Given that Gilbert carries the nickname of the deputy PM’s preferred AFL club, it’s of no real surprise that he and the deputy hit it off, as he offered her the wares of the old chewing gum tin first introduced to Carlton years ago by Gilbert’s predecessor, the late Ken Monk.
“Ken Monk started off at Carlton as waterboy, then a runner, and finally the property steward, and it was he who introduced the old chewie tin to the club,” Gilbert said.
“Over the years, all of the serving PMs were offered a chewie whenever they came into the Carlton rooms. We got ‘Bob’ Menzies, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and John Howard, but we missed on Kevin Rudd when he was here for Richard Pratt’s memorial service.
“Julia Gillard came to the rooms briefly before the game and sampled a chewie. She was quite good about it. She said to me ‘You must enjoy your work’ and I told her that I haven’t missed a training session or a game in 26 years.”
Chief property steward Wayne Gilbert and the fabled chewy tin
The chewy tin, which once served as a canister for Johnson & Johnson band aids, is chock-full of pellets of PK Extra. Given the sentimental value of the tin, Gilbert knows that if he were to misplace it “I’d just about resign”.
“The players get a chewy every time they come off the track. I buy the chewies myself each week and load up the tin.”
Earlier in the day, the Deputy Prime Minister had joined Carlton President Stephen Kernahan and CEO Greg Swan in an inspection of the new redevelopment at Visy Park. Later, at the Carlton President’s Luncheon prior to the game, she confirmed that the Rudd government is to contribute $4.5million to the redevelopment, which incorporates a lecturer theatre to be named after lifelong Carlton supporter and founding father of the Australian Democrats, the late Don Chipp.
