NAIDOC Week 2022 - Celebrating Indigenous achievements

 In Australia we are commemorating NAIDOC week, a time when we celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. I prepare this weeks blog in  Parramatta, Western Sydney, the land of the Burramattagal people of the Dharug nation. I acknowledge their traditons and culture and pay respect to their elders both past, present and emerging.

When I think of Indigenous sports people, many names come to mind. From the first Indigenous Australian Cricket team that toured England in 1868 with it's standout performer Johnny Mullagh, the boxer Lionel Rose through to the runner, Cathy Freeman and beyond with so many further achievements in politics, acting, the list goes on.

This week's blog honours the life of an indigenous individual and I wish to warn those who may be culturally affected  that a photograph of that individual follows. A very fine boxer.

RANOLD (RON) RICHARDS

Ron was born in May 1910 at the Deebing Creek Aboriginal Presbyterian mission near Ipswich on Yuggera country in Queensland, the son of indigenous parents, Richard Richards, a fencer, and his wife, Florence. Ron received some education at the local state school for Aboriginal children but by the age of 14 began timber cutting with his father and became a superb axeman.

Ron's father was a bare knuckle fighter and he followed him in this pursuit. At 20 he had a successful year of fighting around Gympie as well as in preliminary bouts in Brisbane and in 1932 Ron knocked  out the English middleweight, Joey Simmons. He became State middleweight champion and  his counter punching technique, style and physique made him an idol amongst fighting fans. Whilst earning good money he took the opportunity to invest in four houses with one for his family. In 1935 he married Dorothy Elizabeth Iselin  in Brisbane, her brothers temporarily assisting him in handling his financial affairs.

Ron Richards - Courier Mail with thanks

Richards won three Australian titles (middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight) and a British Empire (middleweight) title. Ron was a serious contender for world middleweight and light heavyweight titles with wins such as the 55 second knockout against Ray Actis and the twelve round victory against Gus Lesnevitch, both in 1938 with a winning record of 34 of 50 contests against overseas stars. Due to mismanagement and exploitation all overseas  engagements fell through, an occurrence that plagued his career. During the middle and late 1930's he averaged 13 fights a year. 

Ron's discontent with his boxing management was evident as the outcomes of his fights became more erratic. Sometimes he outboxed opponents when promoters expected a knockout and often his managers accepted fights against boxers clearly in a heavier classification. By 1939 he was labelled a "temperamental" boxer who experienced unacceptable lapses in form.

Ron Richard in "flight" - Courier Mail with thanks 

After his wife died of tuberculosis in 1937, Ron completely lost direction with his financial affairs in total chaos. Within two years he was unfit and drinking heavily. He asked for postponements and broke commitments, becoming totally unreliable. His second wife, Colleen Boyle, tried in vain to manage his finances but by 1945 he was losing to fighters he had previously emphatically beaten.

By 1946, after a lucrative career, Richards had lost everything. He was charged with vagrancy in 1947 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Queensland Department of Health and Home Affairs. He was incarcerated at Woorabinda Aboriginal settlement but was released after three years to look for work in Brisbane. It was at this time that Colleen applied for divorce proceedings but later withdrew them. Richards returned to Sydney briefly, was arrested for drunkeness and vagrancy and, under the provisions of the "Queensland Act" was removed to Palm Island Aboriginal reserve where he spent seventeen years. Ron worked as a carpenter's labourer and managed a single men's home. He returned to Sydney when his daughter sent news of his estranged wife's illness.

Ranold (Ron) Richards died of a heart attack at Dulwich Hill, Sydney, in January 1967 and was buried in the Catholic section of Rookwood cemetery. The crowd at his funeral included many boxing greats from the past and of the time. In a society which then generally excluded indigenous people, his popularity and his skill as a fighter proved his greatness.

Ron Richards Headstone Rookwood - author's photo 

He was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Queensland Indigenous Sporting Hall of Fame in 2010 

Ron's short life was one of greatness, exploitation and lost opportunities.

He is buried far from his country but a memorial plaque honouring Ron was unveiled in 2010 at the Purga Aboriginal Mission near Ipswich, as the Deebing Creek Aboriginal Mission was closed in 1915 with all detainees transferred to Purga. 

Memorial for Ron at Purga - his country

There are many references to Ranold (Ron) Richards available on line and I have referenced many but mostly to the following:- 

Biography - Ranold (Ron) Richards - Australian Dictionary of Biography (anu.edu.au)

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