The Clontarf Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that assists in the education and employment of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.

Overview

With support from the corporate/philanthropic sector, state/Territory governments and the Federal Government, academies now operate in 158 schools in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The founder and Chief Executive Officer is

Gerard Neesham Gerard Joseph Neesham (born 11 December 1954) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the East Fremantle Football Club, Swan Districts Football Club and Clare ...

, former coach of

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers or colloquially Freo, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represen ...

. Staff include former teachers, youth workers, professional football players and people from a range of industries. The original Clontarf Football Academy was established in 2000 at the

Clontarf Aboriginal College Clontarf Aboriginal College is a co-educational Aboriginal college for indigenous youth aged between 15 and 18 years, located in the Perth suburb of Waterford in Western Australia. Since 2000 the college has also been the centre for the Clontarf ...

site in

Waterford, Western Australia Waterford is a small riverside suburb of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. Its local government area is the City of South Perth. Waterford is situated on the Canning River. History Originally part of the suburb of Karawara, th ...

. Since then, Clontarf academies have expanded to the Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Locations

Academies now operate in the following locations: Western Australia – * Broome Senior High School *

Carnarvon Community College Carnarvon Community College is a government comprehensive early learning, primary, and secondary school, located in Carnarvon, a regional centre in the Gascoyne region, north-west of Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1954, the Coll ...

* Cecil Andrews College *

Champion Bay Senior High School Champion Bay Senior High School (previously John Willcock College) is a comprehensive public co-educational middle day school, located in Karloo, a suburb of Geraldton, a regional centre north west of Perth, Western Australia. Overview The ...

* Coodanup College *

Derby District High School Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area on the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original county town. As a unitary authority, Derby is administratively independent from Derbyshire Coun ...

* East Kimberley College *

Eastern Goldfields College Eastern Goldfields College is a Public school (government funded), public Mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary education#Australia, high day school, located in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It is located on the Curtin University of Tec ...

* Esperance Senior High School * Fitzroy Valley District High School * Fremantle College * Geraldton Senior College * Gilmore College *

Girrawheen Senior High School Girrawheen Senior High School is an independent public co-educational high day school, located in the Perth suburb of Girrawheen, Western Australia. Overview Girrawheen Senior High School opened in 1974. In 2008, Girrawheen Senior High Scho ...

* Halls Creek District High School *

Hedland Senior High School Hedland Senior High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high day school, located in South Hedland, Western Australia. Overview The school was established in 1964 as a junior high school but became a high school in 1970 and a seni ...

Kalgoorlie–Boulder Community High School Kalgoorlie–Boulder Community High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high day school, located in Kalgoorlie, a regional centre located in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. Along with Eastern Goldfields College ...

* Karratha Senior High School * Katanning Senior High School *

Newton Moore Senior High School Newton Moore Senior High School is a comprehensive independent public co-educational high day school, located in South Bunbury, a suburb of Bunbury, south of Perth, Western Australia. Overview The school was established in 1966 and by 202 ...

* North Albany Senior High School *

Northam Senior High School Northam Senior High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high school, located in Northam, a regional centre in the Wheatbelt region, east of Perth, Western Australia. History The school was established in 1921 and by 2020 had an ...

Sevenoaks Senior College Sevenoaks Senior College is a comprehensive public co-educational high day school, located in Cannington, southeast of Perth, Western Australia, close to the Cannington railway station. Opened in 2001, the school is a senior secondary campus ...

* Swan View Senior High School *

Yule Brook College Yule Brook College is a public co-educational middle day school, located on Dellar Road in Maddington, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Overview The college was initially established in 1978 as Maddington Senior High School, and renam ...

Northern Territory - * Alice Springs
Centralian
* Alice Springs –

Yirara College Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin and Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (), wife of the te ...

Yirara
/ref> * Darwin �
Dripstone
* Darwin - Nightcliff * Darwin
Rosebery
* Darwin �
Palmerston
* Darwin �
Casuarina
* Darwin
Sanderson

Katherine

Yirrkala

Tennant Creek

Gunbalanya

Jabiru
Victoria - * Bairnsdale * Mildura * Robinvale * Swan Hill *

Warrnambool College Warrnambool College is a government high school (years 7–12) in the regional town of Warrnambool in south-west Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest st ...

Queensland - * Barambah * Bentley Park (Cairns) * Cairns * Dalby * Goondiwindi * Gordonvale (Cairns) * Gold Coast (PBC) * Harristown (Toowoomba) * Heatley (Townsville) * Kingaroy * Kirwan (Townsville) * Thuringowa (Townsville) * Toowoomba * Townsville * Trinity Bay (Cairns) * Warwick * Woree (Cairns) * Wilsonton (Toowoomba) * Yarrabah (Cairns) New South Wales - * Airds (Campbelltown) * Bidwill (Mount Druitt) * Bourke * Brewarrina * Broken Hill * Chatham (Taree) * Conobolas (Orange) * Chifley Senior (Mount Druitt) * Coonamble * Cranebrook (Penrith) * Delroy (Dubbo) * Dubbo Senior (Dubbo) * Dubbo South (Dubbo) * Dunheved (Mount Druitt) * Elizabeth Macarthur (Campbelltown) * Endeavour (Caringbah) * Griffith * Hunter River (Newcastle) * Inverell * Irrawang (Newcastle) * Kanahooka (Wollongong) * Karabar (Queanbeyan) * Kempsey * Lake Illawarra (Wollongong) * Matraville (Sydney) * Melville (Kempsey) * Moree * Moruya * Mount Austin (Wagga Wagga) * Mount Druitt * Narrabri * Narrandera * Narromine * Newcastle * Orara (Coffs Harbour) * Oxley (Tamworth) * Port Macquarie * Quirindi * Shalvey (Mount Druitt) * Shoalhaven (Nowra) * Singleton * Tumut * Vincentia * Wade (Griffith) * Wellington South Australia - * Ocean View (Adelaide) * Paralowie (Adelaide) * Port Augusta * Port Lincoln * Salisbury (Adelaide) * Whyalla

Sporting stars

Some of the Clontarf students who have gone on to play football at a professional level include Mark Williams,

Dion Woods Dion Woods (born 25 January 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for Fremantle in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 2001 and 2005. Woods was drafted from Perth in the West Australian Football League ...

Andrew Krakouer Andrew James Krakouer (4 February 1983 – 30 March 2025) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Krakouer was born in Melb ...

, Michael Johnson, Lewis Jetta, Chris Yarran,

Patrick Ryder Patrick Ryder (born 14 March 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the , and St Kilda Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ryder was noted for his speed, agility and leap for someone of his size and i ...

, Joel Hamling and Sam Petrovski-Seton.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Clontarf Foundation website
Foundations based in Australia Indigenous Australian education Organisations serving Indigenous Australians