View source for Johnny Mullagh

{{short description|Australian cricketer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name        = Johnny Mullagh, Unaarrimin
| image             = Johnnie Mullagh newspaper portrait.png
| caption           =
| batting           = Right-handed
| bowling           = Right-arm
| columns           = 1
| column1           = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1          = 1 
| runs1             = 40
| bat avg1          = 20.00
| 100s/50s1         = 0/0
| top score1        = 36
| deliveries1       = 12
| wickets1          = 0
| bowl avg1         = –
| fivefor1          = –
| tenfor1           = –
| best bowling1     = –
| catches/stumpings1= 1/–
| source            = http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/6846.html CricInfo
| date              = 6 March
| year              = 2018
}}

'''Johnny Mullagh''' (born '''Unaarrimin'''; 13 August 1841 – 14 August 1891) was an Australian cricketer from [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] who was the leading player on the famous [[1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England]]. He was a skilful [[all-rounder]], being a right-arm [[Bowler (cricket)|bowler]] and right-handed [[batsman]]. In December 2020, Mullagh was inducted into the [[Australian Cricket Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-55465041 |title=Johnny Mullagh: Australia's Cricket Hall of Fame inducts first Aboriginal player |work=BBC News |access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/johnny-mullagh-belatedly-inducted-to-australian-hall-of-fame-1245536 |title=Johnny Mullagh belatedly inducted to Australian Hall of Fame |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

== Background ==
He was born Unaarrimin, a member of the [[Jardwadjali]] people, on Mullagh Station, about sixteen kilometres north of [[Harrow, Victoria]]. He was given the name "Mullagh" to identify him with his place of birth. He learned to play cricket at the Edgars' Pine Hills agricultural property in Harrow.

== Cricketing career ==
Mullagh played 47 matches on the [[1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England|1868 England tour]], when none of the matches were [[first-class cricket|first-class]], scoring 1698 runs at an average of around 20, on pitches that were often treacherous.<ref name="ci">[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/6846.html Johnny Mullagh], CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-03-06.</ref> He also bowled 1877 overs, 831 of which were maidens, and took 245 wickets at 10 apiece. If that wasn't enough, he would occasionally don wicket-keeping gloves, achieving four stumpings.

There was general discrimination against [[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous peoples]] in [[History of Australia (1851–1900)|Nineteenth-century Australia]]. Many of those chosen to tour England faced obscure futures and early deaths once the venture had concluded. One player, "King Cole", died on the trip and, of those who returned, seven spent time on a reserve, two vanished, and the fate of two others is not clear from the surviving records.

Historian [[D. J. Mulvaney]] said of Mullagh, "Few contemporary cricketers better merited the title of all-rounder".<ref>{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |id2=mullagh-johnny-4267/text6895|title=Mullagh, Johnny (1841–1891)|last=Mulvaney|first=D. J.|author-link=John Mulvaney|date=1974}}</ref> Mullagh's performances were impressive enough for him to join the [[Melbourne Cricket Club]] (MCC) as a professional for part of the 1869–70 season. His appointment was terminated shortly afterwards, reportedly because of a severe illness when he was on the verge of inter-colonial selection.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Whimpress|first=Bernard|title=Johnny Mullagh: Western District Hero or the Black Grace?|date=1994|journal=Aboriginal History|volume=18|issue=1/2|pages=95–102|jstor=24046091}}</ref>

[[File:Johnny Mullagh.jpg|thumb|left|A Harrow portrait of Johnny Mullagh.]]

In 1870, Mullagh first played in a match for the Western District, appearing for [[Apsley, Victoria|Apsley]] against Harrow, but for the rest of his career he played mostly for Harrow.<ref name=":0" /> He liked to play an unorthodox shot similar to the 21st-century [[paddle scoop|ramp shot]]: "Dropping on one knee to a fast rising ball, he would hold his bat over his shoulder and parallel to the ground. The ball would touch the blade, and shoot high over the wicket-keeper's head to the boundary."<ref>[[D. J. Mulvaney]], ''Cricket Walkabout'', Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1967, p. 82.</ref>

Mullagh was both an independent person and a passionate advocate of Indigenous rights, refusing to dwell on [[Aboriginal reserve|state-controlled reserves]]. His political stance was revealed during a game at Apsley, when, as the players went to lunch, a white participant asked, "What about the nigger?" The captain replied, "Let him have his dinner in the kitchen". Mullagh refused to eat in the kitchen, and sat outside the hotel in protest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cricmash.com/biographies/johnny-unaarrimin-mullagh-the-greatest-aboriginal-cricketer-of-his-day|title=Johnny 'Unaarrimin' Mullagh: The greatest aboriginal cricketer of his day|website=CricketMash|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-09-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://harrow.org.au/history/johnny-mullagh-first-xi/|title=Harrow Discovery Centre {{!}} Johnny Mullagh & First XI|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-15}}</ref>

Mullagh never appeared in an inter-colonial cricket match, although he did represent [[Victorian cricket team|Victoria]] against a touring [[Marylebone Cricket Club|England]] side in 1879, top scoring with 36 in the second innings. He was then 38 years old and, instead of going in first-wicket-down as he did for his club, batted at nine and 10.

Maintaining his independence and dignity to the end, Mullagh spent his last days living in a rabbitter's shack. He continued to play cricket until a few months before his death at Pine Hills Station in 1891, one day after his 50th birthday. The ''Hamilton Spectator'' described him in his obituary as "the [[WG Grace|[W.G.] Grace]] of aboriginal cricketers", while another writer referred to Mullagh as "Victoria's premier batsman".<ref>Old 'un, [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65526550 "An Old Time Team of Darkies"], ''Euroa Advertiser'', 2 April 1897, p. 3.</ref>

== Legacy ==
A memorial has been built in Harrow to honour Mullagh,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://canadabayheritage.asn.au/johnny-mullagh-world-famous-cricketer/|title=Johnny Mullagh – World Famous Cricketer|website=City of Canada Bay Heritage Society|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> and the local sports ground is Johnny Mullagh Oval.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/little-harrow-honours-johnny-mullagh-our-first-cricket-legend-20180301-p4z2aq.html|title=Little Harrow honours Johnny Mullagh, our first cricket legend|last=Wright|first=Tony|date=2018-03-02|website=The Age|language=en|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> A local indigenous tournament has been created, and the teams vie for the Johnny Mullagh Memorial Trophy.

In February 2012, the [[Premier of Victoria]], [[Ted Baillieu]], and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, [[Jeanette Powell]], announced that Mullagh would be one of the 20 inaugural inductees to the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll.

In December 2019, [[Cricket Australia]] revealed plans for the [[Johnny Mullagh Medal]], to be awarded to the best player in the [[Boxing Day Test]] match from 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-09/johnny-mullagh-medal-at-boxing-day-test-from-2020/11779184|title='You get told about Bradman but not our mob': Test medal to honour Indigenous cricketing icon|last=Wales|first=Sean|date=2019-12-09|publisher=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/29396207/the-indigenous-hole-australian-cricket-heart |title=The Indigenous hole at Australian cricket's heart |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=2 July 2020}}</ref> On 29 December 2020, [[Indian people|Indian]] cricketer [[Ajinkya Rahane]] became the first recipient of the award. Following this, on 28 December 2021, another Aboriginal Australian, [[Scott Boland]], received the award after taking 7 wickets on his test debut.

==See also==
* [[Mullagh Medal]]
* [[List of Victoria first-class cricketers]]
* [[Twopenny (cricketer)|Twopenny]] – Aboriginal Australian who played for New South Wales against Victoria in 1870
* [[Jack Marsh]] – Aboriginal Australian who played for New South Wales from 1900 to 1902
* [[Albert Henry (cricketer)|Albert Henry]] – Aboriginal Australian who played for Queensland from 1902 to 1905
* [[Eddie Gilbert (cricketer)|Eddie Gilbert]] – Aboriginal Australian who played for Queensland from 1930 to 1936

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{cricinfo|id=6846}}
*[http://www.wimmera.com.au/wimmera/2_harrow.htm Harrow, Wimmera] Tourist information

{{Australian Aboriginal team 1868 Squad}}{{Australian Cricket Hall of Fame}}{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullagh, Johnny}}
[[Category:1841 births]]
[[Category:1891 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian sportsmen]]
[[Category:Australian cricketers]]
[[Category:Victoria cricketers]]
[[Category:Indigenous Australian cricketers]]
[[Category:Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:People from the Colony of Victoria]]