Indigenous Australian People: Evonne Goolagong-Cawley

“Indigenous Australian peoples are people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, who are accepted as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person in the community in which they live, or have lived” (Queensland Government, Australia, n.d). Indigenous Australians have made considerable contributions in the field of arts, media, sport, education, politics/government, and history. One of the famous Indigenous person is Evonne Fay Goolagong-Cawley, who has gained name and fame for Australia in the field of tennis on world level. Evonne Goolagong-Cowley’s life, opportunities, achievements and contributions and the ability to rise out of the cultural barriers gave her a unique place in Australian society.

Evonne Goolagong, born on

She attracted the attention of many white people including Mr. Edwards. She was born in a small town with no facilities of sport. She loved hitting the tennis balls against a wall, with anything that came to hand. This practice enhanced her tennis skills, which she showed during her matches to people who didn’t show trust in her. She set an example of women sportsmanship in front of Australian society. In addition, since 2000, Evonne has made an increasing commitment to Australian Women’s tennis, and was appointed captain of the Australian Fed Cup Team for 2002/03. She worked hard to encourage women’s participation in sport along with the Australian Government. According to IMG (2009), they together formed the “Evonne Goolagong Getting Started Programme” to increase overall female participation in tennis. In recent years Evonne has become increasingly involved in Australian Aboriginal affairs working tirelessly in developing a better understanding and awareness of Aboriginal people; bringing both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together; and in changing attitudes and perceptions. In 1997, as a sporting ambassador for Australian sport commission, she took the responsibility of encouraging Aboriginal children to become more actively involved in sporting activities (CSU, 2000). However, during her sport career, she

She used to practice the tennis by hitting the ball against a wall with anything she found. Then, her shy nature was another barrier during her sport career. She either preferred to be alone or be in the company of older people, which stopped her being a part of the team. “She admitted her shy nature to an Australian newspaper” (Encyclopedia, 2004). Further, she faced racial comments and bias behaviour during her career. Tatz & Tatz 2000 (as cited in Sean Gorman, 2010) highlighted the racial comments by a senior Victorian politician during 1980 Wimbeldon tournament when he said, “he hoped she “wouldn’t go walkabout like some old boong”. However, Goolagong raised as a star among these racial comments and mostly remained silent. “She chose to let her work on the court speak for itself and remain mostly silent” (Net Industries, 2015). She emerged as a rising star amongst white