James Wandin was a great-great nephew to William Barak, the last traditional ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan. He was the last person born at Coranderrk Station, in 1933, in the home of his grandmother, Jemima Wandin. When the Station was closed in 1923 Jemima Wandin was one of 5 elderly people who refused to leave. She is buried in the Coranderrk Cemetery. His father, Jarlo Wandoon, tried to enlist for World War I, but was rejected due to being an Aboriginal. When he attempted to enlist under his whitefella name, James Wandin, he was accepted into the army and served in France and is listed under that name on the honour roll in the Healesville RSL. On returning home, Jarlo Wandoon had to get permission from the police to visit his mother, was escorted onto Coranderrk, and was only allowed half an hour with her before he was sent to off to the Lake Tyers Mission in Gippsland. Much of Coranderrk was divided up and sold for soldier settlement allotments. Jarlo found work with the Postmaster-General's Department, and was able to buy a block of land at Healesville – a home for his family on Wurundjeri land.
Football
One of ten children, James left school at 15 in 1949 and played Australian rules football with the Healesville seconds. The team won the premiership and Wandin was awarded the Best and Fairest. He moved on to play with the seniors who won a premiership in 1951. He joined St Kilda Football Club in 1952, after a period of training with them at Junction Oval. He was the first Aboriginal footballer with St Kilda, playing centre half forward. Other Aboriginal players in the VFL at the time were Essendon's Norm McDonald and Melbourne'sEddie Jackson. He left St Kilda Football Club after just 17 games due to "homesickness" and what he later reflected as a lack of support. In 2003 Wandin reflected on the racist taunts he faced during games in a report in The Age newspaper: "Opposition players would call you niggers and all that, the whole lot, Kooris and whatever week in, week out. Pretty rash things said, I can tell you. You had to just deal with it yourself, nothing like what Michael Long's got now going. You dealt with it, you just got on with the game." He was called up for National Service in 1952. After leaving St Kilda Football Club he took up a position of player coach in 1954 with the Healesville seniors and coached until 1961. He joined the Postmaster-General's Department and worked for 37 years, but continuing to coach football at Healesville and Apollo Bay.
While ill with cancer in February 2006 he prepared a statutory declaration declaring his nephew Murrundindi his successor as Wurundjeri Ngurungaeta. After his death his partner, Judy Freeman, symbolically passed to Murrundindi a lil-lal, or hunting boomerang, and a sprig of pale yellow wattle. Several hundred people attended Healesville football oval to pay their respects to a respected Wurundjeri elder and great footballer. He was buried at Healesville Cemetery, in the shadow of Mount Riddell, as he requested. The Annualbest and fairest player award in division two of the Yarra Valley Mountain Football League is called the Wandin Medal. The James Wandin Memorial Match has been established by Yarra Glen Football Club to commemorate James Wandin's 55 years contribution to the sport as a player and coach at local level and at Apollo Bay. The inaugural match in May 2008, won by Yarra Glen Football Club, was used to raise funds to erect a memorial at James Wandin’s grave and for a perpetual trophy.
