Neil Benjamin "Nipper" Trezise (8 February 1931 – 20 August 2006) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who represented in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

and later a politician who represented the Labor Party in the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

. He was of Cornish descent.

Football career

Originally from

Redan, Victoria Redan is an inner suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia immediately south of Ballarat Central. The population at the was 3,000. Its boundaries along Winter Street East, Pleasant Street, Sebastopol Street and Hill Street, on the north side; ...

, Trezise played 185 games for 272 goals between 1949 and 1959 at the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

in the VFL, playing in the 1951 and 1952 premiership sides. Following his retirement in 1959 (a year in which he was Geelong captain), Trezise continued his service to the club, coaching the reserves side, and then becoming club president in 1974. Commonly called "Nipper", Trezise acquired the nickname as a young recruit at Geelong.

Political career

After leaving football, Trezise pursued a political career with the Labor Party. He stood unsuccessfully for the

seat of Geelong in 1961, but won the seat of

Geelong West Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street. At the 2016 c ...

in 1964, and held the seat and its subsequent successor Geelong North until 1992. In 1982 he became Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation (from 1985 just Minister for Sport and Recreation), a portfolio he held until 1992—throughout the entire terms of

Premiers Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

John Cain and

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a mem ...

. Trezise was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to the Victorian Parliament and to sport". His son, Ian Trezise, also entered politics, representing

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

Death

Trezise died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on 20 August 2006, with his funeral held on 24 August.Former Vic Govt minister Trezise dies
''ABC News Online'', 21 August 2006.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trezise, Neil Geelong Football Club players Geelong Football Club Premiership players Geelong Football Club captains Geelong Football Club coaches Redan Football Club players Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian people of Cornish descent Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian rules footballers from Geelong Australian sportsperson-politicians 1931 births 2006 deaths Australian rules footballers from Ballarat 20th-century Australian politicians Members of the Order of Australia Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players

Football career

Political career

Death

See also

References

External links