Knocking it out of the park

Published: 
Exhibition
Indigenous
Openbook

These photos from two Koori Knockouts, one held in Dubbo on 1 October 2015 and the other in Tuggerah on 1–2 October 2019, are by leading First Nations photographer Barbara McGrady. Her shots of the action on the ground, on the sidelines and in the stands capture the drama, exhilaration and hard yakka of the Knockout.

McGrady is a Gomeroi–Gamilaraay Murri woman born in Mungindi, in north-west NSW, who lives in Sydney. Her body of work forms an extraordinary chronicle of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life, particularly in the sporting arena. She will be in the Shoalhaven for the 2022 Koori Knockout, building on the huge archive of memories she has created for players, fans and families. 

I see everything that I photograph through a black lens. 
— Barbara McGrady

/straight-outta-walgett-walgett-aboriginal-connection-and-griffith-three-ways-united-teams-koori
/bourke-warriors-under-17s-team-receive-their-pre-game-team-talk-dubbo
/lesha-duckett-la-perouse-panthers-dubbo
/briggs-and-moran-family-koori-knockout-dubbo
/eventual-winners-2015-knockout-redfern-all-blacks-their-pre-match-pep-talk-dubbo
/crowd-gathered-portable-chairs-and-under-umbrellas-grass-koori-knockout-dubbo
/koori-knockout-supporters-moree-dubbo-wiradjuri-country
/mahalia-murphy-mindaribba-sisters-playing-game-her-team-would-go-lose-against-redfern-all-blacks
/toomelah-tigers-supporters-koori-knockout-dubbo-cheering-their-team

Barbara McGrady is a Gomeroi–Gamilaraay Murri photographer

The Koori Knockout exhibition is on show at the State Library, from Saturday 24 September 2022 to Sunday 27 August 2023.

This story appears in Openbook spring 2022.