The Gardiner Legacy
The name Gardiner is not only synonymous with Basketball in Western Ausralia but Australia wide. Court 1 at Bendat is named after the late John Gardiner and we are very fortunate that the Gardiner legacy is so closely tied to our club and has helped shape it to what it is today. As we celebrate 50 years as a club it is important that all our current Hawkies are aware of the amazing contribution to not only our club , but basketball australia wide of John. John mentored many people from administrators to players and coaches. He always had time for everyone and was never to busy to help or pass on his extensive knowledge.
John’s wife Peta and son’s Heath, Ryan and Aaron have also made huge contributions to the Perry Lakes Hawks, with Peta being awarded Life Membership to the Hawks and son’s Heath, Ryan and Aaron playing SBL for the Hawks with Heath going on to be an SBL championship winning assistant coach.
John was a former Boomer , Basketball WA Board Member and for more than 50 years, John served as a player, coach and administrator at all levels of the game – including junior and senior clubs to State teams, the State Basketball League (SBL), the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), National Basketball League (NBL), Olympics and World Championships.
As a player, John represented the Australian Boomers at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics and 1970 World Men’s Basketball Championships in Yugoslavia. He also represented Newcastle Association for 15 years, winning an incredible 12 NSW titles with Newcastle, as well as representing NSW at the senior level for over a decade – including as a member of the NSW men’s team that won the 1967 Australian Men’s Championships. John is a member of Basketball NSW Hall of Fame
After moving to Western Australia he went on to coach the Perry Lakes Hawks men’s basketball team to five SBL Championships in over 550 SBL game. During his coaching tenure at the Hawks, John also claimed the Men’s SBL Coach of the Year award three times, the most recent being 2008, and was the Hawks Director of Coaching for years. John was inducted into the BWA Hall Fame in 2021.
Son Heath was an SBL player from 1989 – 2000, captaining the team in 1998 and 1999. In 1993 Heath was rewarded with SBL All-Star selection. After he finished playing Heath followed in his fathers footsteps and gave up his time and expertise to coach. Heath was an SBL Assistant coach winning 5 premierships (1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004) also coaching the WABl Division teams at the time to several premierships.
Heath reflected, “When I first starting my playing career at Perry Lakes Hawks, I joined my older brother Aaron who played 75 games for the club. A few years later Ryan gained selection and we played on and off together for the rest of my playing career. Our father John was head coach which meant that we often took the brunt of any loss and his lingering bad mood for the week that followed. Sadly, the three of us never managed to get on court together, the league may not have been able to cope with four Gardiner’s on the court at one time. It was an awesome and at times challenging experience that I look back on fondly especially with Dad coaching. I do recall some heated training sessions when Ryan and I almost came to blows, we trained how we played and took pride in being known as a physical team that played hard. It was this competitive nature that led our club to multiple premierships down the track. I am often told by past players that they used to dread playing us in the season, getting hit multiple times on any cut and knowing that if you entered the keyway, it was at their own risk. My mother Peta soon realised that if she was going to spend any time with her boys, she was going to have to find a place in the Perry Lakes Club. She learned how to do the score bench and joined the magnificent group of women that served the Hawks for many years and became her lifelong friends. My time at Perry Lakes was amongst the happiest years of my life. The friendships that started at the club continue to this day”.
Peta grew up in the country playing and loving basketball. Peta believes this prepared her for my life in the Gardiner family. Peta has made huge contributions to the Hawks at domestic, state and SBL Level volunteering her time and like her husband John, always there with a helping hand when it was required. “As all our 4 boys played basketball, it was a case of “if you can’t beat them, join them’. Consequently, I was involved in many aspects of both the City Beach and Hawks Clubs – from sourcing, sorting, designing or washing uniforms, minute taking at Board meetings, fund-raising for numerous State teams or Club projects, and 30 or so years on the scorebench for junior or senior SBL (now NBL1) games. I enjoyed the friendship of all the other parents in the Club, doing the same things. Perry Lakes Hawks formed an enormous part of our lives, and is something I would never change. I wish all those presently involved with the Club, the greatest success”.
Son Ryan played 210 games for the Hawks and was a member of the 1994 and 2001 Men’s Championship team as their captain. Ryan was also named as point guard in the 25 year MSBL All-Star Team and had success at at the national level playing for the Perth Wildcats. Ryan played 3 seasons for the Cats after debuting at the age of 19. Ryan also worked for the Perth Wildcats later in his career. Ryan has fond memories of his time with the Hawks with his brothers and father. ” I played my first SBL game at 17 years of age. In those days we weren’t allowed to play until we finished High School, but CJ Bruton and myself snuck a couple of late season SBL games late in the season. At this time, I was playing with my brothers Aaron and Heath Gardiner and being coached by my father John. We had such success over so many years, with players who played for the love and not money. My years with the Hawks helped mold the values and work ethic that I hopefully display as an adult both privately and professionally. Being a Perry Lakes Hawks player gave me the opportunities along with, playing for my father John Gardiner, he shaped mine and many players lives over many years as a coach. There are times when having your father as a coach can be viewed in many different ways, but I can honestly say, having the Gardiner name as a surname meant generally you were coached even harder by your father, something I would never wanted to have changed. My brothers Aaron and Heath -we didn’t get the easy path to court time and opportunity for success, it had to be earnt through the way we performed”.
Sadly the Basketball world lost John after a battle with cancer in May 2014. John’s family continue to be involved with basketball with many of his grandchildren now playing WABL. Peta recently assisted us in cutting the 50th Birhtday cake earlier this year and both Peta and Heath will be joining the Hawks at the Gala Dinner on Saturday night as the 50 Year Teams are announced and we induct 4 inugural members into the Hall of Fame. Peta contines to proudly present the NBL1 West John Gardiner MVP each year at our awards night.
Thank you to the Gardiner Family for your magnificent contribution to Basketball and to our Hawks community…….
