Garth "Gar" Burkett (21 March 1927 – 3 August 2012) was a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) between 1944 and 1954.[1]
| Garth Burkett | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Garth Burkett | ||
| Date of birth | (1927-03-21)21 March 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Keswick, South Australia | ||
| Date of death | 3 August 2012(2012-08-03) (aged 85) | ||
| Original team(s) | West Colts | ||
| Position(s) | Centre | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1944 | West Adelaide-Glenelg | ||
| 1945-1954 | West Adelaide | ||
| Total | 92 (11) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1947, 1954 | South Australia | 4 (?) | |
| 1949-50 | New South Wales | 3 (?) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1954. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
Burkett shifted around a number of clubs over his career. Part-way through the 1944 season with West Colts, he shifted to Kelvinator in the South Australian Amateur Football League. He then joined the West Adelaide-Glenelg combined team for the final two games of the season, remaining with West Adelaide in 1945 and cementing his spot in the league team with back-to-back Best and Fairests (1945-46), and representing South Australia at the 1947 Hobart Carnival.
In 1949, Burkett was appointed Captain-Coach of West Broken Hill in the Broken Hill Football League,[2] a position he held for three seasons, leading them to the premiership in 1949 and winning the Broken Hill League's Middleton Medal the same year.[3] In each of the three seasons, Burkett won the West Broken Hill Best and Fairest,[4] and represented the Broken Hill Football League, and New South Wales on multiple occasions, including the 1950 Brisbane Carnival.[5][6]
In 1952, Burkett returned to South Australia and joined the Stansbury Football Club, who later that season were involved in controversy when they played an unapproved game against a combined Yorke Peninsula Football Association team in Moonta, South Australia, resulting in the club being suspended for the remainder of the Southern Yorke Peninsula Football Association season.[7]
Burkett returned to West Adelaide in 1954 and once again represented South Australia. In 1956, Burkett was appointed Captain-Coach of the Myponga Football Club, leading them to the Southern Football Association premiership in 1957.[6]
South Australian team – 1947 Interstate Carnival | |
|---|---|
South Australia 20.18 (138) d Western Australia 15.12 (102) Victoria 18.19 (127) defeated South Australia 7.9 (51) | |