When Victor Chapman headed off to Dubbo High School way back in 1945, he did so with the first new outfit he’d ever owned!

Victor was one of the distinguished Aboriginal athletes who represented the school in the early years of the Astley Cup competition.

Not only did he excel academically at the local education institution, he was also elected school captain in 1949 in his final year.

Later he became a teacher, a rare achievement as most Indigenous children weren’t expected, required, or often even, allowed to attend school in NSW until 1972, local Dubbo historian, Patrick Bourke recalled.

“In the past, very few Indigenous students stayed at school past the Intermediate Certificate or School Certificate,” Patrick told Dubbo Photo News.

“I’ve also attached a list of Indigenous students from Dubbo High School who have participated in early Astley Cups,” he added.

Victor’s own story is a telling tale of a time now, thankfully, largely forgotten in modern Australia.

It was encouragement from a teacher way out at Goodooga Public School near the Queensland border that set him on the path to education excellence.

Receiving a scholarship as the youngest of 15 children to parents who could neither read nor write, he headed off to the nearest high school, four-and-a-half hours, 250 miles, and more than 400km distant.

“In 1945 I hopped on the back of a truck with all my possessions – the first time I had new shoes, new clothes – and headed off to Dubbo High School,” he later recalled.

Seeing a train for the first time, he excelled academically, gaining a scholarship to Wagga Teachers College in 1950 before working at many schools around the State before being appointed the first Aboriginal school principal in NSW. Later, he became a talented ceramics artist.

Representing the school in the 1949 Astley Cup in both athletics and rugby league, he was also a distinguished footballer.

“Vic scored a try in the school’s football team’s 22-0 win over Bathurst High School in the first round of the 1949 Astley Cup, as reported in the ‘Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate’.

“He was one of a number of Aboriginal athletes to represent the school over those early years,” Patrick explained.

Others, he said, included:

• John (Jack) Carne for athletics in 1963 and 1964

• Patricia (Patsy) Angus for basketball (netball) in 1964

• Margaret (Marg) Carney for athletics in 1967

• Veronica (Blondie) Merritt for hockey in 1967 and 1968

• Cynthia Peckham for hockey in 1968 and 1969

• Stephen (Steve) Merritt for rugby league and athletics in 1972 and 1973

• Phillip Peachey for athletics in 1975 and 1976; rugby league in 1976

Many of these athletes also received school “Sporting Pockets” – honourary patches that could be sown onto school blazers or uniforms – for their efforts.

“Cynthia Peckham also received a ‘Sporting Blue’ from Dubbo High School in 1969 for hockey; while Steve Merritt was selected in the 1973 NSW Combined High Schools Rugby League Team,” Patrick said.

“In 1973, Steve was awarded a NSW Combined High Schools Sporting Blue for rugby league and, in 1979 and 1980, played first-grade rugby league for Manly-Warringah in Sydney,” he concluded.

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Original research by Jill McCann and Patrick Bourke