Michael Mansell

Mansell is partly of Palawa descent from the Trawlwoolway group on his mother's side and from the Pinterrairer group on his father's side, both of which are Indigenous groups from north-eastern Tasmania.[1] Early life

Mansell was born in 1951 in Launceston, Tasmania, the son of Clyda and Clarence Mansell. He is a third-generation Cape Barren Islander, descended from the unions of Bass Strait sealers and Aboriginal women, including Watanimarina and Thomas Beeton (parents of Lucy Beeton) and Black Judy and Edward Mansell.[2]

Mansell played senior Australian rules football as a young man, debuting for the Launceston Football Club at the age of 17. His football career was interrupted by a serious car accident, but he later returned to high-level football with the North Hobart Football Club.[