FOR 20 years, the Blueseum has served as the online home of Carlton history, and now it has reached another significant milestone with the support of the Club itself.
To preserve a unique digital record of Carlton’s past, the Club and the Blueseum have completed a project to migrate the Blueseum’s substantial content to the Club’s own platform.
This was made possible by the generosity of the First 18, who’s donations fully-funded the project that now see around 10,000 pages of Carlton history live on a new club-owned platform, securing the long-term preservation of this information.
Supporters will find the new website keeps all the rich history of the former wiki, with a fresh look and feel and expanded records for every player, making it easier to find information on a specific game or player.
Importantly, the Blueseum’s dedicated volunteers will continue to contribute history-related content to what is the largest online archive of any sporting organisation in the country.
Led by founder and administrator Jamie Sanderson, the volunteers have contributed to what was an independently owned platform since 2006, complementing the substantial archival records made available by Carlton itself.
Sanderson acknowledged the significance of the moment. “It’s important to acknowledge the thousands of supporters, past players and their families, and the supporters of other clubs, who have passed on information and photographs to be used on the site over the years,” he said.
“This resource has also provided the descendants of people involved with Carlton through more than 160 years with documents, photographs and other material relevant to their loved ones, and the opportunity to learn something they didn’t know or hadn’t seen before.
“But the Blueseum is far from complete, and the rich and layered nature of Carlton’s history means there is always more to uncover.”
Sanderson founded the website after being inspired by tales told by Ralph Madge, Carlton’s former timekeeper of 20 years’ experience, when the pair met in May 2005 at the final match for premiership points at Princes Park. In the years since, he has selflessly invested thousands of hours across decades to preserve the Club’s history, and contributed much of the groundwork in the migration process.
Contributors to the Blueseum also include:
- Stephen Williamson, a statistician who had collated years of club-related data before the Blueseum’s inception and later shared it
- Michael Olsen, who has contributed editorial content from the outset, chiefly relating to Carlton’s most recent history
- Warren Tapner, an honoured ex-serviceman who has researched the Club’s many veterans of war
- Tony De Bolfo, Carlton Football Club Historian, who has contributed articles since the Blueseum’s inception and continues to do so
- Rod Mitchell, who has sourced, scanned and uploaded more than 60,000 images to give context and colour to the written content
- Pete McLean, who has researched the lives of more than 800 players who chased the leather for Carlton in the pre-VFL years 1864-1896
- Max Dixon, the former Carlton Under 19 and reserve grade player, who has contributed a wealth of written and photographic material relevant to those levels
- Damien Green, Dan Jago, Liam Camilleri, Phil Ereaut and Michael Riley also earn special mention.
Supporters who believe they have an item of value to Carlton’s history are encouraged to contact blueseum@carltonfc.com.au and tony.de.bolfo@carltonfc.com.au.
