Derek Peardon facts for kids

Derek Peardon was an Australian rules football player. He was born on September 24, 1950. He played in the VFL for the Richmond Football Club between 1968 and 1971.

Derek had a challenging start to his life. When he was five years old, he and his sister Annette were separated from their family. They grew up in orphanages in Launceston.

Early Life and Football Talent

Derek Peardon was a very talented athlete from a young age. He was a champion schoolboy footballer. He was also a gifted professional runner. Derek made history as the first Indigenous (Palawa) footballer to play for the Richmond Tigers.

In 1965, Derek was chosen for the All-Australian Schoolboys' team. This showed how skilled he was at football.

Playing for Richmond

Derek Peardon played an important role in several premiership teams for Richmond. A premiership is like winning a championship.

• In 1966, he played in the Richmond Fourths premiership team.
• In 1967, he was part of the Under 19s premiership team.
• In 1971, he helped the Reserves team win their premiership. This was his last game for the club.

During his time at Richmond, Derek played alongside Kevin Sheedy. Sheedy has said that Derek helped him learn more about Indigenous Australia.

Return to Tasmania

After his time with Richmond, Derek Peardon went back to Tasmania in 1972. He continued his football career there.

• He played for City South for six seasons.
• He helped City South win premierships in 1972 and 1974.
• He won two "best and fairest" awards for his club. This award goes to the best player.
• In 1973, he won the "best and fairest" award for the Northern Tasmanian Football Association.
• He represented the NTFA nine times. He also played for Tasmania twice.
• In 1977, he played one season for North Hobart in the Tasmanian Football League.

External links

• Derek Peardon's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Derek Peardon at AustralianFootball.com