Gavin Wanganeen
Australian rules footballer (born 1973)
title: "Gavin Wanganeen" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["australian-rules-footballers-from-adelaide", "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", "21st-century-indigenous-australian-people", "australian-football-hall-of-fame-inductees", "south-australian-football-hall-of-fame-inductees", "1973-births", "living-people", "21st-century-australian-male-artists", "australian-aboriginal-artists", "vfl/afl-premiership-players", "sportspeople-from-mount-gambier,-south-australia", "artists-from-adelaide", "21st-century-australian-painters", "survivor-(franchise)-contestants", "participants-in-australian-reality-television-series", "kokatha-people"] description: "Australian rules footballer (born 1973)" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Wanganeen" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Australian rules footballer (born 1973) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox AFL biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Gavin Wanganeen |
| fullname | Gavin Adrian Wanganeen |
| nickname | Wanga |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| originalteam | Salisbury North (SAAFL) |
| draftpick | No. 12, 1989 National Draft, |
| position | Utility |
| height | 181 cm |
| weight | 83 kg |
| club1 | (SANFL) |
| years1 | 1990, 2006 |
| games_goals1 | 27 (48) |
| club2 | |
| years2 | 1991–1996 |
| games_goals2 | 127 (64) |
| club3 | |
| years3 | 1997–2006 |
| games_goals3 | 173 (138) |
| games_goalstotal | 327 (250) |
| sooyears1 | 1992–1998 |
| sooteam1 | South Australia |
| soogames_goals1 | 8 (1) |
| statsend | 2005 |
| careerhighlights | *2× AFL Premiership player: (1993, 2004) |
| :: |
| name = Gavin Wanganeen | image = | alt = | caption = | fullname = Gavin Adrian Wanganeen | nickname = Wanga | birth_date = | birth_place = Mount Gambier, South Australia | death_date = | death_place = | originalteam = Salisbury North (SAAFL) | draftpick = No. 12, 1989 National Draft, | position = Utility | height = 181 cm | weight = 83 kg | club1 = (SANFL) | years1 = 1990, 2006 | games_goals1 = 27 (48) | club2 = | years2 = 1991–1996 | games_goals2 = 127 (64) | club3 = | years3 = 1997–2006 | games_goals3 = 173 (138) | games_goalstotal = 327 (250) | sooyears1 = 1992–1998 | sooteam1 = South Australia | soogames_goals1 = 8 (1) | statsend = 2005 | careerhighlights = *2× AFL Premiership player: (1993, 2004)
- SANFL Premiership player: (1990)
- Brownlow Medal: (1993)
- John Cahill Medal: (2003)
- Michael Tuck Medal: (1993)
- Port Adelaide captain: (1997–2000)
- 5× All-Australian team: (1992, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003)
- National Football Carnival Championship (1993)
- Essendon Team of the Century (Back Pocket)
- Champions of Essendon (Number 19)
- Indigenous Team of the Century
- Australian Football Hall of Fame, inducted 2010
- South Australian Football Hall of Fame, inducted 2012
Gavin Adrian Wanganeen (born 18 June 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer and, after retirement, artist. He played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and also for the Port Adelaide Magpies in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). A Brownlow Medal winner and Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee, Wanganeen was appointed Port Adelaide's inaugural captain upon entry into the AFL in 1997 and is the first Indigenous Australian footballer to win the Brownlow Medal and reach the 300-game milestone at senior VFL/AFL level.
Since retirement, Wanganeen has taken up painting, exploring his Kokatha identity in his artwork. He was an ambassador for the Adelaide Fringe in 2019.
Early life and education
Gavin Adrian Wanganeen was born on 18 June 1973 in Mount Gambier to a footballing family; his great-grandfather had played for the local team, Koonibba Football Club, at the Koonibba Mission, near Ceduna, on the west coast of South Australia. His family, who are Kokatha people, moved from Mount Gambier to Port Lincoln for a few years. When Wanganeen was five, they moved again to Salisbury, a northern suburb of Adelaide.
Wanganeen played junior football for Adelaide-based South Australian Amateur Football League 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, one of the youngest ever drafted.
Essendon: 1991–1996
Wanganeen's potential was identified early by Essendon, and after losing another South Australian star, Craig Bradley, to Carlton, Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy was determined to secure Wanganeen. As he recalled in an interview for The Football Record: ::quote 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.
Essendon came from the clouds in 1993 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 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. He was the first Indigenous Australian footballer to win the Brownlow Medal.
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 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 1997 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 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 an SANFL game for the Port Adelaide Magpies, which led him to retire from football. Wanganeen was the first Aboriginal player to play 300 AFL games.
Art
Wanganeen found a new passion following the closure of his football career and has become an accomplished visual artist, with two solo exhibitions by 2018 and much of his artwork decorating his home in suburban Adelaide.
His second exhibition, Through the Stars,
In April 2025, Wanganeeen partnered with Nordic Design Furniture, with his artwork hanging in their showroom on Magill Road, Stepney.
Other activities
In 2013, Wanganeen was appointed senior coach of Pulteney Grammar School's football team. He also had business interests, involving ownership of three Anytime Fitness centres at Modbury, Port Adelaide, and Essendon.
He served as a voluntary ambassador for the Australian branch of the White Ribbon Campaign, a men's campaign that tackles violence against women, 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.
In February 2019, Wanganeen was appointed one of three Fringe Ambassadors for the Adelaide Fringe, where he appeared in conversation with Holly Ransom for the Fringe Talk Show.
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.
In May 2023, it was announced that Wanganeen would be participating in the twentieth series of Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with Megan Wragg.
Recognition and legacy
The Gavin Wanganeen Indigenous Scholarship (GWIS) was established at the University of South Australia 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 first married Stephanie Richards, and they share a daughter and a son, Tex, who is also a footballer.
Wanganeen married Pippa Hanson in July 2012 and they have four daughters together.
Wanganeen is the first cousin of AFL players and brothers Aaron and Alwyn Davey, and a third cousin of Rabbit Proof Fence actress Natasha Wanganeen.
Football statistics
Wanganeen's football statistics between 1991 and 2006 are shown in the table below.
|- | 1991 || || 4 | 18 || 12 || 13 || 155 || 89 || 244 || 39 || 38 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 8.6 || 4.9 || 13.6 || 2.2 || 2.1 |- | 1992 || || 4 | 21 || 11 || 17 || 238 || 121 || 359 || 55 || 73 || 0.5 || 0.8 || 11.3 || 5.8 || 17.1 || 2.6 || 3.5 |- | scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C | 1993# || || 4 | 22 || 5 || 3 || 267 || 146 || 413 || 69 || 30 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 12.1 || 6.6 || 18.8 || 3.1 || 1.4 |- | 1994 || || 4 | 22 || 12 || 9 || 286 || 101 || 387 || 82 || 42 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 13.0 || 4.6 || 17.6 || 3.7 || 1.9 |- | 1995 || || 4 | 23 || 10 || 10 || 267 || 124 || 391 || 60 || 27 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 11.6 || 5.4 || 17.0 || 2.6 || 1.2 |- | 1996 || || 4 | 21 || 14 || 8 || 242 || 111 || 353 || 64 || 43 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 11.5 || 5.3 || 16.8 || 3.0 || 2.0 |- | 1997 || || 1 | 20 || 14 || 6 || 219 || 129 || 348 || 49 || 28 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 11.0 || 6.5 || 17.4 || 2.5 || 1.4 |- | 1998 || || 1 | 15 || 8 || 9 || 176 || 60 || 236 || 52 || 28 || 0.5 || 0.6 || 11.7 || 4.0 || 15.7 || 3.5 || 1.9 |- | 1999 || || 1 | 16 || 5 || 4 || 193 || 92 || 285 || 59 || 15 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 12.1 || 5.8 || 17.8 || 3.7 || 0.9 |- | 2000 || || 1 | 10 || 6 || 5 || 120 || 55 || 175 || 36 || 9 || 0.6 || 0.5 || 12.0 || 5.5 || 17.5 || 3.6 || 0.9 |- | 2001 || || 4 | 24 || 41 || 22 || 256 || 109 || 365 || 75 || 26 || 1.7 || 0.9 || 10.7 || 4.5 || 15.2 || 3.1 || 1.1 |- | 2002 || || 4 | 20 || 12 || 7 || 201 || 83 || 284 || 64 || 21 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 10.1 || 4.2 || 14.2 || 3.2 || 1.1 |- | 2003 || || 4 | 25 || 15 || 18 || 433 || 91 || 524 || 161 || 33 || 0.6 || 0.7 || 17.3 || 3.6 || 21.0 || 6.4 || 1.3 |- | scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C | 2004# || || 4 | 19 || 24 || 10 || 193 || 103 || 296 || 86 || 17 || 1.3 || 0.5 || 10.2 || 5.4 || 15.6 || 4.5 || 0.9 |- | 2005 || || 4 | 23 || 13 || 8 || 227 || 135 || 362 || 75 || 29 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 9.9 || 5.9 || 15.7 || 3.3 || 1.3 |- | 2006 || || 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
::data[format=table]
| Season | Votes |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 7 |
| 1992 | 11 |
| 1993 | 18 |
| 1994 | 6 |
| 1995 | 7 |
| 1996 | 4 |
| 1997 | 11 |
| 1998 | 3 |
| 1999 | 11 |
| 2000 | — |
| 2001 | 4 |
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2003 | 21 |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | — |
| Total | 109 |
| Key: | |
| Green / Bold = Won | |
| Red / Italics = Ineligible | |
| :: |
[[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]]
Team
- AFL Premiership (Essendon): 1993
- McClelland Trophy (Essendon): 1993
- Pre-Season Cup (Essendon): 1993, 1994 Individual
- Champions of Essendon - No. 19
- Essendon F.C. Team of the Century - Back Pocket
[[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide]]
Team
- AFL Premiership (Port Adelaide): 2004
- SANFL Premiership (Port Adelaide): 1990
- McClelland Trophy (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
- Brownlow Medal: 1993
- All-Australian: 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 - Half-Back Flank
- AFL Life Membership Recipient: 2004
References
References
- (18 June 1973). "Gavin Wanganeen".
- Wanganeen, Gavin. (29 June 2013). "Gavin Wanganeen reflects on his indigenous history ahead of the Journey to Recognition march tomorrow". Herald Sun}} {{dead.
- Ralph, Jon. (4 June 2010). "Indigenous superman Gavin Wanganeen blazed a trail". Herald Sun.
- "Sports Card World: Tribute to Gavin Wanganeen".
- The [[1990 SANFL season]] 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]] win kicking two goals.Argent, P. "Now an immortal", ''[[Koori Mail]]'', 16 June 2010, p. 85.
- Main, Jim. (7 September 1991). "The one who didn't get away... WANGANEEN". [[Australian Football League]].
- "AFL Tables - 1993 Brownlow Medal".
- Hobbs, Greg. (25 September 1993). "GAVIN THE GREAT". [[AFL Media]].
- Trantino, Julian. (18 October 2020). "Six facts: Bombers' Brownlow history". [[Essendon Football Club]].
- "AFL - Official Website of the Australian Football League".
- Ayres, Ed. (31 July 2019). "Former AFL star Gavin Wanganeen on his path from footy to painting the stars". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- Byrne, Holly. (22 December 2017). "Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen".
- (27 July 2018). "SALA Artist – Gavin Wanganeen".
- (11 April 2025). "ART on Instagram: "We are thrilled to be partnering with @nordicdesignfurniture an iconic South Australian business, who for over 50 years, have proudly crafted every piece by hand in their Adelaide factory. If you're in town this weekend for the footy, pop in and take a look at my work proudly hanging in their stunning showroom on Magil Road, Stepney. #gavinwanganeenart #nordicdesignfurniture"".
- "Blues News 2013".
- "Gavin Wanganeen | Cycling for Culture".
- Byrne, Jordan. (4 October 2018). "2019 Adelaide Fringe Ambassadors Announced". Glam Digital Pty Ltd.
- (3 October 2018). "Diverse Trio of Artists Announced As 2019 Adelaide Fringe Ambassadors". Wisdom Digital Media.
- Knox, David. (7 June 2021). "Australian Survivor 2021: promo". [[TV Tonight]].
- (28 October 2020). "Best and fairest award winners history".
- (29 August 2009). "Power pair calls it quits". The Advertiser.
- Twomey, Callum. (8 February 2021). "'Tricky' foot injury puts a pause on son of a gun's draft year". [[AFL Media]].
- Gilbertson, Matt. (20 April 2013). "Former Port Adelaide AFL star Gavin Wanganeen and wife Pippa expecting first child". The Advertiser.
- Flanagan, M., "[http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/the-davey-pacesetters/2007/05/08/1178390303113.html The Davey pacesetters] {{Webarchive. link. (27 September 2007 ", ''Real Footy'', 9 May 2007. Retrieved on 9 May 2007.)
- "Gavin Wanganeen".
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