Percy Hobson (athlete)

Hobson was born on 5 November 1942 in Bourke, New South Wales to Fanny Williams and Percy Hobson. Fanny was the daughter of a respected Aboriginal tracker Frank Williams. One of ten children, Hobson was named Percy after his father and Francis after his grandfather and uncle who was killed on active service in Malaya around the time of his birth. His mother Fanny was from Brewarrina.[3] During his youth Hobson trained using a makeshift high-jump.[4]

In November 1961 Percy Hobson broke the NSW resident high-jump record with a leap of 6'8". In March 1962 at the Australian Athletics Championships, Hobson won the high jump event with a jump of 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), defeating Tony Sneazwell on a countback.[2] Eight months later at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Hobson, aged 20 years, won gold in the high jump clearing the bar at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m),[5] setting a new Commonwealth Games record.[6] In doing so, he became the first Indigenous Australian to win a gold medal for Australia at the Commonwealth Games. Hobson received a hero's welcome when he returned to Bourke with the local brass band played "Hail, the Conquering Hero".[2] A local park in Bourke was later renamed Percy Hobson Park in his honour.[7]