The basketballer Danny Morseu (b. 1958) was born on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. In 1979 he played for the St Kilda team that won Australia's inaugural National Basketball League (NBL) championship. The following year he became the first Torres Strait Islander to represent Australia at an Olympic Games - he played in seven matches at the Moscow Olympics, and in a further eight at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. In 1987, playing for the Brisbane Bullets, he won another NBL title. In April 2003, having played a total of 217 NBL matches over ten seasons, he became the first Indigenous player to be inducted into the NBL's Hall of Fame.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006
© Sahlan Hayes
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.
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