the greatest days in the club’s history,” beamed the then Chief Executive, the great Peter Moore.

“We’ve proven that if you cater for the fans, then they’ll turn up to watch you play.”

The best illustration of everything sticking all those years ago, was the prelude to the Bulldogs' last try three minutes out from the siren.

A Terry Lamb kick was charged down 40m from the Parramatta line, but the Eels gained no advantage.

The ball bounced straight into the arms of a charging Simon Gillies, who was on the field for his 100th game, and several passes later, winger Jason Williams scored in the left corner.

It was that sort of day.

The two sides had remained undefeated until the Easter Monday match-up in 1993, and the victorious Bulldogs side were a mix of experience and up-and-coming talent - a combination somewhat comparable to today's Bulldogs squad.

Big names such as Terry Lamb (c), Jim Dymock, Brett Dallas and Dean Pay were matched with the likes of young talents, Luke Goodwin and Andrew Patmore. Both Benjamin and Simon Gillies played.

Martin Bella and his front row partner, Gavin Hill, bashed and barged their way through the Parramatta defence, while halfback Craig Polla-Mounter was devastating as the base of the scrum.

Then there were the Smith brothers.

"I look at the Smith brothers, Jason and Darren and they would be in my best team ever, on the bench each, because they could play anywhere in the team. They were fantastic players," said Terry Lamb on reflection.

"One was so skillful, Jason, and then Darren, he was hard and quick and he could do anything on the field".

And do anything they did. The end result saw Canterbury run in nine tries to one in a display which evoked memories of the club’s great sides of 1979-80 coached by Ted Glossop.

BULLDOGS 42 (Dallas 3, Williams 2, Goodwin, Smith, Patmore, Polla-Mounter tries: Lamb 3/9)

Def. EELS 6 (Tollett try: Buettner 1/1)

CROWD: 27,804

While capacity in recent days may be restricted to 17,000 (approx.), the Club is once again expecting a sell-out spectacular to celebrate the diversity of the Dogs community.

A series of cultural performances, activities and food stalls from across the globe, will accompany an afternoon of intense rugby league as the Bulldogs take on the Magpies in NSW Cup, before the NRL squad lines up against neighbouring rivals, Wests Tigers. As the squad runs out before a home crowd on Sunday, one thing is sure to be front of mind: Respect the past, create the future.

Gates will open at 1:25pm, NSW Cup kicks-off at 1:40pm, followed by the NRL match at 4:05pm.

Limited tickets are still available online via the Ticketek website, and the best way to secure your seat is via Bulldogs Membership. See here for Membership options and to run with the pack in 2023.