David Kantilla

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

David Kantilla
Personal information
Full name David Kantilla
"Amparralamtua" (traditional name)
Date of birth 1938 [1]
Place of birth Bathurst Island, Northern Territory
Date of death 13 June 1978(1978-06-13) (aged 39–40)
Place of death Wurrumiyanga, Northern Territory
Original team(s) St Mary's
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1961–1966 South Adelaide 113 (106)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1966.
Source: AustralianFootball.com

David Kantilla (1938 – 13 June 1978, [2] traditional name Amparralamtua [3] ) was an Australian rules footballer who is recognised as the first Indigenous Australian to play in the South Australian National Football League and the first Tiwi Islander to successfully play in a southern football league. Throughout his footballing career he was known by his 'Anglo' name David Kantilla but also had his tribal name of Amparralamtua.

Contents

Kantilla was born on Bathurst Island. Standing at 196 cm, Kantilla played as a ruckman for a couple of seasons with St Mary's in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) before joining South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club South Adelaide for the 1961 season and had an immediate impact, kicking six goals against Glenelg Football Club on debut and winning the club's best and fairest award in his first two seasons. [4]

Nicknamed "Soapy" following the publication of a photograph showing him lathered in soap in a bath, [4] Kantilla was then moved back into the ruck, becoming a member of South Adelaide's premiership side in 1964 and by the time he left the club at the end of the 1966 season he had played 113 games. [4] During his time in South Australia he represented the state at interstate football on four occasions, in 1964 and 1965. After returning to the Northern Territory, Kantilla captain-coached St Mary's in the 1968/69 NTFL season.

Kantilla's brothers Bertram and Saturninus were members of the inaugural St Mary's team in 1952/53. [3]

In 1978 Kantilla was killed in a car accident at Wurrumiyanga on Bathurst Island. [4]

Honours

In 1997 Kantilla was inducted into the Northern Territory Hall of Champions, the function room at NTFL headquarters at Marrara Oval is named for him, [4] and in 2005 Kantilla was named on the interchange bench in the Indigenous Team of the Century. He is also a member of the South Adelaide Football Club Hall of Fame.

Sources

Related Research Articles

Bathurst Island (Northern Territory)

Bathurst Island is one of the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory off the northern coast of Australia along with Melville Island.

Tiwi Islands

The Tiwi Islands are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, 80 km (50 mi) to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, with a combined area of 8,320 square kilometres (3,212 sq mi).

Dean Rioli is an indigenous former Australian rules football player who spent his whole professional career with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Peter Burgoyne Australian rules footballer, born 1978

Peter Gabriel Burgoyne is a former Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played primarily in midfield and on the half back flank.

Northern Territory Football League

The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Scott Chisholm is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fremantle and Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 1995 and 2000. He played mainly as a half-back flanker and began his football career at St Mary's Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL).

Tiwi Islands Football League

The Tiwi Islands Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia. Australian Rules football is the most popular sport on the Tiwi Islands. The Grand Final of the TIFL is broadcast each year on ABC Northern and more recently, nationally on ABC2 and ABC.

Australian rules football in the Northern Territory

Australian Football in the Northern Territory has a history dating back to the 1910s and is the most popular sport in the territory, particularly with indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands.

Maurice Rioli

Maurice Joseph Rioli was an Australian rules footballer who represented St Mary's Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and Richmond in the Victorian Football League.

Tiwi Bombers Football Club

The Tiwi Bombers Football Club is an Australian rules football club, currently competing in the Northern Territory Football League.

William Brian Dempsey MBE is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Darwin Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) and the West Perth Football Club in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). Dempsey is an inductee of both the AFL Northern Territory and the West Australian Football Halls of Fame. Dempsey's 343 games for West Perth is second only to Mel Whinnen's 371 games as a club record.

Austin Wonaeamirri Australian rules footballer

Austin Wonaeamirri is a professional Australian rules football player of indigenous (Tiwi) origin. He previously played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Hyacinth Tungutalum Australian politician

Hyacinth Gabriel Tungutalum was an Australian politician and the first Indigenous Australian to be elected to a state or territory parliament.

Fly Tiwi

Fly Tiwi is an Australian airline based in Darwin, Northern Territory, offering scheduled passenger services between the Northern Territory capital and communities located on the Tiwi, South Goulburn and Croker islands, as well as a number of remote Arnhem Land communities. The company is wholly owned by the Hardy Aviation group, Australia's largest general aviation company and was founded in 2008 in association with the Tiwi Land Council and now operates over 50 flights per week between 8 destinations.

Brian Stanislaus is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Elkin Reilly was a former Australian rules footballer, representing South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was one of the earlier Australian Aboriginals to play in the VFL.

Benedict John "Benny" Vigona is a former Australian rules footballer best known for playing for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).

The Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1994 to recognise Indigenous Australians that have achieved at the highest level of their chosen sport.

Kitty Kantilla also known as Kutuwalumi Purawarrumpatu was a renowned Aboriginal artist from the Tiwi Islands of the Northern Territory of Australia. She worked in a variety of media, including carved ironwood sculptures, tunga, painting on paper, canvas and prints. Her work is held in collections around Australia.

References

  1. ↑ "Welfare Ordinance 1953-1955" (PDF). Government Gazette. Northern Territory of Australia. 13 May 1957. p. 80.
  2. ↑ "South Tribute To Kantilla". SA Football Budget (17/18 June 1978): 9.
  3. 1 2 Tatz & Tatz, p. 125.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Tiwi Islands Football League, p. 8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.