Percy Hobson (athlete)

Percy Hobson

Personal information
Full name	Percy Francis Hobson
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1942-11-05) 5 November 1942[1] Bourke, New South Wales, Australia
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	High jump
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Australia British Empire and Commonwealth Games 1962 Perth High jump

Percy Francis Hobson is a former Australian high jumper.

Early life

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]

Career

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]

References