Gary Ella

Gary Ella is a proud Yuin and Bidjigal man whose influence spans elite sport, community leadership and Aboriginal advocacy. Raised in a large family of 12 children, Gary grew up in the tight-knit La Perouse community, where daily life was full of outdoor play. He recalled that the games they played were fast, improvised matches of touch-and-tackle on the streets “You didn’t want to get tackled on the road, so we’d pass the ball really quickly. That’s where our skills came from.” These early experiences shaped the instinctive speed and handling that later defined the Ella brothers’ rugby careers.

Gary first rose to national prominence as part of the undefeated 1977–78 Australian Schools “Invincibles.” Playing for Randwick from 1978, he contributed to five consecutive premierships, before earning six caps for the Wallabies between 1982 and 1988 as a centre.

Outside rugby, Gary has devoted decades to public service and community development. Beginning with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1986, he worked across health, employment and infrastructure programs in rural NSW. He later led Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Gary has coached at all levels including Randwick, the Waratahs, Leinster and the Australian U19s and continues to mentor youth through the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team and the First People Project. Since 2015 he has served as Community Development Coordinator for Randwick City Council, supporting local Aboriginal and multicultural communities.