by Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (June 20^th 2010)[1]

Editor’s Note

The issue of racism in sport remains pertinent. We have covered this and other issues for several years. The story of Aboriginal cricket is important and still relevant especially with the 74^th Ashes series looming.

The Editor

Jack Marsh’s Heritage

Wollumbin – the sacred mountain of his people – is the name given to the mountain by the Bundjalung. Its name means Patriarch of Mountains in the Bandjalang language. It is not only an essential part of Bundjalung culture, it is the eastern-most point of Australia – the first part of Australia ‘discovered’ by a then Lieutenant James Cook.

He saw it on May 16^th 1770 and named it Mount Warning. The Bundjalung believe that the spirit of injured warriors becomes incorporated into Wollumbin as scars on the mountain. It was formed from the eruption millions of years ago of a volcano. Bundjalung culture was suppressed during colonialism along with other Aboriginal heritage, but it was never destroyed and is celebrated today.

The Bundjalung community gather every year in the National Park to celebrate their cultural identity at the Bundjalung People’s Gathering. Their culture demands that Wollumbin should not be climbed. Their wish is generally respected, but climbing is not prohibited by the state or federal government, although it does advertise the Bundjalung’s request not to do so.

Wollumbin is part of the United Nations World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforests, which are the largest area of sub-tropical rainforests in the world. Aboriginal sportsman Jack Marsh therefore had a rich culture, history and heritage that he was not allowed to respect or celebrate, but he is best known for his sporting prowess. Marsh was not just a gifted cricketer; he excelled in another sport too – athletics.

Early Achievements

Little is known of Marsh’s formative years. He was illiterate and never detailed his origins to others – interest in his accomplishments came decades after his untimely death in 1916. Marsh was an extremely talented athlete. By 1893 his talent had been noticed in races in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland too.

He was a sprinter and hurdler with an explosive start whose strength told in the latter part of 100-yard races as well. Exploited by his trainer – a fate that typically happened to Aboriginal athletes – Marsh was suspended in Sydney in 1895 for race fixing. Marsh is now acknowledged as a world class sprinter. Credit for this belongs to lawyer and sports historian Max Bonnell’s meticulous research.[2] ³

The Record-holder

Bonnell found that the leading sport’s journal in Australia at the time The Referee reported that Marsh had ran the 100 yards in 9.8 seconds in Melbourne in 1894 from a standing start in a race where he gave his opponent a head-start and still beat him easily.

This was significant for two reasons. It was equivalent to the American athlete John Owen Jnr’s world record. Owen was the first amateur to break the ten second barrier in October 1890 and it took eight years for Marsh’s run to be acknowledged as an Australian record, let alone world record in The Town and Country Journal – an obscure local paper. But Marsh was a professional.

While record-keeping was not meticulous then as results were considered more important than times, Marsh’s achievements deserve proper acknowledgement. A year earlier Marsh had a run a tenth of a second slower. He clearly had athletic talent and could have competed on merit with anyone including Owen.

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[1] This article was first published in the Magazine in 2009. We publish it again as the issues that it raises remain pertinent.

[2] For further information see Uncovered: the tragedy of the first great Aboriginal sprinter by Philip Derriman that was published in May 2003 at http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/30/1054177730860.html