Australian football legend, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer is being celebrated at the Geelong Sports Museum.
Presented by the Museum and Bob Gartland OAM, the Museum’s latest exhibition includes artefacts and images from the Bob Gartland collection, and the Polly Farmer Foundation.
Kardinia Park Stadium Trust CEO, Gerard Griffin said:
“Polly Farmer’s name is by far the one we hear most from visitors to Geelong Sports Museum. Our childhood heroes still hold a special place in our hearts, and this is certainly the case for anyone who saw Polly play. This exhibition is a tribute to a man adored by fans who saw him as a friend.”
The exhibition invites visitors to look back into a time when Polly football cards were traded for marbles, Polly posters were plastered on bedroom walls and newspaper clippings were pasted into scrapbooks. Visitors are also invited to share their own stories about Polly on the memory wall.
“Polly joined the Geelong Cats with much hype. He was an incredible footballer in Western Australia and a huge coup for the Cats, helping them to a premiership in 1963. Polly was key to the success of the Cats that year, but it was his influence on the game of football that people remember the most”, Mr Griffin said.
“Polly brought incredible skill to the ruck contest. He is also credited for changing the art of handballing from a defensive move to an offensive weapon. Polly’s handballs were legendary, some say they could travel 30 yards.”
While Polly’s impact on football was significant, his greatest legacy is the Polly Farmer Foundation. Started in 1997 in the Pilbara with 23 students, the Foundation’s Follow the Dream program now empowers more than 3000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at 150 schools across Australia, including Northern Bay College and Western Heights College in Geelong, to succeed at school and achieve their career aspirations.
Kim Farmer, daughter of Polly Farmer and Vice Chair of the Polly Farmer Foundation said:
“I am so proud for dad to be honoured in this exhibition. It celebrates his profound connection with Geelong and the Cats and coincides with the recent establishment of our first Follow the Dream programs in Geelong. We thank Bob Gartland OAM, who with honour and respect, holds dad’s football legacy closely, and we are delighted he shares some of it, for this exhibition.”
