Anyinginyi Manuku Apparr: Stories from Our Country

Boxing at Seven Mile

Jurnkkurakurr
E. Graham Nakkamarra

This tree here now. This is the boxing tree. They would put a rope there right around there you can still see that. They used to put rope around. Rope and wire all the way around and people would fight in the middle and people around the sides to watch everywhere. We used to stand around and watch. The fence is still there.

People full up here, come from Phillip Creek to watch. Young Frazier, Neil Frazier and their sons now, father and uncle used to box all from Queensland. They would box on the dirt, clean all the grass away and box there.

When people used to be here this used to be really good one, clean like the road, not grown over, like this. We used to walk here and sleep. This grass came after now after people gone from here. After now when we left it went really scrub now. Everybody gone.

People from town would get them, pick them up and take them to Phillip Creek or before that the mine then, there now Giants Reef. That's where that little one, they made a big dam. Stop there first day and sleep, then next day go on to Phillip Creek.

Here again big truck come and everybody was here waiting that bore over there and we used to wait here to go on Phillip Creek big truck, swags there and sit on top of the swags. Mrs. Nelson, me, Mr. Plummer and my other brother, and Mrs. Nixon was little one, we all come. We were the last ones to go. Swags really high then they would go. One day stay then next day go back to Phillip Creek.

This page has paths: