3 minute read

Graham "Polly" Farmer has been remembered as a footy legend, loving husband and father and founder of a foundation that changed the lives of Aboriginal youth.

WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT GRAHAM "POLLY" FARMER:

* Friend and fellow sporting great Ken McAullay:

"When Polly went out to play he was on another planet and on a different wavelength to everyone else. He was prepared for war. His intense concentration meant no matter what the opposition said or did ... he was never distracted."

* AFL chairman Gillon McLachlan:

"He was a legend of our game, someone whose ability on the field is without question and someone who had such an influence off the field."

* Daughter Kim Farmer:

"I started to notice that people were approaching dad with a look of love in their eyes on the street and I realised he was very special."

* Son Dean Farmer:

"Dad never took himself too seriously. He was happy to give anyone who wanted to meet him the time of day. There would hardly ever be an outing without someone coming over to talk to him."

* Premier Mark McGowan:

"We have never seen his like before and maybe we never will again."

* Aboriginal affairs minister Ben Wyatt:

"He changed the way Aboriginal people thought about themselves and he changed the way society thought about Aboriginal people. In this regard, Polly was truly a transformational figure."

* Graham "Polly" Farmer Foundation alumni Jolleen Hicks:

"Thank you, Mr Farmer. Rest peacefully and know that unlike many who never achieve their vision, you did it and you did it for us."