DNA reveals Ron Gaunt, Australia’s first Indigenous Test cricketer, hid family secret

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Key details reported by multiple sources:

• Ron Gaunt made his Test debut in January 1958 in Durban, claiming figures of 2-87 at age 23
• Gaunt was born in York in 1934, about 100 kilometres east of Perth
• York was established in 1831 after being home to the Ballardong Noongar people
• Gaunt’s grandmother, Matilda Cowan, was born in 1872 to John Walkinshaw Cowan and an unnamed Aboriginal woman
• Matilda Cowan took a local publican to court in York at age 16 over unpaid wages and won
• Arthur Gaunt (Ron’s father) served in the First World War and listed his mother’s heritage as Maori to receive a £100 gratitude bond
• The ‘Native Prohibited Area’ in Perth was rescinded in 1954, covering the CBD and Swan River suburbs
• Gaunt played for WA in 1956 and was warned by umpire Colley for ‘Bodyline’ bowling against Queensland
• Gaunt coached Merv Hughes at Footscray Cricket Club, who joined in November 1978 at age 17
• Hughes was told by Gaunt to become a bowler after bowling three balls in training
• Gaunt’s Indigenous heritage was confirmed by DNA testing in 2012, making him Australia’s first known Indigenous Test cricketer
• Gaunt’s debut preceded the first women’s Test in February 1958 and decades before Jason Gillespie played in 1996
• Gaunt’s father, Walter Gaunt, was a bricklayer who moved the family to Rivervale, near the Swan River
• Gaunt’s son Andrew visited him on the NSW Central Coast after retiring, staying for a few years around age 21-22
• Gaunt’s family hid their Indigenous heritage due to laws and restrictions, including the White Australia policy
• Gaunt’s two of three Tests were played against Apartheid South African teams in the 1950s and ’60s
• Gaunt was nicknamed ‘Pappy’ and mentored Tony Dodemaide, who later became an Australian selector
• Gaunt’s family moved from York to Perth as Walter’s building business grew