Harry Bullocky (born Bullchanach or Bullchanah, but usually known as Bullocky) (died 1890) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

cricketer who joined the

1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England In 1868, a cricket team composed of Aboriginal Australians toured England between May and October of that year, thus becoming the first organised group of Australian sportspeople to travel overseas. It would be another ten years before an Austral ...

. He was a right-handed

opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

and

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

. He was referred to as "at once the black Bannerman and

Blackham Blackham is a village in the Wealden district of East Sussex. It lies within the Withyham civil parish. Its nearest town is Royal Tunbridge Wells, which lies approximately east from the village. The village is situated on the East Sussex-Ken ...

of his team", and his wicket-keeping was favourably compared to

Tom Lockyer Thomas Alun Lockyer (born 3 December 1994) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Luton Town and the Wales national team. Club career Bristol Rovers Lockyer was born and raised in Cardiff. He joined Cardiff ...

. Much of the details of Bullocky's life remain obscure. His date of birth and ancestry are not known. His nick-name Bullocky is an Anglicised approximation to his traditional name, and may be a reference to the Australian term "

bullocky A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers. History Bullock teams were in use in Sydney, New South Wales in 1795 whe ...

", meaning the driver of a

bullock team An ox-wagon or bullock wagon is a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen (draught cattle). It was a traditional form of transport, especially in Southern Africa but also in New Zealand and Australia. Ox-wagons were also used in the United States. T ...

. He spent much of his life working on agricultural stations in the

Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Austral ...

region of western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. He received some cricket training from Tom Hamilton at Bringalbert Station, and moved to work for

Charles Officer Charles Officer (October 28, 1975 – December 1, 2023) was a Canadian film and television director, writer, actor, and professional hockey player. Background Charles Officer was born in Toronto, Ontario on October 28, 1972. He was born to a ...

Mount Talbot Mount Talbot is located on the northern side of Shale Pass on the Alberta-British Columbia border. It was officially named on 4 November 1925 after Senator Peter Talbot (1854-1919), an early pioneer of the Lacombe region of central Alberta. A t ...

Station alongside other Aboriginal cricketers. He played for a Victoria XI against a Tasmanian XVI in January 1867, alongside Johnny Cuzens. As a result, they are thought to be the first people of Aboriginal descent to play inter-colony cricket, although the match is not considered to have first-class status. Bullocky joined the Aboriginal cricket team that toured in England in 1868. He sailed to England with most of the team, leaving

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on the ''Parramatta'' on 8 February 1868. He played 39 matches on the tour in May to October 1868. Often opening the batting, he was also the main

, although occasionally the role was taken by

Johnny Mullagh Johnny Mullagh (born Unaarrimin; 13 August 1841 – 14 August 1891) was an Australian cricketer from 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 bow ...

. Bullocky

stumped Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crease ...

28 batsmen off the bowling of Charles Lawrence, standing up at the stumps. He played 61 innings on the rough pitches of the time which favoured the bowlers, scoring 569 runs at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of 9.33, and coming fourth in the batting averages. He scored 64 not out against Hastings, but he was mysteriously "absent ill" for the second innings in a two-day match against the MCC at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

on 12–13 June (there has been speculation that he was unfit, having become drunk the night before). After he returned to Australia, he continued to work on the stations, and to play cricket. He opened the batting alongside

for Harrow against Apsley in 1872. He also captained the

Lake Condah Mission Lake Condah Mission, also known as Condah Mission, was established in 1867 as a Church of England mission, approximately from Lake Condah, which was traditionally known as Tae Rak, and about to south-east of the small town of Condah. The site ...

team. Bullocky died of congestion of the lungs in 1890 aged 53.

References

*
The Black Lords of Summer: The Story of the 1868 Aboriginal Tour of England and Beyond

Ashley Mallett Ashley Alexander Mallett (13 July 1945 – 29 October 2021) was an Australian cricketer who played in 38 Tests and 9 One Day Internationals between 1968 and 1980. Until Nathan Lyon, he was Australia's most successful off spin bowler since World ...

, 2002, , p. 160-162 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullocky Year of birth unknown 1890 deaths Australian cricketers Cricketers from Victoria (state) Indigenous Australian cricketers