THE Cardwell Sportfishing Club will be officially unveiling the Vic McCristal and Eric Moller memorial at 10 am on Sunday, November 26, 2017. The memorial is located on the Cardwell Foreshore at the southern side of the Cardwell Ampitheatre in Victoria Street (opposite Choice Petrol Station).
“We welcome the public to this event to help celebrate the lives of these two well-known fishermen who contributed a great deal to not only the local fishing community but also the wider community,” said Cardwell Sportsfishing Club president, Chris Stoter.
Cardwell resident, Vic McCristal, OAM, was a pioneer of sportfishing in Australia and founder of the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA), a body that transformed recreational fishing into a recognised sport underwritten by a strict code of conservation and integrity. Vic is also regarded as the nation’s greatest fishing writer who gave inspiration to so many readers and anglers.
In addition to numerous articles published over many years in various fishing and hunting magazines, he wrote eight renowned books which are coveted collectors’ items today. His books and articles brought anglers in droves to the Cardwell/Hinchinbrook area, who wanted to experience the type of fishing he wrote about. In 2017, on the 50th anniversary of the formation of ANSA, a Vic McCristal writing scholarship was established to encourage other sportfishing writers.
Cardwell resident Eric Moller, was a modest, hardworking man of many talents, who endorsed and promoted Cardwell as the place to visit and fish. Eric achieved fame for his hand carved wood fishing lures, which became the impetus for the beginning of an Australian lure manufacturing cottage industry. He was also instrumental in putting Cardwell on the Sportfishing map of Australia.
The memorial was erected with the help of the Cardwell Sportfishing Club in conjunction with the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA), the Australian National Sportfishing Association Qld Branch (ANSA Qld), the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, the Cardwell Chamber of Commerce and the Cardwell Historical Society.
