Told in the form of an extended picture book, 'Boomerang and Bat' tells of the Indigenous Australian cricket team which was the first cricket team to tour England – and has been called ‘the real first eleven’. The book does not shy away from the racism the men faced at home with the comment about the change of their names from their ‘real’ (or Indigenous) names to ones given to them by white settlers, names which often sound belittling, such as Mosquito and King Cole. They were also forbidden from leaving the colony by the paternalistic Board for the Protection of Aborigines, so they had to leave in secret.
The team was celebrated as great athletes, but despite their fame as cricketers, they were not really accepted in England as equals, on one occasion being refused service at lunch. The closing endpaper offers the team the respect they did not have at the time, giving their Indigenous names as well as their position in the team. The book serves to remind all readers of this important episode in Australia’s sporting history.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
