"The sporting ground for our people has been a ground of truth and reconciliation, a proving ground for young men and women where black and white meet and play on equal terms and agreed rules. Black Gold shares the proud history of First Nations sportspeople in shaping the sporting history of Australia. It is a story that can be told and retold.-- Senator Patrick Dodson". School of Arts. He is the co-author of two books with Colin Tatz; Evonne Goolagong, Cathy Freeman, Nova Peris, Lionel Rose, Artie Beetson, Polly Farmer are just a few of our Australian sporting heroes who, since the mid-1880s, have helped shape Australia’s identity as a great sporting nation. They, along with 261 other individual sporting greats, are showcased here in this new edition of the Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame. Spanning 36 sports across a period of 166 years, Black Pearls presents some of our Olympic heroes, superb sportswomen, football giants, boxing legends, lightning sprinters and more – from darts champions to world class weightlifters and woodchoppers. Black Pearls is more than a sports book. It reveals a history of inclusion and exclusion, about Aboriginal determination in the face of enormous obstacles, and resilience in overcoming remoteness, discriminatory laws, incarceration on isolated reserves, and opponents in a variety of sports arenas.