Historian, David Huggonson, is currently writing a book on Aboriginal participation in rugby league from 1908 to 1958.Such documents are important, David feels, to ensure Aboriginals contribution to rugby league is not forgotten. Its an effort to record Aboriginal participation in rugby league because ... believe it or not, rugby league was pretty important for breaking the barriers of racial prejudice, he says. Rugby league, David argues, was also an outlet that helped transcend social problems created by racism. With the Aboriginal Protection Act that they passed in 1897 ... they started to segregate Aboriginal people onto reservations like Cherbourg, Palm Island,and so forth ... that segregation lasted well into the 1960s. Of course what happened is a lot of the reserves ... had their own teams, says David. Many of the teams, David argues, featured talented players whose opportunities were limited because of their skin colour. Cherbourg had a great team, David enthuses. In fact, Cathy Freemans grandfather, Frank Fisher, was such a good player he got selected in the Wide Bay team in 1935 when they played Great Britain. According to David, the English captain was so impressed by Fishers ability as a half-back, he suggested to him that he play professionally in England. Fisher however, was never granted a passport, though David admits he does not know why. Despite such social setbacks, David thinks rugby league is still an prominent part of Queenslands indigenous communities. Anyone who knows Aboriginal communities in country towns [in Queensland] will know that rugby league is like a religion, says David. Up until current times, its just that their participation hasnt been overly recorded or written about.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 02:20:49 +0000
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