Aborigines and the ‘Sport of Kings’ celebrates the significant and exciting Aboriginal involvement in Australian racing history. A remarkable history considering that Australian Aboriginal people’s first contact with the European animals caused them bewilderment and terror because violent massacres and unprovoked vicious attacks were conducted from horseback. However, within a short period they adapted and shed their fears. Over time they caught horses and taught themselves to ride, using sheets of bark as makeshift saddles. Settler accounts record Aboriginal people’s uncanny affinity with horses; their excellence in caring for them and in riding. So, moving from the skilled workers who were the backbone of the Australian pastoral industries to racing horses was an obvious step. Amongst the many Aboriginal jockeys highlighted in the book are Merv Maynard, Norm Rose, Frank Reys, Richard Lawrence 'Darby' McCarthy and Leigh-Anne Goodwin, Australia's first female Aboriginal jockey to ride a winner at a metropolitan track.

The Routledge Companion to Global Indigenous History presents exciting new innovations in the dynamic field of Indigenous global history while also outlining ethical, political, and practical research. Indigenous histories are not merely concerned with the past but have resonances for the politics of the present and future, ranging across vast geographical distances and deep time periods. The volume starts with an introduction that explores definitions of Indigenous peoples, followed by six thematic sections which each have a global spread: European uses of history and the positioning of Indigenous people as history’s outsiders; their migrations and mobilities; colonial encounters; removals and diasporas; memory, identities, and narratives; deep histories and pathways towards future Indigenous histories that challenge the nature of the history discipline itself. This book illustrates the important role of Indigenous history and Indigenous knowledges for contemporary concerns, including climate change, spirituality and religious movements, gender negotiations, modernity and mobility, and the meaning of ‘nation’ and the ‘global’. Reflecting the state of the art in Indigenous global history, the contributors suggest exciting new directions in the field, examine its many research challenges and show its resonances for a global politics of the present and future. This book is invaluable reading for students in both undergraduate and postgraduate Indigenous history courses.

This edited volume demonstrates the broader socio-cultural context for individual human-horse relations and equestrian practices by documenting the international value of equines; socially, culturally, as subjects of academic study and as drivers of public policy. It broadens our understanding of the importance of horses to humans by providing case studies from an unprecedented diversity of cultures. The volume is grounded in the contention that the changing status of equines reveals - and moves us to reflect on - important material and symbolic societal transformations ushered in by (post)modernity which affect local and global contexts alike. Through a detailed consideration of the social relations and cultural dimensions of equestrian practices across several continents, this volume provides readers with an understanding of the ways in which interactions with horses provide global connectivity with localized identities, and vice versa. It further discusses new frontiers in the research on and practice of equestrianism, framed against global megatrends and local micro-trends.

True Light and Shade is filled with beautiful images by convict artist Joseph Lycett that powerfully capture in intimate detail Aboriginal life, a rare record of Aboriginal people within the vicinity of Newcastle and how they adapted to European settlement before cultural destruction impacted on these groups. John Maynard writes an engaging short biography of Lycett and his life in Australia and follows this with a detailed commentary on each of the 20 images in the album. Each image is reproduced in full on a double page spread and then, on the spreads following, details have been enlarged to accompany John's text as he takes us through exactly what is happening in every picture: ceremony, hunting and fishing, carrying food (carving up whalemeat), land management and burning, interactions with Europeans, family life, dances, funeral rituals, and punishment. When you return again to examine the full image, you see it in a completely different light. John also includes written records from the time that corroborate Lycett's views. Some dreamtime stories connected with the areas Lycett depicted are also included, with accompanying Indigenous art. One story explains the earthquakes in the area (kangaroo jumping up and down). The title quote ‘true light and shade’ comes from Lycett’s words: ‘I consider a complete drawing to be an accurate delineation of anything with its true light and shade.’ As a Worimi man from the Newcastle/Port Stephens region, John Maynard brings his own knowledge and insight to his exploration of the drawings, and to the fascinating character of Lycett himself. John is currently a Director at the Wollotuka Institute of Aboriginal Studies at the University of Newcastle and Chair of Indigenous History. He has held several major positions, including as Deputy Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and Deputy Chair Humanities, National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network.

"From 1950, increasing numbers of Aboriginal and Māori women became nationally or internationally renowned. Few reached the heights of international fame accorded Evonne Goolagong or Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and few remained household names for any length of time. But their growing numbers and visibility reflected the dramatic social, cultural and political changes taking place in Australia and New Zealand in the second half of the twentieth century. This book is the first in-depth study of media portrayals of well-known Indigenous women in Australia and New Zealand, including Goolagong, Te Kanawa, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Dame Whina Cooper. The power of the media in shaping the lives of individuals and communities, for good or ill, is widely acknowledged. In these pages, Karen Fox examines an especially fascinating and revealing aspect of the media and its history -- how prominent Māori and Aboriginal women were depicted for the readers of popular media in the past."--Publisher's description.

Memory, while seemingly a thing of the past, has much to reveal in the present. With its focus on memory, War and Remembrance provides new viewpoints in the field of war representation. Bringing an interdisciplinary approach to discussions of the cultural memory of war, the collection focuses on narratives, either fictional or testimonial, that challenge ideological discourses of war. The acts of remembrance and of waging war are constantly evolving. A range of case studies – analyzing representations of war in art, film, museums, and literature from Nigeria, Australia, Sri Lanka, Canada, and beyond – questions our current approaches to memory studies while offering reinterpretations of established narratives. Throughout, a commitment to Indigenous perspectives, to examining the ongoing legacy of colonialism, and to a continued reckoning with the Second World War foregrounds what is often forgotten in the writing of a single, official history. War and Remembrance invites readers to cast a reflexive look at wars and conflicts past – some of them forgotten, others still vividly commemorated – the better to understand the cultural, political, and social stake of memory as a source of conflict and exchange, of resistance and opposition, and of negotiation and reconciliation.

Sport in Australian Drama, first published in 1992, provides an intelligent view of Australian society at play.

The Routledge History of American Sport provides the first comprehensive overview of historical research in American sport from the early Colonial period to the present day. Considering sport through innovative themes and topics such as the business of sport, material culture and sport, the political uses of sport, and gender and sport, this text offers an interdisciplinary analysis of American leisure. Rather than moving chronologically through American history or considering the historical origins of each sport, these topics are dealt with organically within thematic chapters, emphasizing the influence of sport on American society. The volume is divided into eight thematic sections that include detailed original essays on particular facets of each theme. Focusing on how sport has influenced the history of women, minorities, politics, the media, and culture, these thematic chapters survey the major areas of debate and discussion. The volume offers a comprehensive view of the history of sport in America, pushing the field to consider new themes and approaches as well. Including a roster of contributors renowned in their fields of expertise, this ground-breaking collection is essential reading for all those interested in the history of American sport.