The Collingwood Museum is proud to be hosting a magnificent new exhibition honouring one of the greatest figures in the Club's history, Nathan Buckley.

'Nathan Buckley - Magpie Legend' showcases one of the largest single-player collections ever exhibited in Australian football. It includes important items such as his 2003 Brownlow Medal, his 2002 Norm Smith Medal, all six of his Copelands and all-Australian awards, and a vast range of guernseys, training tops and other memorabilia from his extraordinary career.

The exhibition has been made possible by Buckley's decision to permanently donate a large number of his most important items - including the Brownlow - to the Collingwood Football Club. He has also loaned us a number of other items to help flesh out different parts of his story.

Together with an extensive collection of items already held in the Club's archives, this has created a rich and deep exhibition that will captivate Magpie fans of all ages - but especially those who loved and admired 'Bucks' during his 14 years in the black-and-white stripes.

Highlights of the exhibition include:

  • A magnificent portrait done by one of Australia’s leading portrait painters, Robert ‘Alfie’ Hannaford;
  • Buckley’s 2003 Brownlow Medal and the accompanying certificate;
  • Buckley’s 2002 Grand Final guernsey, and the Norm Smith Medal he won while wearing it;
  • A range of other guernseys worn by Buckley, from the 1990s through to the end of his career;
  • All his Copeland Trophies and All-Australian awards;
  • His Collingwood Life Membership and Australian Football Hall of Fame certificates;
  • Match balls from his 200th and 250th games;
  • Various other trophies and awards, including his Coach of the Year award from 2018;
  • Five pairs of boots from different years, plus a variety of other player clothing, including jackets, shorts, socks, training tops and a kitbag;
  • Items from his time with the Australian team for the International Rules series against Ireland, and also his brief stints with Williamstown in the VFL;
  • A range of supporter merchandise and memorabilia, illustrating just how popular he was with Magpie fans;
  • The jumper he wore while playing for the Northern Territory Football League representative team against Geelong in 1992;
  • A superb action painting by Jamie Cooper; and
  • Four different video packages, plus photographic slideshows highlighting different aspects of Buckley’s career.

Museum curator Michael Roberts said it was one of the most comprehensive exhibitions devoted to one footballer he'd ever seen.

"It's no less than Bucks deserves," Michael said. "He remains one of our greatest ever players, and held the place together during some pretty dark days. He then gave even more as a coach and assistant coach, and was within a couple of minutes of leading us to a flag.

"We're really proud that we've been able to produce a display of this depth. But so much of that is because of the wonderful items that Nathan has donated to us. It's an extraordinarily generous donation, and it's a great privilege to be able to put it all on show for Magpie fans to see."

The exhibiiton is free and open now, in the Museum at the AIA Centre. It is open when reception is open, which is 9am-5pm most weekdays, and on matchdays when we're playing at the MCG.