Black Gold: The Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame

Summary

Beautifully illustrated with black and white photographs, Black gold showcases our Olympic heroes, superb sportswomen, football giants, boxing legends, lightning sprinters and more — from darts champions to world-class weightlifters and woodchoppers.

In 1995, Professor Colin Tatz and a panel of sportspeople and historians selected 129 athletes for the inaugural Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame. Since then, forty-three new stars have been inducted and Black Gold features all 172 members, from thirty sports.

Some of the people in this book are members of the Stolen Generations who were raised in ‘assimilation’ homes but pursued their dreams against all odds. Many grew up in remote, impoverished settlements where ‘sports facilities’ were bumpy dirt tracks, scrubby pitches or dustbowl ovals with sticks for goalposts. Black Gold honours all who have leapt the twin hurdles of racism and competition to realise their talents in the elite arenas of national or international sport.

Reviews and endorsements

Colin and Paul's Black Gold is the most comprehensive published collection yet of past, present and future Aboriginal sporting achievement. The range of sports that Indigenous Australians have excelled in continues to surprise and delight me, so I know that in the wider Australian community, this fact will still be a complete revelation. I travel the country to find and encourage young Aboriginal sporting talent and can really appreciate how much this book will inspire them. Moreover, I can see the day, when all Indigenous youngsters have an equal and level start with other young Australians that 'Black Platinum' will be published ... it will need to be five times as big.

— _{Evonne Goolagong-Cawley AO, MBE}

The skill, enthusiasm and excitement Indigenous Australians bring to sport is enthralling and should not be underestimated. Black Gold expertly demonstrates the enormity of the challenge that confronted Indigenous sportspeople throughout Australia's clouded history. I sincerely thank Colin and Paul Tatz for recognising the sporting prowess of the South Sea Island people in this book, a heritage I am very proud of.

— _{Mal Meninga AM}