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A librarian at the State Library of Queensland in Australia named Tania Schafer wrote this blog post and sent it to me. Funnily enough I had just been reading about indigenous Australian fighter Jerry Jerome not long ago, but a quick thread https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/jerry-jerome-aboriginal-boxer-1874-1943
First, my knowledge of Aus boxing history is lacking indeed. But Young Griffo was certainly one of Australia's first and best-known fighters, who began his career when Jerry Jerome was a kid. That said, there was subset of boxing happening concurrently: tent boxing
I remember reading this piece by @axmcc years back and not only enjoying the article itself because he's a high quality writer, but because I knew basically nothing about Australia's tent boxing past http://thecomeback.com/queensberryrules/2013-articles/boxing-under-the-big-top.html
In the US, boxing people might talk about "club shows," and often fight shows aren't even THAT big. It's probably more difficult to pull off now, but we see fights in small cantinas and gyms all the time. In Australia, many indigenous folks fought on veritable carnival circuits
As I mention often, so many of boxing's fighters are unsung. The incredible, vast majority, in fact. Imagine fighting, sometimes for real, sometimes perhaps in a kind of rehearsed set-up, under a circus tent and making tripe for it, a sort of punching circus attraction.
That's at least in part why Jerry Jerome's story is important. As Mrs. Schafer notes, Jerry was born at Jimbour Station, which is similar to a ranch or pastoral land in the US. Australia has a terrible history of using indigenous slave labor in the pastoral industry
Jerome was from the Iman indigenous people, whose remaining members (smallpox killed nearly half of Australia's indigenous population) were almost all hunted down in the decades before his birth. As a British territory, Australia had a "Chief Protector of Aborigines"
Various massacres occurred in Australia as white settlers made their way across the joint with cattle and sheep. On at least one occasion, a massacre actually happened with the blessing (and likely participation) by the Chief Protector himself
Under the Chief Protector, indigenous Australians often had aspects of their lives controlled or limited. Sometimes marriages couldn't happen without the Protector's blessing, or business deals. Sometimes their very movement around territories was restricted
In 1908, Jerry Jerome actually found himself in trouble, as he was known for. One Chief Protector said of Jerry, "this moneyed gentleman 'took a 'ean advantage' to obstruct discipline and defy authority."
Remember those photos of Jack Johnson cruising in his whip? Well...
Remember those photos of Jack Johnson cruising in his whip? Well...
So to headline a fight card at a fairly new, roofed stadium in Sydney against French amateur champion Ercole de Balzac in 1913 was an achievement for someone who would generally be regarded as no better than tent show fodder, no matter how good he was
But here's the thing: Jerry Jerome didn't even start boxing until he was 34-years-old, and as Mrs. Schafer notes, did it for a new horse and equipment, not the purse itself. He fought more than 60 times in about 7 years, scoring 31 knockouts
As for a visual on what he looked like in the ring, man was he peculiar style-wise. Here are some highlights from his first bout against Arthur Cripps at Brisbane's Olympic Stadium in 1910. He lost a 20 round decision
Jerry Jerome was almost a mixture of Emanuel Augustus with that weird rhythm and Vicente Saldivar with all the parrying. He didn't have an impressive record, but also had little to no formal boxing training or knowledge. Even so, he looked like a nightmare to fight
At some point Jerry Jerome was relocated because he wasn't spending his winnings how the government apparently preferred. Jerry Jerome died alone and poor at a mission for indigenous people despite making nearly $500K during his career
Most of this is coming from researchers and archivists like Tania Schafer, so again please click the link in the original tweet. There's no grand lesson here, I suppose. I'd just like to see that indigenous accomplishments be recognized and remembered as well. Thanks.
