When Senior Constable Karl David initiated the
“Crop-A-Cop” campaign in Horsham in 1995 he
could not have envisaged just how much it would
take off.
Established as a means of raising money for children living
with cancer, the idea was to shave police heads — making
those youngsters who’d lost hair due to treatment feel
better about themselves.
That first campaign saw 165 police officers from around
Victoria take part, the event, shown live on “Hey Hey It’s
Saturday” raising over $235,000 which was donated to
Challenge, a cancer support network.
The following year saw the campaign go national — 1200
officers from around the country travelling to Sydney to
have their heads shaved. Over $1.3 million was raised and
the event attracted overseas interest — leading to this
annual charity event also now being held in Canada.
Since 1997 known as “Bluey Day”, encompassing all
emergency services, the event has grown bigger every year
and on a chilly day at Moonee Valley in August the well
known jockeys Darren Gauci, Greg Childs and Stephen
Baster volunteered their heads!
In front of an amused crowd of onlookers, the three riders
were joined by Wayne Hawkes, Melbourne stable foreman
for his father John. Sponsored to the tune of $1000 by the
Victorian Bookmakers Association, Hawkes happily posed
for the photos shown here.
With the Jockeys Association, Chefs on the Run and Jayco
also making generous donations, the day was a great
success and later on in the month champion hoop Damien
Oliver also undertook the big shave!
With over 520 police, firefighters, ambulance, SES
volunteers and civilians involved in this year’s Bluey Day,
over $800,000 was raised. In total Bluey Day has raised
over $5 million in Victoria alone — making it the second
highest fundraising event for the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Photos by Kristen Manning.
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