Thursday, 15 August 2019

 Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (09:47): As a kid I was introduced to the Geelong Football Club, and children tend to find heroes or idols in their sporting codes. My idol was not Billy Goggin. It was not one of the Nankervises. It was Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer—a great man, a great Australian, a great role model and a great Indigenous leader.

Polly was named Polly because as a child he was told at school that because he talked so much he sounded like a Polly parrot, and that is how it stuck. That is how the nickname Polly stayed with Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer. As a child he was moved around various homes and had trouble settling, and he found his passion in football—a passion in football that he took across this nation, where he led people and led communities with his great heart, his great tenacity and his great skill. He perfected the great ruck work and was probably the architect of the best handball we have ever seen in our game of Australian Rules football.

Today I pay tribute to Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer, who passed away yesterday at 84 years of age after having a term of dementia. He leaves behind a family and a loving football community that celebrates what was a great life and what was a great demonstration of what it is like to be a great leader. For what he did for our Indigenous communities around Australia, we pay tribute. Vale, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer.