Ponta represented his country at five Paralympics, including the very first Games held in Rome in 1960, claiming a gold medal, two silver and a bronze.

While wheelchair basketball was Ponta's main sport, he also represented Australia in swimming, athletics and fencing at the Paralympics.

But perhaps the West Australian's greatest contribution came after he retired from competitive sport and became dedicated to developing disability sport in Australia.

His involvement in disability sport was influential in the growth of the Paralympic Movement in Australia and he was actively involved in coaching and the administration of wheelchair sports his entire adult life.

Ponta coached countless athletes from junior level through to Paralympic champions, including nine-time Paralympic gold medallists Louise Sauvage and Priya Cooper, and he was also a driving force behind the wheelchair sports movement in his home state of Western Australia.

He remained heavily involved in wheelchair sport until his death, even after suffering a stroke in 2009.

Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) chief executive Jason Hellwig claimed Ponta's contribution to Australian Paralympic sport is unrivalled.

"Frank Ponta was one of the true legends of Australian sport," said Hellwig.

"He was a first-class athlete in a time where sport for people with disabilities was almost unheard of and his life contribution to the development of the movement gives us much to be thankful for today.

"Without people like Frank in the early years of Paralympic sport, Australia wouldn't be in the position it is today as one of the best Paralympic nations in the world.

"He was a larrikin and a great bloke who represented everything great about being Australian and he will be terribly missed by all within the Paralympic community."

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