John Gardiner

John Gardiner, nicknamed “Gadget”, represented Australia at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and the 1970 World Championships. Gardiner represented Newcastle for 15 years, winning 12 senior men’s championships in New South Wales. He was a member of the 1967 NSW team that won the national title. He started out playing for the Dynamo Club and later West Leagues. Although he was only 190 cm (6-3) he played a position similar to a modern-day power forward (#4).

Gardiner became a life member of Newcastle Basketball and Basketball Western Australia, and was the National Basketball League’s inaugural commissioner in 1979, running the competition alongside founding father Dr. John Raschke. Gardiner also coached for over 35 years, including 25 as director of the Perry Lake Hawks in Perth. He helped establish Western Australia’s State Basketball League as a coach, administrator and director on the board of Basketball Western Australia.