THE Committee of the Football Hall of Fame WA has stepped up its search for memorabilia that could one day be put on display to reflect the 120 year-plus history of the game in Western Australia.
Several individuals and significant organisations have already indicated their desire to help finance the setting up of a Football Museum - and the Football Hall of Fame WA (a not-for-profit group) will soon launch a new body which, it is hoped, will attract funding from government and private organisations.
The Football Hall of Fame WA, with hard-working secretary Penelope Hoath as the driving force, recently obtained a storage facility that is designed to meet the needs of storing and cataloguing donated memorabilia.
The latest contribution to what is a rapidly-growing collection of historical items has come from Katina Dudley, the daughter of the late Peter Dimopoulos.
Katina has kindly passed on many prized items that her father, who died in 2015 at the age of 90, had gathered in over 70 years involvement in football in WA.
Peter, who was born in Greece and emigrated to Australia at age 11, played with several local teams, including Perth Corinthians, Balmoral, Perth City and South Perth. He turned to coaching in 1960, looking after Subiaco's juniors and then becoming secretary of the Junior Soccer Federation.
He then coached Fremantle Dalmatinac and Olympic before, in 1974, becoming involved with the fledgling Women's Soccer Association. He coached the State team to success in the Australian championships in Brisbane in 1975 and was made president of the body in 1976.
He was president of the Professional Soccer League for a brief spell before becoming kit manager of the Perth Kangaroos team in their venture into Asia in 1995, when they won the Singapore League.
Peter was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame WA in 1996, and became a valued member of the Hall of Fame Committee in 2002, along with his wife Barbara Gibson, until his retirement in 2014.
Apart from his high profile in WA fotball, Peter was a much respected figure in the State when it came to his war service. He was ANZAC of the Year in 2013 when his image appeared on the sides of Transperth buses around Perth - and he was one of five Australians to represent the Australian Army at a ceremony held at the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore in 2012.
On behalf of the Hall of Fame, Peter Dimopoulos accepted a much-prized WA team badge from former State team goalkeeper Peter Mitchell at a function in 2007.
It was the badge worn by Peter Mitchell's father, Charlie (also a goalkeeper) in WA's international representative game against England at Subiaco Oval in 1937.
Football West has also passed on many items of historical significance to the Hall of Fame Committee. They are currently being catalogued by Penelope Hoath.
If you would like to donate items deemed of historical interest, please contact Penelope at admin@footballhalloffamewa.com.au

PIC ONE: Katina Dudley shows off some of her father's memorabilia. PIC TWO: Peter Dimopoulos with his wife Barbara Gibson. PIC THREE: Peter Dimopoulos with Peter Mitchell and State team badge. PIC FOUR: Penelope Hoath in the new storage facility.