Tent boxers

Boxing is one sport that has produced some outstanding indigenous talent such as Lionel Rose, Tony Mundine and George Bracken. This documentary tells the story of the Tent Boxers who toured around Australia during the 1950’s and 1960’s as part of the Jimmy Sharman troupe. First-hand interviews by some of the Aboriginal tent boxers, including Roy Carroll and George Bracken, provide a detailed insight into the way these shows were run, the physical dangers, the control on and the lack of freedom experienced by the boxers and the exploitation of young Aboriginal men who found tent boxing to be a way of escaping unemployment. The paternalistic nature of the troupe’s organisers towards their boxers gave a feeling of family. However, the film shows both the positives and the negatives: Roy Carroll became Sydney’s first Aboriginal fight trainer and promoter and George Bracken, a champion of ringside boxing, but there was also an underlying attitude of racism by white Australians towards indigenous people, particularly during this period and some fights could get out of hand. “In 1971 promoters were required to have boxers and challengers medically examined before each fight and boxers were limited to one fight a week. This forced the travelling troupes out of business.”