A Queensland philanthropist couple have donated an astonishing $40 million to support research into curing motor neurone disease, as the football community remembered Neale Daniher in the first Big Freeze match since his death two weeks ago.
Construction magnates Quentin and Kylie Birt made the donation at a FightMND function on Monday. The couple believes in Daniher’s legacy of bringing people together when the world is so divided.
They have previously donated $57 million to a life-changing Central Australian football program. Their donation came as record crowd of 88,000 attended annual King’s Birthday Clash between Melbourne and Collingwood which has become synonymous with Daniher and his fight against MND.
The AFL great died last month, aged 65, after a prolonged battle with the disease he called “the beast” – just a few weeks out from the 12th edition of the Big Freeze, an event he founded to raise funds for MND research.
The day at the football was a celebration of Daniher’s legacy and chance to carry on his mission and message. In a crowd of bobbing blue beanies, a young boy tugged his dad’s sleeve and asked, “What does MND stand for?”
“Motor neurone disease – it’s a medical condition. It sort of makes your muscles get weaker more and more over time.”
It’s conversations like these that premiership-winning Melbourne coach Neale Daniher committed the last 13 years of his life to starting, ones that will now have to continue without him.
Speaking to thousands of fans at Federation Square before the annual King’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood, FightMND’s lead researcher Bec Sheean reflected on how far things had come.
“I remember telling people I was working on MND in the early days and most people had absolutely no idea what it was,” she recalled. “Today, everyone in Melbourne knows what MND is, and it’s because of Neale, and it’s because of the Big Freeze.”
Also appearing on the stage where their dad and husband once stood were Daniher’s wife and children. Their message was clear – while Neale was gone, the fight had only just begun. Play on.
After a gloomy first week of winter in Melbourne, the sun was out and the sky matched the headwear as a sea of blue beanies streamed towards the MCG on Monday – a vision ex-Demon Russell Robertson, who played under Daniher, described as “one of the great sights in Australian football”.
As the stadium filled, so did the ice bath, a serious-looking crew of workers tearing through about 400 bags of ice in record time.
Inaugural Big Freeze community slider Creswick GP Josh Saunders, was first to take the plunge, followed by almost a dozen celebrities – comedian Andy Lee, singer Amy Shark, and “the highest-ranking person ever to slide” – Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
Onlookers caught their breath after TV host Sam Mac, dressed as everyone’s favourite cartoon dog, Bluey, momentarily failed to resurface – before spotter Anthony Marchesani, waiting in his board shorts nearby, jumped into action, dragging the costumed Mac from the water.
“It felt like I was down for a while, building the suspense, but I’m just so proud to be part of it,” he said.
The last to go down was footy podcaster Dan Gorringe dressed as interim Carlton coach Josh Fraser – the funny man finishing with the only words Neale, well known to be a man of action, would have really wanted to hear – “we’ll find a cure”.
While Daniher’s battle with the beast has reached an end, another has only just begun. Former rugby league footballer Jai Arrow tossed the coin before the game, having recently gone public with his own MND diagnosis – his presence a reminder of the importance of continuing Neale’s work.
“I’ve got a fight on my hands,” Arrow said on Monday, adding, “I’m ready to fight.”
Players from both teams put their differences aside to run through the same banner before linking arms side-by-side in a moment of unity.
Watching on was a record crowd of over 88,000 fans.
Organisers are hoping for a similarly record-breaking year of fundraising, boosted by a $500,000 donation from the state government – its largest ever Big Freeze contribution. While final figures are yet to come in, the target of selling 100,000 digital beanies was achieved before the game was out.
Later this week, many of the same faces will return to the MCG to remember Daniher in a state funeral.
Bridget McArthur is a sports affairs reporter at The Age, covering the intersection of sports and politics/business/economy/society.Connect via X or email.
