In 1876, the African-Caribbean boxer Jack ‘Black Diamond’ Dowridge sailed from London to Brisbane... more In 1876, the African-Caribbean boxer Jack ‘Black Diamond’ Dowridge sailed from London to Brisbane aboard the Osseo—not to step out in the boxing ring, but as an assistant cook on the passenger ship’s crew. It was not Dowridge’s first time in Queensland’s capital city, having sailed to Brisbane as a cook on board the Royal Dane in 1872 and 1874. In London, Dowridge was a fighter in the stable of the famed boxing promoter Nat Langham, but it seems his frequent trips ‘down under’ had inspired him to open his own boxing saloon in Brisbane. Perhaps the semi-tropical climate reminded him of his childhood in Barbados? Maybe he felt welcome in a young, energetic city where a talented black pugilist with London connections could make a name for himself? By all accounts, Australians considered Dowridge an intelligent, educated and well-dressed ‘gentleman’, as much admired for his business acumen as a boxing hall, hotel, theatre and restaurant proprietor as for his boxing prowess. Nevertheless, his negotiations of race and racism in Queensland reveal intriguing episodes and elisions alongside instances of outright prejudice and hostility, pointing to the difficult and marginalised spaces occupied by the African-Caribbean diaspora in colonial Australia.
In 1876, the African-Caribbean boxer Jack ‘Black Diamond’ Dowridge sailed from London to Brisbane... more In 1876, the African-Caribbean boxer Jack ‘Black Diamond’ Dowridge sailed from London to Brisbane aboard the Osseo—not to step out in the boxing ring, but as an assistant cook on the passenger ship’s crew. It was not Dowridge’s first time in Queensland’s capital city, having sailed to Brisbane as a cook on board the Royal Dane in 1872 and 1874. In London, Dowridge was a fighter in the stable of the famed boxing promoter Nat Langham, but it seems his frequent trips ‘down under’ had inspired him to open his own boxing saloon in Brisbane. Perhaps the semi-tropical climate reminded him of his childhood in Barbados? Maybe he felt welcome in a young, energetic city where a talented black pugilist with London connections could make a name for himself? By all accounts, Australians considered Dowridge an intelligent, educated and well-dressed ‘gentleman’, as much admired for his business acumen as a boxing hall, hotel, theatre and restaurant proprietor as for his boxing prowess. Nevertheless, his negotiations of race and racism in Queensland reveal intriguing episodes and elisions alongside instances of outright prejudice and hostility, pointing to the difficult and marginalised spaces occupied by the African-Caribbean diaspora in colonial Australia.
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Journal articles by Gary Osmond