Leslie Jack Twentyman (3 February 1948 – 30 March 2024) was an Australian youth outreach worker and community activist. Raised in

Braybrook, Victoria Braybrook is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong Local government areas of Victoria ...

, he was a football player and coach, before becoming a social worker in the

City of Sunshine The City of Sunshine was a Local government in Australia, local government area about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994. History ...

. He was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in 1994 and

Victorian of the Year The Victorian of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding Victorian in any given year. The Victorian of the Year is awarded in Melbourne by the Victoria Day Council as part of Victoria Day celebrations on 1 July annually. The Victori ...

in 2004 for his outreach work. Twentyman also was an independent candidate for the Victorian Legislative Council in 1992 and 1996, and in the 2008 Kororoit state by-election. He was one of Victoria's best-known social campaigners on issues ranging from homelessness, drug abuse, prison reform, and welfare.

Early life and football career

Twentyman was born in 1948 in the western suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and was raised in

. His parents were owners of a fruit shop, and Twentyman was the oldest of five children. He was described as a "talented" football player. Twentyman began his playing career in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

when he captained the under-19s side in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. He played for the Williamstown reserves side in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, he captained

Yarraville Yarraville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Yarraville recorded a population of 15,636 at the . Yarraville i ...

to a Division 2 reserves premiership. He later coached the senior side in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Social work

Twentyman's rise to prominence as a social campaigner began in 1989. In 1984, he was employed as a social worker by the

. In 1989, he created a portion of the Save the Dogs committee, after a potential merge between the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

and Fitzroy, which did not occur as a result. In the same year, he formed the Les Twentyman Foundation, which helped nearly 17,000 students stay in education as of 2024. Notably, the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

donated to the foundation as well. In 2009, Les started working on the 20thMan Fund, assisting in youth services in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Twentyman was awarded the

(OAM) in the

1994 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday. Publication dates vary from year to year. Most are published in supplements to the ''London Gazette'' and many are formally conferred by the monarch (o ...

, "for service to youth as an outreach worker and as founder of the 20th Man Homeless and Kids in Distress Fund"; he was a finalist for

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

in 2004, and was named

in 2006. He was known as one of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

's best known social campaigners, on issues including homelessness, drug abuse, prison reform, and social welfare. Twentyman was an independent candidate for the Victorian Legislative Council in 1992 and 1996. He also stood in the 2008 Kororoit by-election for the Victorian Legislative Assembly on 28 June 2008, coming in third behind the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and Liberal parties as an Independent candidate. His campaign had been supported by the Electrical Trades Union and was managed by former independent MP

Phil Cleary Philip Ronald Cleary (born 8 December 1952) is an Australian political and sport commentator. He is a former Australian rules footballer who played 205 games at the Coburg Football Club, before serving as the member for Division of Wills, Wills ...

. Twentyman wrote an autobiography, ''The Les Twentyman Story'', which was published by Hardie Grant in 2000. On 30 March 2024, Twentyman died at the age of 76. Afterwards, the Victorian government's offer of a state funeral for Twentyman was accepted by his family, and it was held on April 16th at St Patrick's Cathedral, East Melbourne.

References

External links

Les Twentyman Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twentyman, Les 1948 births 2024 deaths Australian social workers Activists from Melbourne Australian autobiographers Yarraville Football Club coaches Williamstown Football Club players Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia People from Braybrook, Victoria