Kim Farmer joins East Perth Board

Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer’s legacy at East Perth will live on with the appointment of Kim Farmer, the daughter of the WAFL and VFL great, as a Director on the club's Board.

Ms Farmer, who is a Noongar woman, brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked in a number of industries, including law (as a Barrister and Solicitor for the Aboriginal Legal Service and as a Sole Legal Practitioner), Native Title and Land Heritage, government, and not-for-profit Aboriginal organisations. She joins the club board as the eighth director. 

East Perth CEO Dean Turner said he was pleased to be able to announce the appointment of Ms Farmer to the Board:

“The club has done a lot of work around how we can better engage with our community and how we can have a better connection to our community,” said Turner.

“Community engagement from a football side is relatively simple because you’ve got players and coaches, and we all know football. The part that is most challenging, but the area where you can make the most difference, is the diversity and inclusion space.

“From a board perspective, we were hoping to engage with Kim so she could work on an advisory committee to provide us with advice on how better to deliver community programs around education, employment, leadership and youth at risk, in particular in the Aboriginal community.” 

Ms Farmer's father, ‘Polly’, played 176 league games for East Perth between 1953-1961. He won seven Fairest and Bests, three premierships and three Sandover Medals with the club before heading east to play in the VFL for Geelong. 

Turner said that the appointment would not only help the club reconnect with its past, but also have long-lasting benefits for the future. 

“Polly is revered as one of our greatest, if not, our greatest player ever. With Kim’s expertise and knowledge in community work, from a family point of view, the Farmer name will never be lost to East Perth.”