The research data was collected as part of a study of the NSW annual Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout. The Knockout is so much more than a sporting event, involving a high level of organisation, it is both a social and cultural coming together of diverse communities for a social and cultural experience considered 'bigger than Christmas'.
As if the planning and logistics were not difficult enough, the rotating-venue Knockout has been beset, especially since the late 1980s and 1990s, by layers of opposition and open hostility based on 'race': from country town newspapers, local town and shire councils, local business houses and, inevitably, the local police. A few towns have welcomed the event, seeing economic advantage and community good will for all. Commonly, the Aboriginal 'influx' of visitors and players - people perceived as 'strangers', 'outsiders', 'non-taxpayers' - provoked public fear about crime waves, violence and physical safety, requiring heavy policing.
The Knockout is significant for far more than its purely sporting connotations. The different articulation of political activism, the importance of kinship and family relations, the organization, the cultural practice and historical association that interact in a dynamic process are analysed.
Interviews with founders and participants; database of the media coverage of the Knockout; collections of photos of teams and supporters as well as related Aboriginal football carnivals; entry passes and other ephemera.
Access: Conditional. Please contact us for further information on how to access this dataset.