Ted Lovett

Ted Lovett is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League.
Lovett played two games for Fitzroy in the 1963 VFL season, on a permit, and a further seven in 1964. He finished the 1963 season back at North Ballarat and won the first of two Henderson Medal, the other coming in 1965. He is an Indigenous Australian.

Early life

Lovett is the son of Alf Egan, the first Indigenous player for the Carlton Football Club, and Gertie, of the Gunditjmara tribe. He grew up in Fitzroy, Victoria, and was made a ward of the state against his family wishes. He attended school until Grade 5. In 1955, at age 14, Ted and his non-Aboriginal friend of the same age went to Mildura to go fruit picking, but they were picked up by the police and locked up. The non-Aboriginal boy's parents were notified and told to collect him, however, Ted's mother was not notified. Ted commented:

Community service

In the 1970s Lovett worked for Aboriginal Affairs. He played a key role in setting up the Ballarat and District [Aboriginal Cooperative], which specialises in Aboriginal health, welfare and community development. He also worked with eye doctor Fred Hollows.
In 2017, Lovett was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to the Indigenous community in south-west Victoria.