indigenousaustralians

The incredible tale behind Don Bradman's most uncomfortable dismissal: World's greatest batsman drops to the pitch after a ball from 'the fastest bowler he ever faced' - but racism means you've probably NEVER heard of him. * Harold Edward Gilbert was born on an Aboriginal reserve in Queensland in 1905 * He grew up in another Aboriginal settlement where he learned how to play cricket * Gilbert was picked as a bowler for the Queensland Sheffield Shield team in 1930 * He dismissed Donald Bradman, the world's greatest batsman, for a duck in 1931 * Bradman described the right-armer Gilbert as the fastest bowler he ever faced * Gilbert, who never played for Australia, died at 71 in a mental institution in 1978. Eddie Gilbert was the fastest bowler Don Bradman ever faced - an Aboriginal cricketer Australia rejected for national selection and then completely forgot. Gilbert, who once sat Bradman on his backside and knocked the bat out of his hand, was only the third man to dismiss The Don for a duck in first-class cricket. The little Queenslander was suggested as a counter to England's ferocious Bodyline bowling attack in 1932-33 but he never played a Test. Bradman said Gilbert was faster than Harold Larwood, who terrorized Australia during that series with short-pitched bowling aimed at the leg stump. Others have said Gilbert was even quicker than Australian tearaway Jeff Thomson and West Indian great Andy Roberts in the 1970s. Taken from his parents while still an infant, Gilbert found fame as a first-class cricketer at a time some of his teammates would not even speak to him. Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6591805/How-Aboriginal-b...

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

Yep [https://www.flickr.com/photos/51979177@N02], we'd agree with you about the original. The second portrait you linked to is a powerful image. Thank you for providing this extra context, much appreciated.

The one achievement for which Eddie Gilbert is remembered is bowling Don Bradman for a duck. No single ball bowled in the history of Australian cricket has had such socio-cultural ramifications. For Barambah residents, the incident is remembered, not only as a remarkable cricketing feat but as a demonstration that black could triumph over white. His feats become part of Barambah folklore. He plays a total of twenty-seven matches between 1930 and 1936, taking eighty-seven wickets at an average of twenty-nine runs per wicket. On November 13, 1936, the secretary of the Queensland Cricket Association, Mr. RT Stephens, informs the Chief Protector of Aboriginals that Eddie Gilbert will not be chosen for any more Sheffield Shield matches. He asks the Chief Protector to return Gilbert to the Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission at once. Thus ends six years of outstanding achievement by one of Australia’s finest bowlers. Eddie Gilbert follows other great Aboriginal cricketers like Albert Henry and Jack Marsh who play at the state level, into oblivion. While Gilbert is an inspiration, his career is also a reminder of the racism and intolerance they faced. Source: cherbourgmemory.org/eddie-gilbert-1905-1978/