Port Stephens athlete Matt Gray will run the final leg of the Queen’s Baton Relay when it lands in Newcastle on Saturday.
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Gray, who has represented Australia in archery at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, was selected to be one of 25 athletes and prominent personalities from around the Hunter to run with the baton when it made its journey to Newcastle.
The baton is relayed around the world in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games, which will be held on the Gold Coast in April. The baton carries a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II that calls on the Commonwealth’s athletes to come together in peaceful and friendly competition.
Following a forty day journey to Commonwealth countries around the world, the baton will enter Newcastle on Saturday, February 3.
The first ‘runner’ of the day will be Sister Diana Santleben.
At 7.12am Sister Di, as she is known, will transport the baton by boat to Lee Wharf along Honeysuckle Drive and hand it to Paralympian Kurt Fearnley.
Fearnley will then take the baton to the roundabout intersecting Workshop Way and Merewether Street and hand it to former NRL player Alex Mckinnon.
The baton will be relayed to the carpark at Bar Beach in Cooks Hill.
Gray, the final runner of the morning, will receive the baton at 8.51am and trek down Memorial Drive to the Bar Beach carpark.
The relay will be a moving convoy. There will be short delays to Honeysuckle Drive, Wharf Road, Shortland Esplanade, Watt Street (south of Church Street), Reserve Road, High Street and Memorial Drive.
Once the Newcastle relay is finished, the baton will be transported to Gosford.
Newcastle baton relay schedule
- 7:12 AM – Diana Santleben
- 7:32 AM – Newcastle Community Celebration
- 7:42 AM – Kurt Fearnley
- 7:46 AM – Alex Mckinnon
- 7:48 AM – Peter Watts
- 7:51 AM – Peter Kilborn
- 7:53 AM – Michelle Lawson
- 7:55 AM – Michael Thoroughgood
- 7:58 AM – Irene Hemsworth
- 8:00 AM – Jye Dinsdale
- 8:03 AM – Dave Robertson
- 8:05 AM – Maddison Elliott OAM
- 8:07 AM – Laurence Roddick
- 8:10 AM – Jade 'Red' Wheatley
- 8:12 AM – Ian Ingle
- 8:15 AM – Sheena Tierney
- 8:17 AM – Bob Porter
- 8:19 AM – Brett Austine
- 8:22 AM – Jessica Pickering
- 8:33 AM – Jessica Norris
- 8:36 AM – Susanna Gourlay
- 8:39 AM – To be announced
- 8:41 AM – Carole Hooper
- 8:44 AM – Charlie Sanders
- 8:46 AM – Sean Scanlon
- 8:49 AM – Phill Johnson
- 8:51 AM – Matthew Gray
Gray to bear a baton in Queen’s relay
Story from October 2017
Boat Harbour archer Matt Gray is set to play a part in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Gray, who won gold in India with Australia’s 2010 Commonwealth Games archery team, will be a batonbearer in the Gold Coast 2018 Queen’s Baton Relay.
“It’s different,” he said. “It’s definitely not something I’ve done before.”
Gray, a father to three young children, is one of 24 people from the Hunter region to be selected as a batonbearer.
Other bearers include Paralympian and GC2018 ambassador Kurt Fearnley, ex-Knight Alex McKinnon, wheelchair athlete Christie Dawes, swimmer Maddi Elliott and surfer Jade Wheatley.
Much like the Olympic torch, the baton is relayed around the world.
The baton relay took off from Buckingham Palace, England in March.
It is currently in Malaysia.
The specially-made baton will visit 15 Commonwealth nations before arriving in Australia on Christmas Eve.
From there, it will embark on a 100-day journey, visiting 83 towns and cities.
It will be relayed to the Gold Coast in time for the April opening ceremony.
The baton is expected to hit Newcastle on February 3, 2018.
Gray, who works as a Port Stephens water policeman, is no stranger to the Olympics or Commonwealth Games.
He represented Australia at the Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Beijing (2008) Olympics and at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
As well as earning gold with Australia’s team in India, Gray placed fourth in the individual men’s event.
“I went through a transition period after missing out on selection. It was a difficult time,” he said.
“You flog yourself training all the time and suddenly that just stops.
“Since missing out on the Olympics last year I haven’t competed.
“I’m still heavily involved in the sport. I’ve been coaching.”
Late last year Gray began coaching junior Australian archers.
Last Wednesday Gray returned from Argentina with Australia’s junior archers where they competed at the World Youth Archery Championships.
He will work closely with the juniors in the lead-up to the 2018 Youth Olympics.
Gray said being selected as a batonbearer was a nice way to educate his children about his achievements in archery.
“It’s a time to reflect on what I have achieved in the sport and the educate my kids on what I did achieve, and show them they can achieve what they set their minds to,” he said.
Running locations and distances will be revealed to batonbearers closer to February 3.
The Hunter’s batonbearers
Brett Austine, Marks Point
Christie Dawes, Merewether
Jye Dinsdale, Caves Beach
Maddi Elliott, Gillieston Heights
Kurt Fearnley, Hamilton
Susanna Gourlay, Newcastle East
Matthew Gray, Boat Harbour
Carole Hooper, New Lambton
Ian Ingle, Muswellbrook
Phill Johnson, Adamstown
Peter Kilborn, Mirrabooka
Michelle Lawson, Thornton
Alex McKinnon, Lambton
Jessica Norris, Burleigh
Jessica Pickering, Belmont
Bob Porter, Arcadia Vale
Laurence Roddick, Bar Beach
Charlie Sanders, Metford
Diana Santleben, Maryland
Sean Scanlon, Hamilton East
Michael Thoroughgood, Teralba
Sheena Tierney, The Hill
Peter Watts, Redhead
Jade Wheatley, Garden Suburb
