Gavin Adrian Wanganeen (born 18 June 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and also for the

Port Adelaide Magpies Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed the Power, whilst its reserves ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as t ...

(SANFL). A

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

winner and Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee, Wanganeen was appointed Port Adelaide's inaugural captain upon entry into the AFL in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and is the first

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

footballer to win the Brownlow Medal and reach the 300-game milestone at senior VFL/AFL level. Since retirement, Wanganeen has taken up painting. He is a descendant of the

Kokatha The Kokatha, also known as the Kokatha Mula, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of South Australia. They speak the Kokatha language, close to or a dialect of the Western Desert language. Country Traditional Kokatha lands extend ov ...

people, a Western Desert people of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, an inheritance he has explored in his art work since retirement. He has had two solo exhibitions and was an ambassador for the

Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

in 2019.

Early life

Wanganeen was born in

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

to a footballing family: his great-grandfather had played for the local team,

Koonibba Football Club Koonibba Football Club is an Australian rules football club situated in the small Aboriginal Australian community of Koonibba, South Australia. Founded in 1906, it is the oldest surviving Aboriginal football club in Australia. The players are know ...

, at the Koonibba mission near Ceduna. His family moved from Mount Gambier to

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

for a few years. When Wanganeen was five, they moved again to

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, a northern suburb of Adelaide. Wanganeen played junior football for

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

based

South Australian Amateur Football League The Adelaide Footy League, formerly known as the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in Adelaide, South Australia. Comprising sixty-seven member clubs playing ove ...

club Salisbury North and attended Salisbury East High School. At the age of 14, Wanganeen joined the Port Adelaide Under 17s side in the SANFL.

Football career

Port Adelaide: 1990

Wanganeen made his senior SANFL debut with Port Adelaide in 1990 at only 16 years of age. The

1990 SANFL season The 1990 South Australian National Football League season was the 111th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia. The season opened on Saturday 14 April with all of the opening round matches simultaneous ...

was the last year that the competition was the highest level of football in South Australia. He played 24 matches and kicked 46 goals, winning the SANFL Rookie of the Year award, starring in Port Adelaide's

1990 SANFL Grand Final The 1990 SANFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Glenelg Football Club, held at Football Park on Sunday 7 October 1990.The Advertiser (Adelaide) newspaper 8 October 1990, p ...

win kicking two goals.Argent, P. "Now an immortal", ''

Koori Mail The ''Koori Mail'' is an Australian newspaper written and owned by Indigenous Australians since 1991. It is published fortnightly in printed form and electronic copies are available. Owned by five community-based Aboriginal organisations based ...

'', 16 June 2010, p. 85.

Essendon: 1991–1996

Wanganeen's potential was identified early by Essendon, and after losing another South Australian star,

Craig Bradley Craig Edwin Bradley (born 23 October 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer and first-class cricketer. He is the games record holder at Carlton in the AFL/VFL, and in elite Australian rules football (the AFL/VFL, SANFL and WAFL). Earl ...

, to Carlton, Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy was determined to secure Wanganeen. As he recalled in an interview for '' The Football Record'':

We always knew he was an exciting talent. We had spotted him very early and watched his progress through the Port Adelaide Reserves to the seniors and knew he would make the grade at AFL level. A lot of people told us he would not shift from Adelaide, but I suppose that only made us all the more determined to get him across.

After doing a deal with Melbourne, Essendon secured Wanganeen with Pick number 12 in the 1989 VFL Draft. Wanganeen debuted for the club in 1991, Round 2 in a win against Richmond. He immediately finding a niche as an attacking defender, and his handsome appearance made him popular with female supporters. Essendon came from the clouds in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

to win their 15th VFL/AFL premiership with a team that became known as the 'Baby Bombers'. Wanganeen enjoyed a special year individually, with his fearless attacking approach from defence typical of Essendon's play that season. He would end up winning the first of his five

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led b ...

jumpers, then followed by winning the 1993 Brownlow Medal, polling 18 votes (which included four counts of three votes late in the season) to edge out Carlton's Greg Williams (who would win his second Brownlow the following season), and North Melbourne's

Wayne Carey Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A dual-premiership captain at North Melbou ...

. At 20 years of age, Wanganeen was the youngest winner of the League's best and fairest award since Fitzroy's Denis Ryan in 1936. He was also a key player in South Australia's

State of Origin Carnival Representative matches in Australian rules football are matches between representative teams played under the Australian rules football, Australian rules, most notably of the British colonisation of Australia, colonies and later States and ter ...

Championship, and Essendon's Premiership win that year. In 2002, Wanganeen was voted the 19th best Essendon player of all time in the "Champions of Essendon" list.

Port Adelaide return: 1997–2006

Wanganeen returned to Port Adelaide in

as the club's 59th captain and its inaugural captain in the AFL. He received 11 Brownlow votes for the year, but after his first season injuries conspired to minimise his impact. He relinquished the Port Adelaide captaincy at the end of the

2000 AFL season The 2000 AFL season was the 104th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured six ...

which saw a return to his best form. In 2003 Wanganeen was favourite to once again win the Brownlow (he finished equal second). In 2004 Wanganeen won his second premiership medal in Port's first AFL premiership side. Wanganeen played his 300th AFL game in the 2006 season, but then injured his right knee in a SANFL game for the

, which led him to retire from football. Wanganeen was the first Aboriginal player to play 300 AFL games. He was honoured by the Power by the naming of the best under 21 medal after him, the Gavin Wanganeen Medal.

After football

In 2013, Wanganeen was focused on business interests involving ownership of three

Anytime Fitness Anytime Fitness is a franchise of 24-hour health and fitness clubs that is headquartered in Woodbury, Minnesota, United States. The company operates over 5,000 franchised locations in 50 countries. The gym facilities are open 24 hours a day, 36 ...

centres at

Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...

, Port Adelaide and Essendon. He served as a voluntary ambassador for the Australian branch of the

White Ribbon Campaign The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls. It was formed by a group of pro-feminist men in London, Ontario in November 1991 as a response to the École Polytechni ...

, a men's campaign that tackles

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often con ...

, and participated in the 2013 "Cycling for Culture" event to draw attention to the importance of language and culture to Aboriginal well-being, specifically to attract funds to contributing to the further development of the

Kaurna language Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...

. In 2013, Wanganeen was appointed senior coach of

Pulteney Grammar School Pulteney Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, private day school. Founded in 1847 by members of the Anglican Church, it is the second oldest independent school in South Australia. Its campuses are located on South Terrace ...

's football team. In 2021, Wanganeen competed on '' Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn'' as part of the Brawn tribe. After his tribe lost the immunity challenge on day 7, Wanganeen got voted out, being the third person voted out and placing 22nd.

Art

Wanganeen found a new passion following the closure of his football career and has become an accomplished

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

, with two solo exhibitions by 2018 and much of his artwork decorating his home in suburban Adelaide. In February 2019, Wanganeen was appointed one of three Fringe Ambassadors for the

, where he appeared in conversation with

Holly Ransom Holly Ransom (born 7 February 1990) is a public speaker, author and content curator. She is the founder of Emergent, a leadership consultancy, where she engages and presents to organizations on disruptive strategy. She is also a director of Port ...

for the ''Fringe Talk Show''. His second exhibition, ''Through the Stars'', was part of the

South Australian Living Artists Festival The South Australian Living Artists Festival (SALA, or SALA Festival) is a statewide, open-access visual arts festival which takes place during August in South Australia. SALA features a range of approximately 600 venues including galleries and ...

in Adelaide.

Other

The Gavin Wanganeen Indigenous Scholarship (GWIS) was established at the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

in 2005 to support disadvantaged Indigenous students to complete a university degree. The Gavin Wanganeen Medal, for the Best player under 21, was instituted at PAFC in 2006.

Personal life

Wanganeen has two children, a daughter (Mia) and a son with his first wife, Stephanie Richards. Their son Tex moved to Melbourne in 2020 to board at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. ...

and play for the

Oakleigh Chargers The Oakleigh Chargers is an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at Warrawee Park in Oakleigh, Victoria, representing the southeastern suburban ...

in the NAB League. He also spent time at Essendon's father-son academy. In July 2012, Wanganeen married Pippa Hanson. Together the couple have four daughters. He is the first cousin of AFL players and brothers Aaron and

Alwyn Davey Alwyn Davey, Jr. (born 15 May 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) between 2007 and 2013. Early life Davey is of Indigenous Australian descent with t ...

,Flanagan, M.,
The Davey pacesetters
, ''Real Footy'', 9 May 2007. Retrieved on 9 May 2007. and a third cousin of Rabbit Proof Fence actress

Natasha Wanganeen Natasha Wanganeen is an Aboriginal Australian actress. She is known for her starring role in the 2002 feature film ''Rabbit Proof Fence'', aged 15, and numerous television roles. Her debut film as co-writer and co-producer is the 2022 short fil ...

Football statistics

:Gavin Wanganeen's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 18 , , 12 , , 13 , , 155 , , 89 , , 244 , , 39 , , 38 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 8.6 , , 4.9 , , 13.6 , , 2.2 , , 2.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1992 , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 21 , , 11 , , 17 , , 238 , , 121 , , 359 , , 55 , , 73 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 11.3 , , 5.8 , , 17.1 , , 2.6 , , 3.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" , style="text-align:center;background:#afe6ba;",

† , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 22 , , 5 , , 3 , , 267 , , 146 , , 413 , , 69 , , 30 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 12.1 , , 6.6 , , 18.8 , , 3.1 , , 1.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 22 , , 12 , , 9 , , 286 , , 101 , , 387 , , 82 , , 42 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 13.0 , , 4.6 , , 17.6 , , 3.7 , , 1.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 23 , , 10 , , 10 , , 267 , , 124 , , 391 , , 60 , , 27 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 11.6 , , 5.4 , , 17.0 , , 2.6 , , 1.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1996 , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 21 , , 14 , , 8 , , 242 , , 111 , , 353 , , 64 , , 43 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 11.5 , , 5.3 , , 16.8 , , 3.0 , , 2.0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 1 , , 20 , , 14 , , 6 , , 219 , , 129 , , 348 , , 49 , , 28 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 11.0 , , 6.5 , , 17.4 , , 2.5 , , 1.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 1 , , 15 , , 8 , , 9 , , 176 , , 60 , , 236 , , 52 , , 28 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 11.7 , , 4.0 , , 15.7 , , 3.5 , , 1.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 1 , , 16 , , 5 , , 4 , , 193 , , 92 , , 285 , , 59 , , 15 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.1 , , 5.8 , , 17.8 , , 3.7 , , 0.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 1 , , 10 , , 6 , , 5 , , 120 , , 55 , , 175 , , 36 , , 9 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 12.0 , , 5.5 , , 17.5 , , 3.6 , , 0.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2001 , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 24 , , 41 , , 22 , , 256 , , 109 , , 365 , , 75 , , 26 , , 1.7 , , 0.9 , , 10.7 , , 4.5 , , 15.2 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2002 , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 20 , , 12 , , 7 , , 201 , , 83 , , 284 , , 64 , , 21 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 10.1 , , 4.2 , , 14.2 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2003 , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 25 , , 15 , , 18 , , 433 , , 91 , , 524 , , 161 , , 33 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 17.3 , , 3.6 , , 21.0 , , 6.4 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:center;background:#afe6ba;", 2004† , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 19 , , 24 , , 10 , , 193 , , 103 , , 296 , , 86 , , 17 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 10.2 , , 5.4 , , 15.6 , , 4.5 , , 0.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2005 , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 23 , , 13 , , 8 , , 227 , , 135 , , 362 , , 75 , , 29 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 9.9 , , 5.9 , , 15.7 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2006 , style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 9 , , 9 , , 1 , , 1 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , , 9.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 300 ! 202 ! 149 ! 3473 ! 1558 ! 5031 ! 1027 ! 460 ! 0.7 ! 0.5 ! 11.6 ! 5.2 ! 16.8 ! 3.4 ! 1.5

Football honours and achievements

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia Electoral district of Essendon Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria Essendon railway station Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

Team *

AFL Premiership This page is a complete chronological listing of VFL/AFL premiers. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1990, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. The inaugur ...

(

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

): 1993 *

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy which has been awarded each year since 1951 by the Australian Football League (known prior to 1990 as the Victorian Football League) to the best-performing club in the home-and-away sea ...

(

): 1993 * Pre-Season Cup (

): 1993, 1994 Individual * Champions of Essendon - No. 19 * Essendon F.C. Team of the Century - Back Pocket

Port Adelaide

Team *

( Port Adelaide): 2004 * SANFL Premiership ( Port Adelaide):

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

( Port Adelaide): 2002, 2003, 2004 * Pre-Season Cup ( Port Adelaide): 2001, 2002 Individual * John Cahill Medal (Port Adelaide F.C. Best & Fairest): 2003 * Port Adelaide F.C. Captain: 1997–2000 * Port Adelaide F.C Life Membership Recipient: 2006 * SANFL Rookie of the Year: 1990

Other individual awards

: 1993 *

: 1992, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003 * Michael Tuck Medal: 1993 *Inside Football - Player of the Year:2003 * Deadly Awards - Most Outstanding Achievement in AFL: 2004 *

Indigenous Team of the Century The Indigenous Team of the Century (Australian rules football) was selected to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in the sport. It was announced in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior-level game played by an indig ...

- Half-Back Flank * AFL Life Membership Recipient: 2004

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanganeen, Gavin Australian rules footballers from South Australia Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club Premiership players Port Adelaide Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club Premiership players Brownlow Medal winners All-Australians (AFL) South Australian State of Origin players Champions of Essendon John Cahill Medal winners Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Port Adelaide Magpies players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees 1973 births Living people Artists from South Australia Australian Aboriginal artists Australian Survivor contestants Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Mount Gambier, South Australia