aboriginalaustralians

Eddie Gilbert remains the best remembered Aboriginal bowler to play first-class cricket after he dismissed Don Bradman for a duck in his first over in a 1931 Sheffield Shield match. Bradman later recalled the six deliveries he faced from the then 26-year-old were the fastest he had received in his career. Gilbert flicked off Bradman`s cap with one rearing ball and another knocked the bat from his hands before having him caught behind. In 23 matches for Queensland in the 1930s, Gilbert took 87 wickets at an average of 29 but his hopes of playing for Australia were affected by suspicions of suspect bowling action. The statue situated in Queensland, Queensland Cricket Headquarters, Allan Border Field, Albion, commemorates aboriginal cricketer, Eddie Gilbert. Front Inscription Harold Edward (Eddie) Gilbert 1 August 1905 - 9 January 1978 Debuted for Queensland in the 1930-31 Sheffield Shield season. Had a celebrated career spanning 10 years, taking 87 wickets during 23 first-class matches, including the great Don Bradman for a duck. He was the fastest bowler in Australia in the 1930s and the only Aboriginal player of his time to play first-class cricket. Dedicated on 16 November 2008 Source: monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/sport/display/9036...

Gilbert's deliveries were "faster than anything seen from (England fast bowler) Harold Larwood or anyone else". Respected ABC radio broadcaster Alan McGilvray agreed, saying he had "absolutely no doubt" that Gilbert was "the fastest bowler I ever saw". But while The Don's star would continue to rise after that match - he averaged an astonishing 201.50 in the Test series against South Africa later that summer - Gilbert would court controversy before he eventually faded into anonymity. He was dogged by allegations of chucking throughout his career and restricted by the racist Aborigines Protection Act, which required him to have written permission to travel from his Aboriginal settlement each time he played for Queensland. The opportunities offered to Indigenous cricketers today, through Cricket Australia's partnership with the Clontarf Foundation and its national Indigenous competition, the Imparja Cup, are a far cry from those available in Gilbert's day. So despite finishing his career with 87 first-class wickets from 23 matches at an impressive strike rate of 56.50, Gilbert never represented his country. With powerful shoulders and wrists that were reportedly developed by years of boomerang throwing, Gilbert possessed a slinging action that enabled him to generate great pace off a very short run. It was this unique action that would lead to several allegations of chucking, including one match when he was no-balled 13 times in three overs. On allegations that Gilbert had a suspect action, McGilvray said: "it was hard to tell whether he actually chucked or not, because he let the ball go with such a fling of his right arm you got precious little sight of it." Despite the allegations, Gilbert was never suspended for an illegal action. His career ended in 1936 and, sadly, he spent the final years of his life at the Wolston Park mental hospital in Brisbane battling alcohol addiction and dementia. He died on 9 January 1978. While Gilbert's achievements didn't receive the recognition they deserved during his career, efforts have since been made to acknowledge one of Australia's first great Indigenous athletes. The Eddie Gilbert Perpetual Trophy is contested annually by teams representing the Wolston Park Centenary Cricket Club and Queensland Police, whose academy is now based on the site of the former hospital where Gilbert died. One of the most significant moments came in 2007 when Gilbert's unmarked grave at Cherbourg Cemetery, near the Aboriginal Reserve where he was forced to spend his early years, received an update more fitting of a man of his achievements. Upon removing an Aboriginal flag that revealed an impressive gravestone featuring Gilbert's bowling record, his son Eddie Barney noted the significance of the gesture, even though it had come almost three decades after his father's passing. Barney had himself been given the honor of representing his country - unlike his father - having competed in boxing at the 1962 Empire Games in Perth. "It means recognition," Barney told News Ltd at the time. "For what he did, for Cherbourg settlement and for Queensland. "For me it means an awful lot. It's taken 30 years but it's a milestone. I get emotional just talking about it. It's a great day for me but it's an even greater day for my dad." Source: www.cricket.com.au/news/eddie-gilbert-sir-donald-bradman-...

It's hot and cramped on the light plane, but the flight is smooth, and as we begin to descend we peer out the window, to marvel at the view and take pictures with our phones. It's worth it. The view of Palm Island from the air is stunning. Clear blue water and green hills of tropical rainforest. The island is off the north Queensland coast, just a 20-minute flight from Townsville. Indigenous people first began living on Palm Island in 1918, when it was set up as a mission. For years, Aborigines were sent there from across Australia. They came from different tribes and places, spoke different languages, and had different customs. Now, nearly 100 years after it was first established, more than four thousand people live on the Island. Palm Islanders are known as the 'Bwgcolman People', meaning 'many tribes, one people. It's an acknowledgment that Palm Islanders share a history with over forty different clans. Source: www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2014-03-14/life-on-palm/5318920