Trevor Raymond Sprigg (10 August 1946 – 17 January 2008) was an Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

from

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, as well as a former football star. Sprigg, a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, was the Liberal Party legislative whip as well as the member for the electorate of Murdoch in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

. Sprigg was elected to his seat in the Western Australian general election in 2005.

Personal life

Sprigg was born in Wagin, Western Australian in 1946 and was widely known as a sports

enthusiast In modern usage, enthusiasm refers to intense enjoyment, interest, or approval expressed by a person. The term is related to playfulness, inventiveness, optimism and high energy. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by G ...

and athlete. He was a lifetime member of the East Fremantle Football Club and played a total of 152 League games for the club. Sprigg also worked at various other football clubs as a coach, chairman of selectors, captain and football manager. For example, he worked for the

West Coast Eagles Football Club The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football L ...

from 1990 to 1992. Sprigg also worked as a consultant to the Western Australian Football Commission during the planning and formation of the

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of Fr ...

. Additionally, Sprigg worked for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, as well as several

radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

and

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

, as a part-time columnist and football commentator. He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000. Sprigg was married and had five children (Sharon, Natalie, Jarrod, Travis and Brett) and seven grandchildren.

Death

Trevor Sprigg died from 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 ma ...

Fremantle Hospital Fremantle Hospital is an Australian public hospital situated on South Terrace in central Fremantle, southwest of Perth, Western Australia. It was formerly the major hospital in its region; however, with the opening of Fiona Stanley Hospi ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

on 17 January 2008 at the age of 61. His heart attack and subsequent death prevented him from attending a partyroom meeting that day which saw

Troy Buswell Troy Raymond Buswell (born 19 March 1966) is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2014, representing the seat of Vasse. He was Treasurer of Western Australia in th ...

replace

Paul Omodei Paul Domenic Omodei (born 26 May 1950), Australian politician, was the leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia from 24 March 2006 until 17 January 2008. Background Omodei was born in Manjimup, a town in ...

as Liberal leader.

References

External links

Trevor Sprigg's MP page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprigg, Trevor 1946 births 2008 deaths People from Fremantle Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia East Fremantle Football Club players William Leitch Medal winners Glenorchy Football Club players Glenorchy Football Club coaches Australian rules football commentators Australian sportsperson-politicians Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People from Wagin, Western Australia East Fremantle Football Club administrators West Coast Eagles administrators 20th-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians