View source for Polly Farmer

{{Short description|Australian rules footballer and coach (1935–2019)}}
{{for|the freeway|Graham Farmer Freeway}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name                 = Polly Farmer<br /><small>{{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|MBE}}}}</small>
| image                = Polly Farmer.jpg
| image_size           = 120px
| caption              = Farmer in 1954
| fullname             = Graham Vivian Farmer
| nickname             = Polly
| birth_date           = {{Birth date|1935|3|10|df=y}}
| birth_place          = [[North Fremantle, Western Australia]], Australia
| death_date           = {{Death date and age|2019|08|14|1935|3|10|df=y}}
| death_place          = [[Murdoch, Western Australia]]
| originalteam         = Maddington [[Sunday Football League (1984–2008)|(SSFA)]]
| height               = 191 cm
| weight               = 94 kg
| position             = [[Ruckman (Australian rules football)|Ruckman]]
| currentclub          = 
| guernsey             = 
| years1               = 1953–1961
| club1                = {{WAFL|EP}}
| games_goals1         = 176 (157)
| years2               = 1962–1967
| club2                = {{AFL Gee}}
| games_goals2         = 101 (65)
| years3               = 1968–1971
| club3                = {{WAFL|WP}}
| games_goals3         = {{0}}79 (55)
| games_goalstotal     = 356 (277)
| nationalyears1       = 1968
| nationalteam1        = [[Australian Football World Tour|Australia]]
| nationalgames_goals1 = 
| sooyears1            = 1955–1971
| sooyears2            = 1963–1965
| sooteam1             = [[Western Australia Australian rules football team|Western Australia]]
| sooteam2             = [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]]
| soogames_goals1      = 31 (17)
| soogames_goals2      = 5 (?)
| coachyears1          = 1968–1971
| coachclub1           = {{WAFL|WP}}
| coachgames_wins1     = 91 (60–29–2)
| coachyears2          = 1973–1975
| coachclub2           = {{AFL Gee}}
| coachgames_wins2     = 66 (24–42–0)
| coachyears3          = 1976–1977
| coachclub3           = {{WAFL|EP}}
| coachgames_wins3     = 45 (30–15–0)
| coachyears4          = 1970–1971, 1977
| coachclub4           = [[Western Australia Australian rules football team|Western Australia]]
| coachgames_wins4     = 6 (2–4–0)
| coachgames_winstotal = 208 (116-90-2)
| statsend             = 1971
| repstatsend          = 
| coachstatsend        = 1977
| careerhighlights     = 
'''Club'''
* [[List of VFL/AFL premiers|VFL Premiership player]]: ([[1963 VFL Grand Final|1963]])
*5× [[West Australian Football League|WANFL]] premiership player: ([[1956 WANFL Grand Final|1956]], [[1958 WANFL Grand Final|1958]], [[1959 WANFL Grand Final|1959]], [[1969 WANFL Grand Final|1969]], [[1971 WANFL Grand Final|1971]])
*3× [[Sandover Medal]]: (1956, 1957, 1960)
*2× [[Carji Greeves Medal]]: (1963, 1964)
*7× [[East Perth Football Club|East Perth]] Best and Fairest: (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961)
* [[West Perth Football Club|West Perth]] Best and Fairest: (1969)
*2× [[Simpson Medal]] (grand final): (1959, 1969)
* [[List of Geelong Football Club captains|Geelong captain]]: (1965–1967)
* [[List of GeDDDAA Football Club individual awards and records#Geelong's Team of the Century|Geelong Team of the Century]]
* [[West Perth Football Club#Team of the Century|West Perth Team of the Century]]
* [[East Perth Football Club#Teams of the Century|East Perth Post War Team of the Century]]

'''Representative'''
* [[Tassie Medal]]: (1956)
* [[Interstate matches in Australian rules football#Australian National Football Carnival|National Football Carnival]] Championship: 1961
*3× [[All-Australian team]]: (1956, 1958, 1961)
*2× [[Simpson Medal]] (interstate): (1956, 1961)

'''Overall'''
* [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] – [[Australian Football Hall of Fame#Legends|Legend Status]] (inaugural)
* [[Australian Football League#Team of the Century|AFL Team of the Century]]
* Western Australian Team of the Century – vice-captain
* [[Indigenous Team of the Century]] – captain
}}
'''Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|MBE}} (10 March 1935 {{ndash}} 14 August 2019) was an [[Australian rules football]]er who played for the [[Geelong Football Club]] in the [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]] (VFL) and the [[East Perth Football Club]] and [[West Perth Football Club]] in the [[Western Australian Football League|Western Australian National Football League]] (WANFL).

Born in [[Western Australia]] and of indigenous heritage through his [[Noongar]] mother, Farmer is considered one of the greatest footballers in the game's history; when the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] was established in 1996, Farmer was among the 12 inaugural players given "legend" status.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.afl.com.au/hall-of-fame/legends|title = Hall of Fame Legends}}</ref> He is primarily recognised for the way he revolutionised ruckwork and [[Handball (Australian rules football)|handballing]].

After retiring as a player, Farmer returned to Geelong to become the VFL's first coach of indigenous background,<ref>{{cite news|publisher=theage.com.au|first=Daniel|last=Cherny|date=14 August 2019|url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/graham-polly-farmer-five-reasons-why-he-s-a-legend-20190814-p52h3b.html|title=Graham 'Polly' Farmer: Five reasons why he's a legend}}</ref> and he was also named coach of [[Western Australia Australian rules football team|Western Australia]]'s first [[Interstate matches in Australian rules football#State of origin|State of Origin]] team.

The [[Graham Farmer Freeway]] in his hometown of Perth is named in his honour.

==Early life==
Farmer was born at the Hillcrest Maternity Home in [[North Fremantle]] to an unknown man and 25-year-old [[Noongar]] woman from [[Katanning]] named Eva.<ref name=buti>{{cite news|first=Tony|last=Buti|publisher=watoday.com.au|url=https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/against-all-odds-graham-polly-farmer-sparked-a-football-revolution-20190815-p52ha9.html|title=Against all odds, Graham 'Polly' Farmer sparked a football revolution|date=15 August 2019}}</ref><ref name=pioneer>{{cite news|publisher=theaustralian.com.au|first1=Paige|last1=Taylor|first2=Andrew|last2=Burrell|first3=Victoria|last3=Laurie|title=Indigenous ruck pioneer Graham "Polly" Farmer rose above footy|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/indigenous-ruck-pioneer-rose-above-footy/news-story/94d6a5f6b29794cb2fae68ebba6f34bc|date=15 August 2019}}</ref> At the time of Farmer's birth, Australia was slowly recovering from the [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression]], and [[Auber Octavius Neville|A. O. Neville]] was Western Australia's [[Protector of Aborigines#Western Australia|Chief Protector of Aborigines]]. In December 1936, Farmer was voluntarily placed in the care of [[Katherine Mary Clutterbuck|Sister Kate's]] orphanage in [[Queens Park, Western Australia]], a home for "half-caste" children.<ref name=graham>{{cite news |first=Duncan |last=Graham |title=Polly Farmer – still giving it all to the game |work=[[The Age]] |date=9 September 1994 |page=13}}</ref> Farmer never found out why he had been put there,<ref name=mark>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-14/graham-polly-farmer-rocked-afl-on-and-off-the-field/11414352|title=The power of 'Polly' rocked football and the racist Australia of the 50s and 60s|last=Mark|first=David|date=2019-08-14|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> though it is presumed that Farmer's unmarried mother did not have the means to provide for him.<ref name=buti/>

Nonetheless, Farmer was grateful to Sister Kate's for his upbringing: "If it had not been for Sister Kate's, I would have had an ice block's hope in hell of ever leading a normal life. I owe her and all her dedicated helpers everything – for giving me the chance to make something of myself. I was one of the lucky ones."<ref name="legend">{{cite news |title=The man behind a legend |work=[[Northern Territory News]] |date=26 February 2005 |page=216}}</ref> A bout of [[poliomyelitis]] left Farmer with his left leg shorter than his right leg.<ref name="legend" /> According to Farmer, he was nicknamed "Polly the Parrot" as a six-year-old because people thought he chattered away like a parrot.<ref name="legend" /><ref name="mendez">{{cite news |first=Torrance |last=Mendez |title=Tunnel's a winner for Polly Farmer |work=[[The West Australian]] |date=7 October 1997 |page=3}}</ref> At high school, Farmer was spotted by talent scouts for the East Perth Football Club and joined the team.<ref name="legend" />

==Football career==
===East Perth===
[[File:Polly Farmer for East Perth from The Sunday Times 22 August 1954.png|thumb|Farmer flies high over [[Jack Clarke (footballer, born 1931)|Jack Clarke]] of East Fremantle in 1954]]
Farmer began his top-level career in the [[West Australian Football League]] (WAFL), known then as the West Australian National Football League (WANFL), with the East Perth Football Club in 1953. He played 176 games from 1953 to 1961 with East Perth.<ref name=connolly/> During this time he won the club's fairest and best award seven times<ref name=connolly/> and was a member of their 1956, 1958 and 1959 premiership teams.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eastperthfc.com.au/history/premiership-teams|title=Premiership Teams - East Perth FC|website=East Perth Football Club|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> In 1956, he was awarded a [[Simpson Medal]] for his performance against [[South Australia Australian rules football team|South Australia]] at the [[1956 Perth Carnival|Perth Carnival]] and later was also awarded the [[Tassie Medal]] for being judged best at the carnival overall. He was awarded the WANFL's highest individual honour, the [[Sandover Medal]], in 1956 and 1960.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/East_Perth.htm|title=East Perth – Part One: 1902 to 1960|last=Devaney|first=John|website=Full Points Footy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328054759/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/East_Perth.htm|archive-date=2009-03-28|url-status=usurped|access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> He also tied for the medal in 1957 with [[East Fremantle Football Club|East Fremantle's]] [[Jack Clarke (footballer, born 1931)|Jack Clarke]] but lost on a countback; he was awarded that medal in 1997 when the WAFL awarded [[retrospective]] medals for those who missed out on countbacks. In 1959, he was awarded the [[Simpson Medal]] for being best on ground in the grand final. He was awarded another Simpson Medal in 1961 for his game against [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]] at the [[1961 Brisbane Carnival|Brisbane Carnival]].

===Geelong===
[[File:Hubert Opperman and Graham Farmer 1966.jpg|thumb|right|Farmer in October 1966 as captain of Geelong, shaking hands with government minister and former cycling champion [[Hubert Opperman]] as his teammates look on]]
Farmer had clear ambitions to play football in Victoria, and had attracted interest from Victorian clubs; at the end of 1955 he was signed by the [[Richmond Football Club]] for £200 (as was not uncommon at the time), but the move was blocked by East Perth,<ref>{{cite web|title=Vale 'Polly' Farmer: Footy mourns one of its original Legends|first=Ben|last=Collins|url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/131187/vale-polly-farmer-footy-mourns-one-of-its-original-legends|publisher=afl.com.au|date=14 August 2019}}</ref> and he remained in Perth for the next six years. He was later recruited by [[Bob Davis (Australian rules footballer)|Bob Davis]] to the [[Geelong Football Club]] in [[1962 VFL season|1962]].<ref name=legend/> In the opening moments of his debut for Geelong in 1962, Farmer severely injured a knee, causing ligament damage<ref name=townsend/> and missed the rest of the season.<ref name=connolly/> He returned in [[1963 VFL season|1963]], winning a premiership with Geelong and coming equal-second in the [[Brownlow Medal]] behind [[Bob Skilton]].<ref name=connolly/> Farmer played 101 games for Geelong from 1962 to 1968, won the team's fairest and best award in 1963 and [[1964 VFL season|1964]] and captained the team from [[1965 VFL season|1965]] until [[1967 VFL season|1967]].

On 6 July 1963 he was a member of the Geelong team that were comprehensively and unexpectedly beaten [[1963 VFL season#Round 10|by Fitzroy, 9.13 (67) to 3.13 (31)]] in the [[1963 Miracle Match]].

Farmer practised handballing through car windows at the car yard where he worked and one of his football legacies is changing handballing from a last-resort option to a "dangerous offensive weapon".<ref name=connolly/> According to Geelong player [[Sam Newman]], "without speaking one word he [Farmer] taught me everything I know. I watched how a man overcomes not the physical, not the mental, but the spiritual – that's the most important – he was an absolute star, about one decade, one century ahead of his time".<ref>{{cite news |title=Cats' Tales: The colourful era Polly Farmer (Graham Farmer) |series=Sport |work=[[Geelong Advertiser]] |date=8 June 2006 |page=1-F11}}</ref>

One tactic opposition players tried in order to distract Farmer was racial abuse, but to no avail, as he related to historian Sean Gorman: 
<blockquote>I never took any notice of it. I think anything that was said out on the field was to put people off, but it didn’t break my concentration and when I was called names I’d look at myself and say to myself well I can’t see it. It never worried me. I still was called ‘You boong, you nigger.’ That was understandable because you do anything to try and put people off their game. I didn’t go out of my way to chase people and thump them because they called me a boong.<ref name=buti/></blockquote>

===West Perth===
In 1968, Farmer desired to return home to Western Australia. Although he had trained briefly with East Perth during 1967 as part of a testimonial to retired Royal teammate [[Ted Kilmurray|"Square" Kilmurray]],<ref>"Farmer Arrives", ''[[The West Australian]]'', 29 May 1967, p. 19.</ref> Farmer accepted the role of captain/coach with the [[West Perth Football Club]], rivals to his former club, East Perth. He led West Perth to premierships in 1969 and 1971, both times defeating East Perth in the grand final. In 1969, Farmer received his fourth Simpson Medal during the AFC Championships in [[Adelaide]], and also played his 300th career game during the season.

In 1971, he played his 346th career game in Round 11 (245th in the WANFL) to break David "Dolly" Christy's long-standing elite Australian rules football games record, and also became the first player in elite Australian rules football to play 350 career games. Farmer retired after the Grand Final aged 36,<ref name=graham/> after 79 games with West Perth and a career total of 356 games,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.westperthfc.com.au/news/12015/round-2-preview-v-east-perth|title=Round 2 Preview V East Perth}}</ref> which remained a record until broken by [[Kevin Murray (Australian footballer)|Kevin Murray]] in Round 2 of the 1974 VFL season (Murray retired at the end of that season with 377 games in the VFL and WANFL).

Farmer also played 31 games for Western Australia and five games for Victoria in interstate football, and four International Rules matches on the 1968 Australian Football World Tour (which are counted as senior by the VFL/AFL); if these are included, he played a total of 396 career senior games, which remained a record until broken by Murray in either of Round 12 of 1974 (using the VFL/AFL's totals), Round 13 of 1973 (excluding Farmer's International Rules matches) or Round 17 of 1973 (including Farmer's International Rules matches).

==Non-playing coach==
Not involved in top-level football in 1972, Farmer returned to the VFL as coach of the Geelong Football Club in time for the [[1973 VFL season]]. Shortly after taking up the position, Farmer travelled to Canberra in an attempt to personally persuade [[Manuka Football Club]]'s star rover [[Edney Blackaby]] to join Geelong. Blackaby had signed a Form Four with the Cats, but not even Farmer's star power and a lucrative contract were enough to convince Blackaby to leave Canberra.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110703784 |title=GEELONG COACH FAILS TO ATTRACT BLACKABY |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=47 |issue=13,339 |first=Colin|last=Hibberd|location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=23 January 1973 |accessdate=26 May 2021 |page=22 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><br> 
Farmer's tenure as Geelong coach was generally regarded as a disappointment, with a sixth-placed finish in [[1974 VFL season|1974]] their best result. One issue was that he assumed his players would adhere to all training instructions and be disciplined in their preparation, just as he was in his playing days. He also found it difficult to relate to players who were less naturally gifted.<ref>Cartledge (2013), p.39-40</ref> Farmer and the club's committee had an increasingly strained relationship and Farmer quit in 1975.<ref name=graham/> 
A six-game losing streak in the second half of the season spelled the end of Farmer's time as coach. Geelong ensured that he bowed out on a positive note with a surprise 26-point win over {{AFL Fit}} at VFL Park.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ken|last=Piesse|title=Polly gets lift from young Cats|date=1 September 1975|page=24|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4P0QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P5IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2955%2C131095|publisher=[[The Age]]}}</ref>

Farmer returned to the WANFL, coaching East Perth [[1976 WANFL season|from 1976]] [[1977 WANFL season|to 1977]] with some success and he coached [[Western Australia Australian rules football team|the first Western Australian state of origin team]] in 1977. Farmer was sacked as coach of East Perth in 1977 due to conflict<ref name=graham/> and replaced by [[Barry Cable]] in 1978. Farmer said, "When the going gets tough a club should stick together and fight to beat it. But some people chip and chip at the ground underneath you in trying to find someone to blame. I do my best in football and I have no time to protect my back, so it's left wide open. Maybe that's a lot of my trouble."<ref name=graham/>

==Personal life and death==
In 1956, Farmer met Marlene Gray, a [[Tasmania]]n woman holidaying in Perth. They married in 1957 and had three children: two sons, Brett and Dean, and daughter Kim.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Townsend |title=Polly taking the knock |work=[[The West Australian]] |date=4 July 1998 |page=1}}</ref> In the 1960s, former Geelong player [[Neil Trezise]] approached Farmer about representing the [[Australian Labor Party]] in the seat of [[Division of Corio|Corio]]. Farmer declined.<ref name=graham/>

The couple sold their house in 1992 and ran a two-star Southway Auto Lodge [[motel]] in [[South Perth, Western Australia|South Perth]] until 1998.<ref name=russell>{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Russell |title=Footy legend down and out |work=[[Herald Sun]] |date=18 June 1998 |page=11}}</ref> Farmer said the business failed due to the downturn in the Asian economy and a 40% drop in tourist numbers. It left him with no money or assets. He said, "We have nothing and we are back to square one. But we didn't borrow money to keep the business going. All my life I have helped myself and there is no reason why I can't still do that."<ref name=townsend>{{cite news |first=John |last=Townsend |title=Polly Farmer broke but not beaten |work=[[The West Australian]] |date=17 June 1998 |page=3}}</ref> Farmer and Marlene were given temporary accommodation at the caretaker's flat in the [[Don Aitken Centre|Main Roads building]]. Two fundraising events were organised in Perth and [[Melbourne]] by [[John K. Watts|John Watts]], [[Bob Davis (Australian rules footballer)|Bob Davis]] and Sam Newman,<ref>{{cite news |title= WA – tribute dinners for broke Graham "Polly" Farmer |publisher=Australian Associated Press |date=19 June 1998}}</ref> raising $120,000.<ref name=quartermain>{{cite news |first=Glen |last=Quartermain |title=Polly selling medals |work=[[Sunday Herald Sun]] |date=12 March 2000 |page=9}}</ref> A trust fund was established with the money and a small villa was bought in [[Innaloo]].<ref name=quartermain/>

In 1999, Farmer was diagnosed with [[Alzheimer's disease]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/14/afl-trailblazer-graham-polly-farmer-dies-aged-84|title=Indigenous AFL trailblazer Graham 'Polly' Farmer dies aged 84|work=The Guardian|date=13 August 2019}}</ref> but it was not until 2012 that his wife Marlene, who was battling breast cancer, decided to reveal it publicly.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=perthnow.com.au|first=Peter|last=Sweeney|title=My beautiful man in his bravest fight|url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/my-beautiful-man-in-his-bravest-fight-ng-dcbea9fea7df11047107fe8d31448e67|date=25 March 2012}}</ref> He died at the [[Fiona Stanley Hospital]] on 14 August 2019, aged 84.<ref name=connolly>{{cite news |first=Rohan |last=Connolly |title=Polly Farmer No. 5 The Legends' 50 greatest |work=[[The Age]] |date=1 July 2008 |page=7}}</ref><ref name="Butler">{{cite news |last1=Butler |first1=Steve |title=Aussie rules great Graham 'Polly' Farmer dies aged 84 at Fiona Stanley Hospital |url=https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/aussie-rules-great-graham-polly-farmer-dies-aged-84-at-fiona-stanley-hospital-ng-b881291392z |access-date=14 August 2019 |work=The West Australian |date=14 August 2019}}</ref> He was given a [[state funeral]], held at [[Perth Stadium]], on 26 August.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-26/afl-legend-graham-polly-farmer-farewelled-at-state-funeral/11447908|title=Graham 'Polly' Farmer's state funeral attended by some of the biggest names in AFL and politics|author=James Carmody|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=26 August 2019|access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref> He was survived by his three children,<ref>{{cite news|publisher=theguardian.com|first=Sean|last=Gorman|title=Polly Farmer: the chatty kid who changed Australian rules football|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/14/polly-farmer-obituary-chatty-kid-who-changed-game|date=14 August 2019}}</ref> his wife Marlene having died in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Polly Farmer's 'soulmate'|date=20 February 2015|url=https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/polly-farmers-soulmate-ng-ya-385835|publisher=thewest.com.au|first=Liam|last=Croy}}</ref>

After his death, Farmer's brain was donated to the [[Australian Sports Brain Bank]]. A study of his brain by researchers at the bank identified [[chronic traumatic encephalopathy]].<ref name="CTE">{{cite news |last1=Carlisle |first1=Wendy |last2=Colangelo |first2=Anthony |title=CTE discovered in Polly Farmer's brain in AFL-first |url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/cte-discovered-in-polly-farmer-s-brain-in-landmark-afl-first-20200226-p544oq.html |access-date=27 February 2020 |work=The Age |publisher=Fairfax Media |date=26 February 2020}}</ref> Farmer is the first former VFL/AFL player to be diagnosed with the condition.

==Legacy==
[[Image:WAY 1979-1971 smc.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[St Georges Terrace]] bronze tablet]]
In 1971, Farmer became the first Australian footballer to receive a [[Chivalric order|Queen's honour]] when he was named a Member of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[1971 New Year Honours|New Year honours list]].<ref>{{Cite It's an Honour |ausawardid=1085076 |recipient=Mr Graham FARMER |award=The Order of the British Empire - Member (Civil) (Imperial) |postnominal=MBE |citation=In recognition of service to the sport of Australian Rules football |access-date=26 May 2021 }}</ref> Farmer's name was included in the [[WAY 79#St Georges Terrace plaques|150 bronze tablets]] set into the footpath along [[St Georges Terrace]] that commemorate notable figures in Western Australia's history, as part of the [[WAY 1979]] celebrations. He was inducted into the [[Sport Australia Hall of Fame]] in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/graham-polly-farmer/|title=Graham 'Polly' Farmer|publisher=Sport Australia Hall of Fame|access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref>

In 1994, Steve Hawke, author and son of former prime minister [[Bob Hawke]], met with Farmer to discuss writing his biography. In return, Farmer asked for Hawke's help to create the Polly Farmer Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting indigenous children in their sporting and academic endeavours. Farmer explained, "I want the foundation to be of practical assistance to young Aboriginal people with potential to do something with their lives&nbsp;… Not just sport, but in the professions and business. We want to develop links with the tertiary institutions and make sure Aboriginal people become leaders."<ref name=graham/> Hawke enlisted the help of recently retired federal politicians [[Ron Edwards (Australian politician)|Ron Edwards]] and [[Fred Chaney]] to establish the foundation, and was joined by Sir [[Ronald Wilson]], a former High Court judge; and Greg Durham, chief executive of the Geelong Football Club.

On 6 October 1997, Western Australian Transport Minister [[Eric Charlton]] announced that the $400&nbsp;m Northern City Bypass would be named the [[Graham Farmer Freeway]]. Charlton said, "He already has a place in WA sporting folklore and it is fitting that a showpiece of the city's transport network should bear his name… The northern traffic bypass system links West Perth and East Perth which are, coincidentally, the two districts which Graham Farmer represented with distinction on the football arena".<ref name=mendez/>

He was inducted into the inaugural [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] in 1996 as one of the twelve official "Legends"<ref name=legend/> and then into the [[West Australian Football Hall of Fame]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ray |last=Wilson |title= The eight legends who rose above the pack |work=[[The West Australian]] |date=8 March 2005 |page=2}}</ref> He has been nominated as the first ruckman in every Team of the Century for each of the two leagues and three clubs for which he participated, plus the [[Indigenous Team of the Century]], in which he was the captain.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Reed |title=AFL's Aboriginal stars of century honoured Indigenous team of past 100 years |work=[[The West Australian]] |date=2 August 2005 |page=65}}</ref> In 2008, Farmer was named at number 5 in ''[[The Age]]''{{'}}s top football players of all time.<ref name=connolly/> Farmer is depicted contesting a boundary throw-in with Carlton ruckman [[John Nicholls (footballer)|John Nicholls]] (the other ruckman in the AFL Team of the Century) in Jamie Cooper's painting ''The Game That Made Australia'', commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.<ref>Australian Football League, [http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/150MomentsArticle/tabid/11382/Default.aspx?newsId=55972 The Game That Made Australia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419120046/http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/150MomentsArticle/tabid/11382/Default.aspx?newsId=55972 |date=19 April 2013 }}, Retrieved 19 September 2010</ref>

Farmer is also depicted in the rare 1963 Scanlens football card series, which, due to production problems during the printing process, is now considered one of the rarest and most valuable trading cards in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-interact.com.au/cardtrader/#polly|title=Where's Polly?}}</ref>

Upon Farmer's death, tributes came flowing in from his contemporaries. Carlton legend [[John Nicholls (footballer)|John Nicholls]], whose ruck rivalry with Farmer was compulsory viewing for football fans in the 1960s, reflected fondly on their on-field contests and enduring friendship:

<blockquote>As a person, ‘Polly’ was a good man. He has been a friend of mine for the best part of 60 years. As a player he was talked about as ahead of his time . . . and he was a freak. ‘Polly’ and I probably played against each other 15 or 20 times. In all those times I can honestly say I don’t think he ever beat me - but then again, I don’t think I beat him either. We probably nullified each other.
At ruck contests the pair of us used to take two or three steps - never a long run. At centre bounces he jumped early and umpires like Jeff Crouch used to let him get away with it. I gave away height to ‘Polly’ and I realized that if I jumped at the same time as him I was gone, so I jumped into him early, body on body, and I was successful at it because I had a good spring. [...] He was one of the first to really perfect the art of handballing. He was very good at it. He was a brilliant footballer, I learnt a lot from him, he made me a better player and I respected him. He was a good friend of mine, a very good friend.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=carltonfc.com.au|title=Big Nick pays tribute to the late 'Polly' Farmer|date=14 August 2019|first=Tony|last=De Bolfo|url=https://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/66066/big-nick-pays-tribute-to-the-late-polly-farmer}}</ref></blockquote>

Fellow Western Australian indigenous football legend [[Barry Cable]], whose career overlapped with Farmer, reflected on his unique style of ruck play:

<blockquote>I don’t think there’s any doubt he was the greatest ruckman in Aussie rules – he led the way in that area, he had a very unique game. People say he changed the style of ruckman but I feel he was the only one who could do what he could do. He had a special game and ruck play all of his own, and no one has ever been able to follow it. There was no one who did it before him and no one’s ever done it after him.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=watoday.com.au|url=https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/afl/he-had-his-own-game-afl-legends-reflect-on-why-polly-was-the-best-20190814-p52h23.html|first=David|last=Prestipino|title='He had his own game': AFL legends reflect on why Polly was the best|date=14 August 2019}}</ref></blockquote>

On behalf of the AFL, chief executive [[Gillon McLachlan]] issued this statement:

<blockquote>When discussing ruckmen, every player who saw him play or took the field against him, deferred to Polly. Our game has always started in the centre square, with a contest between two big men, and Polly was the greatest of all the big men who seek to set the standard of competitiveness for their teams, lead from the front at every contest and compel their teammates to match their skills and commitment in the pursuit of victory. Beyond football, as a proud Noongar man, he was a leader for the Aboriginal community and his standing in the game and in society enabled his people to believe that they too could reach the peaks and achieve their best potential. He laid the path for so many great footballers from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to come into the elite levels of the game and showcase their skills. At every point of his career, his teams found success on the field, thanks largely to his dominance that built a record that few players could ever hope to match.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=3aw.com.au|title=Tributes flow for AFL/VFL legend Graham 'Polly' Farmer|newspaper=3Aw |date=14 August 2019|url=https://www.3aw.com.au/tributes-flow-for-afl-vfl-legend-graham-polly-farmer/}}</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
* [[1963 Miracle Match]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|first=Elliot|last=Cartledge|title=Footy's Glory Days : The greatest era of the greatest game|year=2013|publisher=Hardie Grant Books|location=[[Richmond, Victoria]]|isbn=9781742705880}}
*{{cite book|first=Steve|last=Hawke|title=Polly Farmer|year=2014|edition=2nd|publisher=The Slattery Media Group|isbn=9780992363154}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*{{AFL Tables}}
*{{AFL Tables coach ID}}
*{{AustralianFootball}}
*{{WAFL FootyFacts}}
*[http://www.pff.com.au Polly Farmer Foundation webpage]

{{Australian Football Hall of Fame Legends}}
{{1963 Geelong premiership players}}
{{Geelong Football Club captains}}
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{{AFL Team of the Century}}
{{Geelong Team of the Century}}
{{Carji Greeves Medal}}
{{VFL/AFL club best and fairest winners in premiership years}}
{{West Perth Football Club Team of the Century}}
{{WA State of Origin coaches}}
{{Sandover Medal winners}}
{{Tassie Medal winners}}
{{Simpson Medal winners}}
{{1956 All-Australian team}}
{{1958 All-Australian team}}
{{1961 All-Australian team}}
{{AFL Indigenous Team of the Century}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Polly}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
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