WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family.

EVERYONE knows who Austin Wonaeamirri is in this neck of the woods, including Anthony Albanese. The Prime Minister recognised him from afar before the Tiwi Islands Football League Grand Final on Bathurst Island last month, then spent 20 minutes locked in conversation with the Melbourne cult figure.

Dressed in a Hawthorn polo and a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers, while being shadowed at a distance by a security detail, Mr Albanese listened intently outside the Patakijiyali Musesum while Wonaeamirri used the opportunity to explain what his people need most in this remote area of the Northern Territory.

Wonaeamirri is revered up here, not just because of how he burst onto the AFL scene seemingly out of nowhere, following in the footsteps of iconic greats from previous generations, but because of the responsibility he now holds as the vice-chairman of the prestigious Tiwi Land Council.

"He's a nice fella, but I made sure we spoke about getting most of the stuff that we're lacking: roads, more housing, overcrowded housing, health system in place, more jobs so we can set our future up within the community. Hopefully he took it on board and hopefully we see outcomes because we need it," Wonaeamirri tells AFL.com.au about his discussion with the Prime Minister. 

Mr Albanese was the first sitting Prime Minister to visit the Tiwi Islands since John Howard in 2001 and, like many who have been to that part of the country, now has a greater appreciation of what Wonaeamirri is doing for his people. 

"Austin has a lot to be proud of. He has achieved a lot in his football career and is now kicking goals for his community. I was impressed by his passion for making a difference and creating opportunities for the next generation," Mr Albanese told AFL.com.au when asked about that interaction on July 19.

"When young children can see someone from their community succeed on the big stage, it shows them what is possible. Creating more opportunities for young First Nations people is good for them, their communities and of course, good for the game."

Wonaeamirri lives in a small community called Milikapiti, also known as Snake Bay. Tiwi is the language spoken here, English is second. It's not easy to get to Snake Bay. From Melbourne, you fly four and half hours north to Darwin, then wait until the next morning for the first of only two flights a day across to the Tiwi Islands. Book in advance, otherwise the eight seats on each flight sell out on Tiwi Air. It takes 35 minutes to fly to Pirlangimpi, also known as Garden Point, where the picturesque, albeit bumpy journey doesn't reveal any inhabitants until you land at a single-strip airport that has been carved out of the middle of a forest. 

From here, passengers disembark, mail and cargo is distributed to two waiting drivers, and then after a quarter of an hour, it's time to get back in the air for the final leg of the journey further across Melville Island to Milikapiti. We are up and down within 10 minutes. Dense green trees and rich red dirt roads border the runway. People are waiting to take your seat on the plane for the return to Darwin. This is the quickest way. The only other flight doesn't depart until 4.25pm. Unlike Garden Point, there isn't a little ticket office, only a bench to wait. And that's where Wonaeamirri is waiting for us. 

Wonaeamirri is now 37, but his grin is unmistakable to any proper footy fan of the late noughties and early 2010s. It is instantly reciprocated by strangers, like it has been since the game that put him on the map when he kicked four goals to inspire Melbourne's biggest comeback victory from 51 points down in the third quarter against Fremantle in 2008. You know the game. 

We drive for 10 minutes to his town. The population in the Tiwi Islands hovers around 3000, but only 400 live in Milikapiti. Food supplies are delivered via boat every Friday. Petrol is replenished only once a week, too. Being so remote means both are far more expensive than most parts of Australia, which is a key reason Wonaeamirri is fighting for fairer rights for his people. They need a voice.

"I've been deputy chair of the Land Council since 2024, but I've been in the Land Council since 2020 as a member. It's been a challenge, but I want do it; I want to help my people; I want to make sure we get outcomes on the islands, get jobs, make sure everything's in place, good systems in place, so we can all live a better life," Wonaeamirri says when we sit down for an extended chat at Milikapiti's home ground.

The Tiwi Land Council is in his blood. His father, Matthew Wonaeamirri, held the esteemed role as chairman on two occasions. His passing in 2010 led to Austin's decision to quit the AFL at 23 after 31 appearances for the Demons and return to his community. Part of the reason AFL.com.au has travelled this far is to discover why someone who made such a sensational splash returned home and never came back. We will get to that later in the day.  

"I look back at Dad and he was chairman twice, so I always wanted to come back and try and do what dad did. You know, if I can do half what dad did in his days, then I'm doing all right," Wonaeamirri says.

Every few minutes we stop, someone comes over to the car to speak to Wonaeamirri. He checks in, makes sure they are OK, then keeps moving. This is another part of his role at home, where he works for BALCOR (Balanced Coordination Support Services), the NDIS provider that supports people living with a disability. 

"I'm a support worker, so I work with guys with mental disability illness. It's a privilege to work for my mob and work with them. I'm learning (by) working at the same time with them, side by side," he explains as he drives around his neighbourhood, pointing out the schools, landmarks and the shop. 

"It makes me a better person because I'm always there to whatever they need as a support worker, helping with the washing, with shopping, anything else they need at home. I'm always there to help, you know, if they're walking on the road, taking them food, taking them out fishing, taking them out on country, get them out basically just to see their smile and just make them happy, check in with them every day. It makes us happy and it makes them happy."

Football has remained central to Wonaeamirri's life since he returned to the Northern Territory in 2011. He has played 182 more games since his last appearance for the Demons, predominantly for the Tiwi Bombers in the NTFL, but more recently for the Jabiru Bombers, where he won a premiership alongside Hawthorn champion Cyril Rioli last year. 'Junior Boy' Rioli texts him across the day we spend together. They go way back. Rioli was born on the Tiwi Islands before his family moved to Darwin when he was eight. He is the son of legendary Northern Territory footballer Cyril jnr and the nephew of the great Maurice Rioli, who was from Melville Island. 

"Footy is so big on the island," Wonaeamirri says. "I help out with the home team over here, the Muluwurri Magpies. I've helped out with the coaching side, trying to develop the young guys."

Unlike across the Beagle Gulf in Darwin or in most rural communities in Victoria or South Australia, there are no gyms here, no access to tailored training programs like most teenage prospects take for granted in Melbourne or Adelaide. There is one football ground. Fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and milk are so expensive from the only store in town that nutrition is fiscally challenging for everyone. 

Aaron Davey was at Melbourne when Wonaeamirri arrived as a 19-year-old and had a major impact on him as an Indigenous leader. He took him in at times and was always there to help guide him through the challenges of not just life in the big time, but life in the big smoke, after a move that not many can adequately comprehend. 

"I think a lot of people tend to forget the stats of actually being drafted - no matter where you're from – but especially where Aussie is from: you have a better chance of winning the lotto," Davey said.

Where Aussie comes from, a remote community like Tiwi Island, you have a slim, slim chance of being drafted. But Aussie was one of those young fellas that was obviously very, very driven."

So how did Wonaeamirri make it? 

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PLAYING one AFL game was always the dream, but Wonaeamirri wasn't expecting to be drafted when Melbourne changed the direction of his life one morning in mid-December 2007. Having moved to Adelaide after finishing school in Darwin, Wonaeamirri played 13 league games for Norwood either side of the under-18 national championships with the Northern Territory. He had adjusted to the major move and was settled in South Australia, signing for two more seasons with the SANFL powerhouse before heading back to Darwin for the Christmas break to stay with close friend Brenton Toy, who is now the CEO of the Tiwi Land Council.

The Crows had been linked to him in the previous months. Redlegs coach Nathan Bassett kept pitching him to his old club. They took a look, but nothing eventuated. Wonaeamirri thought West Coast was interested a week out from the rookie draft. They had sent him a letter expressing their interest, then they called. At least that's what Wonaeamirri thought. When he heard someone sniggering in the background, he worked out one of his mates was playing a prank on him. 

So when Craig Cameron's phone call woke him on the morning of the rookie draft in 2007, Wonaeamirri didn't believe it was Melbourne's recruiting manager, who is now Gold Coast GM after a long and winding career in football that has included stops at Richmond and Greater Western Sydney. He had no idea the Demons were considering him. And he didn't believe they had selected him at pick No.19, even after Cameron put Aaron Davey on the phone to reinforce the point. 

Standing out the front of the home he shares with his partner and three children, where two Melbourne flags fly proudly in the breeze at the front gate in the part of town he calls 'top camp', Wonaeamirri recalls the minutiae from his unique draft experience as if it occurred last year, not almost two decades ago.

"I was in Darwin doing like off-season training and kept training doing my runs, going for bike rides, going for pool sessions, just trying to keep fit. I was at Brenton Toy's house, my good friend, staying at his house for the whole break. We got a phone call on a Tuesday morning for the rookie draft. I was still in bed about 8am with the time difference," he recalls.

"My phone was going mad, right? I was in bed and my phone is just going mad. People just kept calling. I answer and there's a guy from Melbourne. He goes, 'How are you going, Austin? It's Craig Cameron, recruiter from Melbourne Footy Club'. And then I go, 'F off, F off'. You know I thought it was my mate playing another prank. He goes, 'No, no, it's Craig Cameron'. I'm about to hang up. And he's like, I've got Aaron Davey on the line, 'Flash' is on the line. 

"I couldn't swallow. I was like, what's going on? Craig tells me they've just drafted me in the rookie draft. He told me to check the internet. I jump out off the bed straight away. I woke up Brenton up, get the computer out, but it was the old dial-up internet. Then it's finally come up on the website that Melbourne took me. I had to apologise to Craig. I was just excited. I just, I was shaking. Then I got message from all these Melbourne legends welcoming me to the club. I was over the moon. That day changed my life."

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Wonaeamirri made his debut in round three, 2008 against a Geelong side fresh off a premiership and stacked full of current and future all-time greats, including Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood, Tom Hawkins, Matthew Scarlett, Steve Johnson and Gary Ablett jnr, who he ran down in a memorable tackle. He started on the bench then got involved early, before being manned by the imposing Josh Hunt, who shook his hand after a goal, knew he was from the Tiwi Islands and wished him well. That gesture always stuck with him.

We run into his aunty outside the shop at lunchtime. She was there at Kardinia Park for his debut and jumped the fence at quarter-time to walk out to the huddle, just like they do in the Northern Territory – and every other community club in the country – and was confused when security guards started chasing her. She got away and found her way back to her seat with a story to savour decades later. 

Wonaeamirri played Brisbane twice in his first season at the club. Both were memorable for different reasons. He almost missed the first time at the Gabba in just his fourth game in round six, although it wasn't his fault. The elevator was full at the team hotel, so he took the stairs. The problem was the door didn't open from the inside. Wonaeamirri was stuck in the stairwell with no phone reception. The team bus left without him. Finally, a staff member from the hotel heard the banging and let him out. His phone erupted with missed calls and frantic texts when he exited. He made it in time for the game, then kicked three goals in just his third game.

But the second game against Brisbane will stay in his memory forever. That was the day his dad made it to the MCG for the first time. Demons president Jim Stynes brought him onto the ground after the one-point win to celebrate with his son. Austin still looks at that photo on his phone 18 years on. 

"That was very, very special for me because Jim is a legend of the club and a big person for what he did with the footy club. He had a connection with all of us Indigenous players at the club. That was very special for me. I was very lucky to meet Jim," he says.

"When I see the photo with Jimmy and Dad, it makes me very proud and happy that, you know, Dad was at the MCG with Jim. Yeah. They have both passed in the Dreamtime. But you know I always look back at that phone. It's very special to me."

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FOOTBALL became insignificant to Wonaeamirri in an instant on November 15, 2010. That was the day his father died in a car accident in Pirlangimpi. He was living with Davey at the time but out shopping at the supermarket on a Sunday afternoon when his phone started ringing. It wouldn't stop. Unlike the draft moment, he knew this wasn't good news; something was wrong. 

"It's sad because I was talking to Dad the night before; he was at the Tiwi Bombers game in Darwin and was flying back home. Twenty-four hours later he was in a car crash. Now look, it's one of the toughest times, losing Dad, but getting those phone calls at a supermarket, my phone was going mad and I come back from the supermarket in the car and when you see 25 missed calls in 15 minutes, you know definitely something is wrong. So I just took a breath, I grabbed the coffee, and then picked [the phone] up," he says in the most emotional part of our day.

Wonaeamirri was told his father was in a car crash, but not that he had passed at that time. He drove straight to see his 'Melbourne Mum', Cheryl Allan, in Elwood, who taught him in high school and helped him profoundly while he was at the Demons.

"Cheryl played a big part in my life as well. I drove to her and I sat down with her and she set my phone down and we waited for it to ring again. It rang and they just announced that Dad had passed away," he recalled. 

"I just stood there for about a minute, didn't cry, didn't have any tears, I just took a took a step back and could see everything now, you know, like what life is about. That made me realise this is for real, this life is real. It was so hard because I was 21 at the time. I lost my mum when I was 12 years old. So most of the time living with Dad and my brothers, so losing Dad, I thought about life."

Aaron Davey was the first person at the club he told. Then forwards coach Josh Mahoney and senior coach Dean Bailey. Two hours later he was waiting at the airport for a flight to Darwin with Melbourne's welfare manager Ian Flack. Before they boarded, Davey, Matt Whelan and Jamie Bennell all came to the airport to console him. Flack has passed now, but Wonaeamirri has never forgotten that gesture in a moment of trauma. And he will always remember the group of 10 Demons who flew up for the funeral. 

"For them to come up was very, very special to me. It meant so much to me and my family because they experienced my cultural side with the way we have the funeral with the traditional colours and the dancing. They made me feel special. For them to come up, I will always remember that. I'll always respect them for rest of my life. I'm very grateful for the club to do that."

Less than two months later, Wonaeamirri lost a mentor and one of the most integral figures in his life in Maurice Rioli, the Richmond and South Fremantle champion. 

"That was very, very sad," he says. "He was one of the ones that paved the way for us to play AFL footy from the islands. It was another hard thing that I had to go through and we all had to go through in the Tiwis, losing Dad and losing Maurice two months later… it wasn't good from my memory, it was just tough. 

"I lasted 12 months later, played a few games, head was all good, going to training, doing the stuff, doing everything. But it was just afterwards, it was just too hard to stay."

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Melbourne couldn't have done much more to convince Wonaeamirri to resume his AFL career when he was ready. Then-Demons coach Dean Bailey housed him and had a strong relationship with Wonaeamirri, even travelling up to see him. The First Nations players at the club all tried to make it work for Wonaeamirri, but they could comprehend better than others why he felt compelled to return home for his community.

"I definitely understood it, but I obviously tried to talk him out of it because I wanted him to play more, but sometimes you've just got to do what you've got to do and the pull of family is too great for some people," Matt Whelan says recently at AFL House.

"I know any time a player comes from a small community, it's always difficult to leave.  To pursue their dream has to be sort of selfish and probably goes against everything the Aboriginal culture is; it's always about everyone else and the obligations to family and friends, whereas professional sports is a very selfish sort of business."

Whelan played 150 games for the Demons and has remained employed by the club as the Indigenous player development manager, where he is regarded as the best in the business, now helping the Picketts – Kysaiah and Latrelle – navigate life in the AFL in 2026. Davey played 178 times for the Demons. Wonaeamirri knows he could have reached triple figures. He had other opportunities to play AFL elsewhere. Fremantle and Brisbane met with him in 2013 when he was playing in the NEAFL for the NT Thunder but he told them not to waste their time: he wasn't leaving home again. 

"I look back now and then, and I don't, to be honest, I don't regret leaving early. I have no regrets finishing up at age 23. I came back here and I'm settled. I'm proud that I played 30-odd games; all I wanted to do was to play one game, get my name on that on that list with one game. I was lucky enough to play, you know, 30-plus games, and for the Melbourne Footy Club. That is something I'll never ever forget. So no regrets about leaving early," he says. 

"I look back and I cherish all those memories from my time in Melbourne, my time with the fellas and city life. I talk to my son about it sometimes. I show him on Google Maps on the phone, 'this is where Dad lived, this is where Dad played'. I look back at Melbourne now and remember all the sacrifices, all the challenges. 

"Now I've got my partner, I've got kids, the family, a job. There's more to life than footy. Now I'm trying to help my son, my daughter, my kids, other kids coming through and show them if I did it, then you can do it and you can even do much better. I want to help the next one come through from here."

There are only 62 First Nations players on AFL lists in 2026, a sharp decline from 87 in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic. The AFL is determined to improve Indigenous representation at the highest level. The Tiwi Islands have produced so many famous names, including Michael Long, Maurice, Cyril, Dean and Willie Rioli, as well as Ronnie Burns and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti. Is the future bright?

"We’ve still got heaps of work to do, but you can see the talent coming through here in Tiwi," Wonaeamirri says as we leave his town and drive towards Bathurst Island. "There are kids starting to blossom, but its about making sure they have the right people around them. We have to be there to help them along the way. I believe we can get a few Tiwi guys on a list in the next 10 years."

Like Craig Cameron, Ned Guy has worn many hats since Wonaeamirri entered the AFL. He is now the Demons' chief of football and innovation, but he was once Wonaeamirri's manager when Guy worked for Stride Sports Management with Alex McDonald. He was there every step of the way through his client's time at the Demons and still cherishes that connection 15 years after his last game.

"Aussie always brought an enormous amount of energy to the people around him. He has a real ability to make people smile and create a great environment wherever he is," Guy says. 

"I was fortunate enough to manage Austin during his playing career, and one of the great privileges for me was having the opportunity to travel to the Tiwi Islands and see first-hand where he grew up and the community that meant so much to him.

"I love hearing that Aussie is doing so well. He is someone I am very fond of and I know there will be a lot of people from his time at Melbourne who will be really pleased to know that he is thriving."

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Wonaeamirri now doesn't miss a Melbourne game, or many games each weekend, for that matter. He watches Kayo Sports on the front verandah at home. You can guess his favourite players: Kozzy, Nas and Izak. He also loves watching Isaiah Dudley go about his business.

Another First Nations player is mentioned across the day we spent together is someone who will always be connected to him. Liam Jurrah also burst onto the scene from a remote part of the Northern Territory and played 36 games across four seasons before heading back to Alice Springs. Like Wonaeamirri, Jurrah faced complex, challenging circumstances back home and stayed there. He has been in and out of prison, but has always remained in contact with Wonaeamirri. 

"Wherever life takes us, we have a special bond," he says. "We played some games together, not as many as we would have liked, but home brought us both home. We go way back, we represented in the Northern Territory under 16s and 18s. We both come from remote communities: he came from the red desert, I came from the island full of water, so dry country and salt water. We had that connection from back then.

"We lived together in Melbourne and just to help Liam settle and get everything going was special for me. He has been through some tough times, but I'll always be there for him. I think when he has problems, he rings my phone, you know, find my contact number, rings my phone and we have a chat, whether it's over the phone or on Facebook, I'm always here for him."

Wonaeamirri has been back to one Melbourne game since he retired. It didn't take long for fans to spot him outside the MCG and swarm for photos. They love him. They always will. He could have come back this week, he tells me, while we wait for the barge to transport me across a river to catch the ferry for the two-and-a-half-hour journey back to Darwin. 

Brisbane great Darryl White called him last month and told him SEN CEO Craig Hutchison wanted him to play in the Legends Game at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. Wonaeamirri was flattered, but didn't think his career warranted selection, so he declined the invite. 

After a day spent in his company, that decision is symbolic of who he is. Wonaeamirri doesn't realise how much of an impact he had on everyone else because it was never about him. Now it's about representing his people so they can experience some of the adventures his life has afforded him.