Indigenous Australian boxing world champion Lionel Rose became one of Australia's most famous sportsmen after beating Japan’s Masahiko 'Fighting' Harada for the world bantamweight title in 1968. (Photo, 1988.)
I drove to Drouin to take this photo, accompanied by reporter Stuart Rintoul.
During their interview, Rintoul referred to a difficult time in the champ’s life, when, some years earlier, police had found Rose hiding behind a cupboard in a school. (Rose was arrested for trespassing with intent to steal and subsequently fined.)
Rintoul looked Rose squarely in the eyes and said in a challenging voice:
‘Lionel, you were found by the police hiding behind a schoolroom cupboard. How do you feel about that?’
Rose replied:
‘I was surprised.’
Rintoul asked:
‘Do you mean you were surprised because you never thought your life would come to that?’
‘No,’ said the champ:
‘I was surprised because I never thought the police would look behind the cupboard!’
The three of us fell about laughing. It was a genuine icebreaker and Stuart went on to conduct an honest and revealing interview with one of Australia’s great sportsmen and characters.
The portrait I took, capturing Lionel’s cheeky grin, highlights his relaxed composure.
Rose was funny, much of his humour self-deprecating. A champion, in so many ways.
**This photograph is part of an IA series that looks at Australia through the lens of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**
Bill McAuley's 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a cadet photographer at 'The Age' in Melbourne.
He has several published collections, including 'Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley' and the recently launched, 'Last light on Victoria Dock, 1999'. To see more from Bill, click here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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