Training at Rushcutters Bay (1908)
Length: 1 minute 18 seconds
Synopsis
Historical footage of heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson at Rushcutters Bay in front of a small crowd as he prepares for his fight with Canadian world heavyweight champion Tommy Burns. Local fight promoter Hugh McIntosh appears in the background.
Curator’s notes
The bout between Tommy Burns and Jack Johnson on Boxing Day 1908 drew the biggest spectator crowd in the history of sporting events in Australia to that date, attracting over 200,000 people to the newly built open-air Sydney Stadium at Rushcutters Bay (see Boxing 1908: Johnson vs Burns (1908)). This footage was shot 10 days earlier, possibly by one of McIntosh’s employees, and shows a theatrical Johnson exercising, sparring and performing in front of the camera. In this footage, an intimate crowd is gathered around to watch Johnson in action, and he seems well aware of his attraction as a novelty. Johnson’s arrival in Australia had sparked great interest, as his plans to claim the world heavyweight championship would make him the first African American to achieve the title. Indeed he went on to knock out Burns in the Boxing Day bout to become world champion. Sydney fight promoter and sports lover Hugh McIntosh can be seen in this footage moving around the boxers with what appears to be a stopwatch.
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1 (Academy full frame)
