Abstract:
This paper presents a history of the Annual New South Wales Aboriginal Rugby
League ‘Knockout’ Carnival, an annual football competition involving teams from all
over the state. This significant event has been running for 36 years. For the New South
Wales Aboriginal community, the Knockout is the biggest event of the year attracting
up to 60 teams and many thousands of Aboriginal spectators. It is run by and for the
Aboriginal community and is largely funded from private sponsorship and community
support. For the most part this major sporting and cultural event goes unnoticed by the
wider community, although the media coverage, particularly prevalent in regional centres
reports the presence of Aboriginal people as an ‘influx’ and expresses fears over
possible violence and disorder.
