Bill Dempsey

Career

An indigenous Australian born in Birdum, a railway settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia, Dempsey began his career with the Buffaloes Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League. He played in premiership sides with the club in 1958–59 and 1959–60 before being recruited by West Perth in the WANFL. Dempsey made his WANFL debut in 1960. Playing either as a ruckman or resting in defence – late in 1967 Bob Spargo used him successfully as a substitute for Brian France at centre half-back after the latter suffered a career-ending knee injury – Dempsey became a regular in the West Perth side, winning the Breckler Medal as the club's best and fairest in 1966 and playing in premierships in 1969 and 1971. During most summers, Dempsey returned to play in the NTFL, where he captained Darwin during the 1964–65 season and was a member of the unbeaten premiership side during the 1967–68 season. Dempsey made his debut for Western Australia in an interstate match against Tasmania at Subiaco Oval in June 1963, and went on to play 14 matches for the state, including two matches at the 1972 Australian Championships. Overall, Dempsey played 343 games for West Perth before retiring at the end of the 1976 season.

Dempsey was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in June 1976, for "services to sport", along with teammate Mel Whinnen. In October 2000, he was named in a back pocket in West Perth's Team of the Century. He was an inaugural inductee of the West Australian Football Hall of Fame in March 2004, and in 2010, Dempsey was named as a "Legend" in the inaugural induction into the AFL Northern Territory Hall of Fame. Dempsey was named as a back pocket in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2005. One of the entrance gates at Patersons Stadium is named after Dempsey, and a stand at Arena Joondalup, West Perth's home ground since 1994, is named the Whinnen–Dempsey Stand in honour of the two players' contribution to the club.