List of Indigenous Australian sportspeople

Last updated October 24, 2025

This is a list of indigenous Australian (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) athletes and sportspeople. Sports is one of the areas of mainstream Australian society in which Indigenous Australians have been able to break through in some degree.

American football

Jesse Williams

Association football (Soccer)

Fred Agius
Gordon Briscoe
James Brown
Jacob Collard
Travis Dodd
Shadeene Evans
Frank Farina
Harry Kewell
Jada Mathyssen-Whyman
Tahj Minniecon
John Moriarty
Jade North – first Indigenous association footballer to captain Socceroos and captain national league championship
Tanya Oxtoby
Charles Perkins
Tate Russell
Adam Sarota
Gema Simon
Kyah Simon
Lorenzo Sipi
Bridgette Starr
Gianni Stensness
Allira Toby
Kasey Wehrman
David Williams
Harry Williams
Lydia Williams

Athletics (track and field)

Australian rules football

Basketball

Rohanee Cox
Nathan Jawai, first Indigenous Australian to play in the NBA
Patty Mills
Danny Morseu

Boxing

Lawrence Austin
Elley Bennett
Wally Carr, held the Australasian Light Middleweight title, Australian Junior Middleweight, Middleweight, Super Middleweight, Light Heavyweight Title, Commonwealth Middleweight title and Oriental Middleweight title.
Paul Fleming
Daniel Geale, former IBF, IBO and WBA Super Middleweight Champion.
Cameron Hammond
Damien Hooper
Bradley Hore
Jerry Jerome, first Indigenous Australian to win a major boxing title, Australian Middleweight Champion.
Anthony Mundine, holds WBC Silver Super Welterweight title, & former Interim WBA Light Middleweight Champion, 2 time WBA Super Middleweight Champion, IBO Middleweight Champion.
Tony Mundine, held the Australian middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight titles, Commonwealth middleweight and light heavyweight titles.
Robbie Peden, former IBF Super Featherweight Champion.
Ron Richards, held the Australian heavyweight, middleweight, light heavyweight title, Commonwealth middleweight title.
Renold Quinlan
Frank Roberts, Australia's first Indigenous Olympic boxer.
Lionel Rose, held WBC & WBA World bantamweight titles. The first Koori "Indigenous Australian" to win a World title.
Dave Sands, held the Australian middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight titles and won the Commonwealth middleweight title, world boxing hall of famer.
Keith Saunders
Hector Thompson
Joe Williams
Neville "Chappy" Williams

Cricket

Eddie Gilbert EddieGilbertPic.jpg — Eddie Gilbert

Scott Boland, only the second male Indigenous Australian as of 2021 to play Test Cricket for Australia.^[1]
Dan Christian
Ashleigh Gardner, first Indigenous Australian woman to play in a cricket World Cup.^[2]
Eddie Gilbert, 1930s Queensland cricketer
Jason Gillespie, first male indigenous Australian to play cricket for Australia, and until Scott Boland's debut in 2021, the only one to play Test Cricket for Australia.^[3]
Jack Marsh
John McGuire, captain of an Aboriginal XI that toured England in 1988
Johnny Mullagh, 1860s cricketer, who was a member of the Aboriginal cricket team that toured England in 1868
Edna Newfong (Crouch) and Mabel Crouch (Campbell), were members of the Queensland XI women's cricket team that played England in 1934–35. They were the first indigenous women to represent Australia in any sport.
D'Arcy Short
Faith Thomas, first female Indigenous Australian in the Australian Women's Cricket Team and thus the first Indigenous Australian woman to play Test cricket.

Darts

Field hockey

Horse racing

Lester Fell, jockey, Indigenous histories
Darby McCarthy, jockey
Frank Reys, jockey

Motorsport

Craig Anderson, Motocross
Jeff Leisk, Motocross
Darren McDonald, Auscar
Chad Reed, Motocross

Rugby league

Matthew Allwood
Tyson Andrews
Preston Campbell
Sam Backo
Ben Barba
Michael Bani
Kurt Baptiste
Lenny Beckett
Roy Bell
Arthur Beetson, First Indigenous Australian to captain Australia in any sport (1973)
Sam Bowie
Matt Bowen
Brenton Bowen
Nathan Blacklock (also rugby union)
Maurice Blair
Greg Bird
Fred Briggs
Justin Brooker
Caleb Binge
Jason Bulgarelli
Burnum Burnum
Justin Carney
Will Chambers (also rugby union)
Beau Champion
Selwyn Cobbo
Mal Cochrane
Larry Corowa
Owen Craigie
Tony Currie
Laurie Daley
Paul Davis
Nakia Davis-Welsh
Sid Domic
Justin Doyle
Leo Dynevor
Jason Edwards
Steve Ella
Dylan Farrell
Andrew Fifita
David Fifita
Blake Ferguson
John Ferguson
Frank Fisher
Jake Friend
Jake Foster
Dane Gagai
Craig Garvey
George Green
Isaac Gordon
Yillenn Gordon
Ron Gibbs
Brett Grogan
Chris Grevsmuhl
Jeff Hardy
Tony Hearn
Shannon Hegarty
Justin Hodges
Jayden Hodges
Josh Hoffman
Neil Henry
Kyle Turner
Greg Inglis, Most tries scored in State of Origin
Jamal Idris
Willie Isa
Ryan James
Alex Johnston
Ben Jones
Rod Jensen
Johnny Jarrett
Albert Kelly
Luke Kelly
Robert Lui
Gavin Lester
Cliff Lyons
Daine Laurie
Ian Lacey
Royston Lightning
Kevin Longbottom
Tom Learoyd-Lahrs
Robert Laurie
Edrick Lee
Brenko Lee
Michael Lett
George Longbottom
Kevin Longbottom
Cliff Lyons
Graham Lyons
Lionel Morgan
Anthony Mundine (also boxing)
Wally McArthur
Nathan Merritt
Kevin McGuinness
PJ Marsh
Anthony Mitchell
Joel Moon
Donald Malone
Ewan McGrady
Chris McKenna
Caitlin Moran
Denis Moran
Keiran Moseley
Shea Moylan
Dane Nielsen
Ken Nagas
Lavina O'Mealey
Wes Patten
Danny Peacock
Nathan Peats
David Peachey
Tyrone Peachey
Corey Paterson
Scott Prince
Steve Renouf
Amos Roberts
James Roberts
Tyrone Roberts
George Rose
Joel Romelo
Reece Robinson
Travis Robinson
Will Robinson
Ian Russell
Chris Sandow
Wendell Sailor (also rugby union)
Matt Sing
Eric Simms
Ron Saddler
Jamie Simpson
Dale Shearer
Jamie Soward
Aiden Sezer
Craig Salvatori
Colin Scott
John Simon
Taleena Simon
Will Smith
Bruce Stewart
Corey Stewart
Johnathan Thurston
Joel Thompson
Ray Thompson
Gorden Tallis
Timana Tahu (also rugby union)
Brad Tighe
Sam Thaiday
Milton Thaiday (also rugby union)
Willie Tonga
Esi Tonga
Craig Trindall
Darrell Trindall
Albert Torrens
Travis Waddell
Daniel Wagon
Ricky Walford
Andrew Walker (also rugby union)
Shannon Walker (also rugby union)
Luke Walsh
Palmer Wapau
Derrick Watkins
Carl Webb
Brent Webb
Rhys Wesser
Dean Widders
Jack Wighton
Ty Williams
Joe Williams (also boxing)
Richard Williams
Jonathan Wright
Jharal Yow Yeh
Kevin Yow Yeh

Rugby union

Richie Arnold
Rory Arnold
Kurtley Beale
Nathan Blacklock
Burnum Burnum
Will Chambers
Matt Hodgson
Gary Ella ^[4]^[5]
Glen Ella ^[4]^[6]
Mark Ella ^[4]^[7]
Anthony Fainga'a
Colby Fainga'a
Saia Fainga'a
Harrison Goddard
Frank Ivory
Lloyd McDermott, Second Indigenous player to represent Australia.^[8]
Andy Muirhead
John Porch
Cecil Ramalli, Now acknowledged as the first Indigenous Wallaby in 1938 according to the ARU.^[9]
Moses Sorovi
Timana Tahu
Milton Thaiday
Andrew Walker
Shannon Walker
Jim Williams

Rugby Sevens

Swimming

Tennis

Ashleigh Barty
Evonne Goolagong, Won 7 Grand Slam Singles titles. They were all in the open era.

References

↑ "Scott Boland to become fourth Indigenous Australian to play Test cricket". Independent.co.uk . 25 December 2021.
↑ "Ashleigh Gardner stands on the cusp of history". ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 26 June 2017.
↑ "10 legendary Aboriginal cricketers who bowled us over". 20 December 2017.
1 2 3 "Significant Aboriginal People in Sydney". City of Sydney. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
↑ "Gary Ella". ESPN Scrum . ESPN. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
↑ "Glen Ella". ESPN Scrum. ESPN. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
↑ "Mark Ella". ESPN Scrum. ESPN. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
↑ "Issue 34, April 2009". Hearsay, The Journal of the Bar Association of Queensland. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
↑ "Beale reveals Indigenous jersey | Latest Rugby News". RUGBY.com.au. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2022.

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[1] "Scott Boland to become fourth Indigenous Australian to play Test cricket". Independent.co.uk . 25 December 2021.

[Gardner-2] "Ashleigh Gardner stands on the cusp of history". ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 26 June 2017.

[3] "10 legendary Aboriginal cricketers who bowled us over". 20 December 2017.

[ella1-4] 1 2 3 "Significant Aboriginal People in Sydney". City of Sydney. Retrieved 12 January 2012.

[garyella-scrum-5] "Gary Ella". ESPN Scrum . ESPN. Retrieved 12 January 2012.

[glenella-scrum-6] "Glen Ella". ESPN Scrum. ESPN. Retrieved 12 January 2012.

[markella-scrum-7] "Mark Ella". ESPN Scrum. ESPN. Retrieved 12 January 2012.

[Aboriginal_1-8] "Issue 34, April 2009". Hearsay, The Journal of the Bar Association of Queensland. Retrieved 4 March 2017.

[9] "Beale reveals Indigenous jersey | Latest Rugby News". RUGBY.com.au. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2022.

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