The Sir Doug Nicholls Award will be presented to the best on ground player during the Dreamtime VFL match between Richmond and Essendon.
Voted by both team’s coaches, the player named best afield will receive a trophy for their outstanding performance during the game.
The award is named in honour of former Fitzroy and Northcote Footballer, boxer and runner, Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls (JP, MBE, OBE, KCVO, Bapa Mamus).
A pioneer in campaigning for indigenous rights, Nicholls was a man who fought hard to bring about understanding and equality.
Born in 1906, he was a gifted footballer who went on to a successful career in politics, culminating in receiving a knighthood in 1972 and being made Governor of South Australia from 1976-1977. Nicholls is the only Australian Rules footballer to have ever been knighted or become a State Governor.
Aaron Clark, AFL Victoria’s Indigenous Programs Manager, said the influence of Nicholls carries across all levels of the game.
“Sir Doug is one of the most influential leaders of our modern time. He broke down barriers and brought the community together.
“His playing days were all the more amazing considering he played at a time where he was not even recognised as a citizen or for that matter a person,” Clark said.
“Based on mutual respect he was a true champion to white and black people and a role model for generations.
“Today we still look up to him.”
Nicholls played football for the Northcote Football Club (VFA) during the 1920s and for the Fitzroy Football Club during the 1930s. He finished third in the 1934 Brownlow Medal and in 1935 was the first indigenous footballer to be selected for the Victorian State team.
He was a man who demonstrated true resilience in forging a successful career on and off the football field, during a time when there were many barriers to this success.
With his hard work and foresight he was at the forefront of developing a dialogue of reconciliation and recognition for indigenous Australians.
Indigenous Round celebrates the power of sport to bring communities together, to break down barriers and to gain a greater understanding of Indigenous culture. The round highlights the valuable contributions and successes of Indigenous footballers and their communities, past and present.
Nicholls’s achievements in bringing communities together and fostering understanding has been an untold story and one that, through this important match on the VFL calendar can now be brought to life.
The Sir Doug Nicholls Award will be presented by his daughter, Pam Nicholls.
WHO: Richmond vs Essendon
WHEN: Saturday May 31, 2pm
WHERE: Punt Road Oval (ME Bank Centre)
Last Modified on 28/05/2014 23:57