Black Diamonds: The Aboriginal and Islander sports hall of fame

Evonne Goolagong, Cathy Freeman, Nova Peris, Lionel Rose, Artie Beetson, Polly Farmer, are just a few of our Australian sporting heroes who, since the mid-1880s, have helped shape Australia’s identity as a great sporting nation.

They, along with 269 other sporting greats, are showcased here in this third edition of the Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame.

Spanning thirty six sports across a period of 150 years, Black Pearls presents some of our Olympic heroes, superb sportswomen, football giants, boxing legends, lightning sprinters, and more — from darts champions to world class weightlifters and woodchoppers.

Black Pearls is, however, more than a sports book. It reveals a history of inclusion and exclusion, about Aboriginal determination in the face of enormous obstacles, and resilience in overcoming remoteness, discriminatory laws, incarceration on isolated reserves, and opponents in a variety of sports arenas.