Former Kimba man Trevor Smart had retired from local government and was enjoying it.
That was until the one job came up that he was really interested in – as the South Australian National Football League’s South East community football operations coordinator.
He applied and is now in his second week on the job – the first mainly spent on induction and introductions to undertake the work.
The Eyre Peninsula Advocate caught up with Trevor this week, to talk about his journey from growing up in Kimba to now.
Trevor was born and raised in Kimba to Audrey and the late Rex Smart, where his Dad ran a trucking business.
While two of his brothers are “still in trucks” Trevor’s first job out of school was with Kimba District Council.
However, while most of his life has been spent working in local government – Trevor moved out of it briefly, to work for ETSA in Adelaide.
He then worked for councils in Noarlunga and Western Australia before moving back to the Eyre Peninsula to work for Ceduna District Council in 1998.
Trevor was a keen sportsperson – playing both football and tennis for Waddikee.
He pulled on the boots again at Ceduna, playing for The Blues, as did his three boys and his partner Stacey Holder’s son, then stepping into umpiring.
“Once I finished football, I went umpiring in Ceduna and down here in Mount Gambier for a while.”
It was while Trevor was chief executive officer at Ceduna council that Far West Football League ran into trouble, and it’s administration was taken over by the council – to keep the game going.
“I think we did that for nearly seven years, then we handed it back to the community,” Trevor said.
“I continued as (league) secretary for a bit of stability.
“I was also involved with administration in Waddikee days.”
From Ceduna Trevor and partner Stacey Holder, who he met there, moved to the South East, where he worked for Grant District Council then Naracoorte Lucindale Council.
He retired from the later in February 2025.
Trevor said the SANFL role had similarities with some of the past community roles he had undertaken.
“It is sort of what I have been doing voluntarily over the years,” he said.
“It was one of the few jobs that I was actually going to come out of retirement to do.”
Trevor said he and Stacey had only recently moved back to Mount Gambier, where he had lived while working for Grant District Council, in the surrounding area.
Between them they have five children and “seven grandkids, about to be eight”.
Trevor said he could have done the job from anywhere in the South East, as it involved supporting clubs and leagues there.
He will be responsible for administering the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara, Mid South East Football League, Limestone Coast Football Netball League and Limestone Coast Women’s Football. The SANFL Community Football head Shawn Ford said as well as being chief executive officer from three different regional councils, head run the Far West Football League for a number of years.
Trevor has also provided strategic support to football in the South East, with previous roles including Limestone Coast Regional Football Council chair and Western Border Football League president.
“Trevor’s deep understanding of regional communities and passion for the game make him
a valuable addition to SANFL in the South East region,” Shawn said.
“He has the business acumen and the existing strong ties with the local communities to
continue to grow and steer football in the South East in the right direction.
“Country football is a crucial part of the social fabric of regional communities, and we recognise that leagues and their volunteers require extra resources and support from roles such as this.”
