No Australian sports men or women were involved! TOMMY BURNS, a Canadian boxer who was the recognised World Champion and JACK JOHNSON an American boxer, slugged it out in front of 16,000 men, and one woman who happened to be the wife of the famous visiting American correspondent and author JACK LONDON. As well as the 16,000 inside, another 25,000 fans had to be turned away from the venue which was a makeshift stadium constructed on a disused market garden situated close to the harbour and east of the city centre in a Sydney suburb called Rushcutters Bay.
The fight had a lasting significance on world sporting, social and political history. Because the challenger, JACK JOHNSON was black - and he won.
