One man’s Alvey collection so big he hopes it will reel in Parkinson’s awareness

Stephen Duffield, a proud member of our lion’s club, has battled with Parkinson’s disease since 2015. Since the diagnosis Stephen would find it increasingly hard to follow his passion for fishing. Spinning reels became too difficult to work with and seized up from the beach sand and salt water. Stephen visited a local Bait & Tackle shop and was shown the benefits of an Alvey Reel when fishing at the beach. Stephen joined the Lions and helped to manage the Greenback Fishing Comp. Here he met with the Alvey team, visited the factory, and discovered the reels dated back to 1920.

With a renewed sense of passion for his love of fishing, Stephen went all in on Alvey Reels, which would be the burgeoning of his now great collection. The growth of his hobbyist turned museum-esque collection reelly hit pase when Covid stopped Stephen from doing many things. So with not much to do he set about completing his collection, fast forward 6 years and now the collection is so huge there is almost no room to get around it all.

Stephen’s passion for all things Alvey led him to publishing a historical book and product value guide that goes through the story of one of Australia’s most iconic fishing brands. With the profits to be both put back into growing the collection and then onto Shake It Up Australia Foundation. Stephen’s ultimate goal being to open his collection to the public for a small fee and have the funds raised divided between Lions and Shake It Up Australia Foundation.

Stephen explaining his book

After becoming aware of how much his “small” hobby had grown, Cabarita Beach Pottsville Beach Lions had a vote to donate $500 towards Stephens’ cause, to do with it how he sees fit.

Copies of the book can be bought from https://alveyden.com

President B. Brodie presenting $500 to Stephen