During the first half of the Twentieth Century many people with Aboriginal blood in their veins went to great lengths to hide their Aboriginality. At that time Indigenous Australians were not counted in the census and could not get a passport or vote in elections. We simply erased them from our thoughts as if they didn't exist, and yet they enlisted in our armed forces and fought in every war since the arrival of the first fleet. We accepted them as soldiers when we needed them, but to our shame - when that war was over they were not entitled to repatriation benefits, allowed to march in victory parades - or made welcome in RSL clubs.
All that changed on May 27, 1967 when Australians went to the polls to vote in a referendum to recognise our Indigenous people as Australian citizens, and 90.77% voted " Yes " in all the six states. Despite the totality of that decision it has been a long slog uphill for Indigenous people to claim their place in our society and that way has been littered with names like "Wave Hill Station "," Mabo "and "Everleigh Street, Redfern ".
Once again an issue has arisen that splits the reaction of those that witnessed Adam Goodes performing what he called a "war dance " when he scored a goal in a game of Australian Rules football between his Sydney Swans team and Carlton. Goodes is a former Australian of the year and is a star of the Sydney Swans. He takes racist remarks very seriously. He has been booed when he scores and he has pointed out offenders when he has been referred to as an "Ape " or an "Abo ".Unfortunately we have some citizens who judge a person entirely on the colour of their skin.
Perhaps we should draw a comparison with our sister state across the Tasman. The original inhabitants of New Zealand were the Maoris - and they are very proud of their aboriginality. When the "All Blacks " take the field in competitions the Haka is performed as an expression of who they are - and where they are from ! New Zealanders of all creeds and colours respond to that "war cry " with affection.
It is becoming apparent that the Australian Rules code of football is making inroads into the remote regions of Australia and is finding favour in Aboriginal communities - and attracting Aboriginal players who are steadily getting promoted to inclusion in city club teams because of the skills and ability they develop. Similar moves are happening in Rugby League and Soccer.
We are also seeing the creation of Australian Rules teams composed entirely of people of Aboriginal extraction and perhaps Adam Goodes impromptu " War Cry " may be the start of some sort of Australian version of the Haka ! It is the custom of Australian Rules clubs to sing the official team victory song at the successful conclusion of a game. All such customs need to have had a starting point and Goodes is clearly a leader. He may have started something that will develop national characteristics.
Colour prejudice is a world wide problem that is impossible to legislate out of existence. Just a few decades ago many sports and many careers were closed to all people of colour. Pioneers broke through that colour barrier - often at great personal cost and today we live in a more accepting world, but personal colour prejudice remains deep in the soul of many people.
It will take the passage of time to mute the automatic reaction of some when they see a black face achieving fame on a sporting field. Fortunately, that outcome is eventually inevitable !
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