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Lionel Rose MBE
1968 Award
World Champion Boxer
Rose was the eldest of a family of nine children from a tiny Aboriginal community in Gippsland. In 1963, in spite of the death of his beloved father the previous day, Rose fought and won his first big fight at the Festival Hall, Melbourne. Needing the prize money to support his family, Rose turned professional after winning the Australia amateur flyweight championship later that year. One of Australia's best all-round boxers, he won the Australian professional bantamweight title in 1966 and the world title in Japan in 1968. More than 250 000 people - the biggest crowd ever to line Melbourne's streets - turned out to cheer their hero. He lost the World Title in 1969, retired in 1970, but attempted two comebacks in 1975 and 1976.
He had won more money than any other Australian fighter, but after retirement he entered a downward spiral of heavy drinking and criminal convictions. Early in his career he had been unwilling to assume the responsibility of being a figurehead for his people. however, after serving time in gaol he started work with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and travelled the country encouraging Aboriginal people to achieve their ambitions.
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