ABORIGINAL EASTER STAWELL GIFT WINNER IN 1928 WAS ALSO AN ACTIVIST
Lynch Cooper (c. 1905–1971) was an Aboriginal sprinter who won the Stawell Gift in 1928 after two previous attempts, and became the world’s professional sprint championship competition in 1929.
He is believed to be the first Australian Aboriginal person to win a world title in any sport.
Cooper, a Yorta Yorta man, was born in early 1905 at Moira Lake near Tocumwal and was educated at Mulwala State School. He was a gifted runner from an early age but did not run professionally until he turned 21.
At five feet ten inches (178 cm) tall and weighing eleven stone three pounds (71 kg), Cooper had strong shoulders from rural work and slim but muscled legs, allowing him great drive and power for running.
Winning many local and state races in his early career, he aspired to win the Stawell Gift, commonly known as ‘Australia’s richest footrace’ Lynch backed himself at 60 to 1 to win the Stawell Easter Gift that year – which he did, covering the 130 yards in 11.93 seconds. He won a prize of 250 pounds for his win but is reported to have won around 3000 pounds in bets he placed on himself.
He also had a strong passion for Indigenous rights thanks to the influence of his father, renowned Aboriginal rights campaigner, William Cooper, who established the Aborigines’ Advancement League, famously petitioned the king of England for Indigenous rights, and also campaigned against Nazi Germany. Lynch acted as Secretary for his father’s Victorian Aboriginal Society, and later in life became president of the Aborigines’ Progressive Association.
Cooper continued to run for many years after this, although never again reaching the heights of his world title victory. After his retirement, he remained active in sport training a number of runners and football players.
He was an original inductee in the Aboriginal Sports Hall of Fame.
MORE ABOUT LYNCH COOPER
That year, a record amount of prize money was offered – £250. In addition to the prize money, Lynch bet all the money he had on himself at 60:1 and won.
In April 1929, Lynch Cooper won the World Sprint Championship … over 75 yards, 100, 130, and 220 yards (68m, 91m, 118m, and 201m).
In 1928 he won the Stawell Gift, at his third attempt… With only twenty pounds left, his fishing boat sold and then unemployed, he risked all on himself at 60 to 1.
He had a long and rewarding career, sustaining himself and his family through the Depression years.
THREE OTHER ABORIGINALS WON FOUR STAWELL GIFTS
Other Aboriginal Stawell Gilft winners were Booby Kinnear (1883), Tom Dancey (1910), Lynch Cooper (1928) and Josh Ross (2003 and 2005
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