WITH TIME now the enemy of U-matic and VHS tapes, it’s reassuring that the likes of David Parkin and Stephen Gough appreciate the worth of recorded material and the importance of conservation for posterity.

Parkin and Gough – both members of Carlton’s Heritage and Tradition Sub-Committee - have seen fit to avail their precious video tapes of the 1980s and 1990s for digitisation, to ensure that the precious footage is preserved and protected for the benefit of on-going generations of members and supporters.

Parkin’s most recent recorded offerings – 15 VHS tapes in all - comprise interviews he granted for Vuecast, the Seven Network and Fox Footy where he recounted memories of his own personal football journey. Also included is an event recorded at Crown in 1998, in which Parkin’s lifelong contributions to the game are acknowledged by the likes of the late Carlton premiership player and coach Robert Walls, who took the coaching chair from Parkin 40 years ago. 

Gough’s 40 VHS tapes cover the late 1980s and 1990s during which time he served as Carlton Football Manager and later CEO of the Club. Amongst his tapes are replays of the 1986 Aussie Bowl match with Hawthorn at Yokohama Stadium, the ABC’s broadcast of the 1987 Grand Final in its entirety, and various Carlton home-and-away matches from 1985 through to ’88.   

More than 220 U-matic match-day tapes accumulated during Parkin’s first stint as Carlton Senior Coach through the 1980s have also been digitised. The analogues - forerunners to Beta and VHS tapes and introduced into the market by Sony in late 1971 - were previously stored in a nook of the since-demolished Richard Pratt Stand, together with bound volumes of the Club’s board meeting minutes from as far back as 1907 when the Club’s then secretary John Worrall recorded developments in pen and ink.

Included amongst the remastered footage is a rare post-match interview with Bruce Doull in the rooms on Grand Final day 1981, as well as the ’82 premiership team’s audience with Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser at The Lodge, together with match-day replays including Geoff Southby’s final game in Round 20, 1984 at Princes Park, Rod Ashman’s 200th senior appearance (Round 15, 1986 at VFL Park), and the team’s 115-point hammering of Richmond (Round 14, 1984 at Princes Park).

These tapes were previously digitised by Blueseum website administrator Jamie Sanderson, who utilised the old 23-kilogram U-matic recorder also stored with the tapes. More recently, the tapes were restored to almost pristine condition then digitised.

“It is to David Parkin’s great credit that he saw fit to accumulate this video collection,” Sanderson said at the time. “Thanks to his foresight, the brilliant exploits of players such as Ashman, Johnston, Doull and Harmes are now there for future generations of Carlton supporters to see.”

Another to avail VHS tapes to his former club is the 1968 premiership wingman Bryan Quirk. Amongst his collection – 17 tapes in all – are the Under 19 back-to-back Grand Finals of 1978 and ’79, in which the Carlton teams he coached defeated Collingwood and Fitzroy respectively.

Carlton’s Events Manager Dana Howes has also availed 23 VHS recordings of various club functions of the past – amongst them the Stephen Kernahan and Craig Bradley Testimonials of 1997 and 2004 respectively.

It’s worth noting that VHS tapes have an average lifespan of 10 to 25 years, with significant degradation possible beyond this period due to factors like storage conditions (temperature, humidity, dust) and frequency of use. As such, digitisation is crucial.

The club welcomes any Carlton-related film or videos pre-dating the early 1980s. Those who may be able to assist are urged to contact tony.debolfo@carltonfc.com.au