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Cawley, Evonne (1951-)

Also known as
Cawley, Evonne Fay Goolagong (1951-)
Goolagong, Evonne (1951-)
Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-477798

Biographies

Australian Women's Register

Evonne Cawley, a member of the Wiradjuri people, was the first indigenous Australian to win a Wimbledon Tennis Championship in 1971. She left her hometown in Barellan, New South Wales, to live in Sydney to concentrate on her tennis, under the management of Mr Vic Edwards, a well known Sydney tennis coach. She had a successful professional tennis career, lived in the United States of America for a period, then returned to live in Queensland after the death of her mother in 1991. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1972 for services to tennis and Officer of the Order of Australia in 1982.

Evonne Cawley was the daughter of Kenny Goolagong, a shearer, and his wife Linda, née Hamilton. She grew up in Barellan, country New South Wales, one of a family of eight children, and was educated at Barellan primary and central schools. She was a good athlete and showed an early aptitude for tennis, which members of her family and friends encouraged. She was given special dispensation because of her age to join the local tennis club at the age of seven. She attracted the interest of Mr Vic Edwards, the owner of the Victor A Edwards Tennis School (VAETS) at the age of eleven, when a tennis clinic was held in Barellan in 1961.

On the suggestion of Edwards, she moved to Sydney permanently in 1965, at the age of fourteen, to concentrate on her tennis career and lived with the Edwards family. Edwards coached her and later became her personal manager. She attended Willoughby Girls High School and completed her School Certificate in 1968, then undertook secretarial studies at the Metropolitan Business College. She entered the New South Wales Championship at the age of fifteen and in January 1968 played in the Australian women's singles championship. At this point she was ranked as the top junior in New South Wales.

In 1970 she travelled to London to compete at Wimbledon for the first time and was a member of the Australian Federation Cup team in the same year. The year 1971 was a highlight of her career, as she won the French Open, the British Hard Court Championships and Wimbledon. In 1972 she was appointed Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to tennis, and received her award at Buckingham Palace. She married Roger Cawley on 19 June 1975, in London, and followed it up with a blessing at St Clements Anglican Church and open-house party in her home town of Barellan later in the year. On her marriage, she severed her business relationship with Vic Edwards and settled in the United States of America. Her first child, Kelly, was born on 12 May 1977 at Beaufort, USA and her second, Morgan, on 28 May 1981 in the same hospital. She won her second Wimbledon title in 1980. She also played with the Pittsburgh Triangles until 1976. She received her second honour, the Order of Australia, in 1982. After nursing injuries for a period, she retired from competition in 1983. In 1988 she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

She returned to Australia to live in 1991 at Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and has travelled around Australia, coming to understand the importance of her Aboriginal heritage and introducing her American born children to their indigenous culture. She was a member of the Board of the Australian Sports Commission from 1995-1997. Since 1997, she has held the position of Sports Ambassador to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Communities.

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Resources

Selected resources (12)

Australian Women's Register

  1. Goolagong Cawley, Evonne (1951- )
    [2000]
    Published: Yorkin Publications, Waterford, CT, USA
  2. Cawley, Evonne Fay; AO 1982, MBE 1972; Sports Ambassador to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Communities.
    [2002]
    Published: Crown Content, Melbourne
  3. Evonne
    Cawley, Evonne and Collins, Bud, with Edwards, Victor
    [1975]
    Published: Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, London
  4. Home! The Evonne Goolagong Story
    Cawley, Evonne Goolagong and Jarrett, Phil
    [1993]
    Published: Simon and Schuster, East Roseville, NSW
  5. Evonne and her family
    [1977]
  6. She's Game: Women Making Australian Sporting History
    Australian Women's Archives Project
    [2007]
    Published: Australian Women's Archives Project
  7. Faith, Hope and Charity Australian Women and Imperial Honours: 1901-1989
    Australian Women's Archives Project
    [2003]
    Published: Australian Women's Archives Project
  8. Great Australian Women in Sport
    Brasch, Nicolas
    [1997]
    Published: Heinemann, Port Melbourne (Vic.)
  9. 100 great Australians
    Macklin, Robert
    [1983]
    Published: Currey O'Neil Ross, South Yarra, Vic.
  10. Aboriginal women
    Richards, Michaela
    [1988]
    Published: Angus & Robertson, North Ryde, N.S.W.
  11. EVONNE GOOLAGONG CAWLEY
    [2002]
    Published: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  12. The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia : Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, society and culture
    Horton, David
    [1994]
    Published: Aboriginal Studies Press for AIATSIS, Canberra

Resources About Evonne Cawley (25)

  1. Home! : The Evonne Goolagong story / Evonne Goolagong Cawley & Phil Jarratt
    Cawley, Evonne, 1951-
    [Book, Audio book : 1993-1994]
  2. Evonne / Evonne Goolagong and Bud Collins with Victor Edwards ; introduction by Dan Maskell
    Cawley, Evonne, 1951-
    [Book : 1975]
  3. Winning women : challenging the norms in Australian sport
    Mitchell, Susan
    [Book : 1985]
  4. Evonne! : On the move / Evonne Goolagong with Bud Collins
    Cawley, Evonne, 1951-
    [Book : 1975]
  5. Evonne Cawley / Ashley Mallett
    Mallett, Ashley, 1945-
    [Book : 1983]
  6. The proud champions : Australias Aboriginal sporting heroes / by Bret Harris
    Harris, Bret
    [Book : 1989]
  7. Free spirit, Evonne Goolagong / author, D.H. Herda ; photography, Bruce Curtis, Melchior DiGiacomo, Jo Anne Kalish
    Herda, D. J., 1948-
    [Book : 1976]
  8. Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 1951-
    [Video : 1995]
  9. Uncommon Australians : towards an Australian portrait gallery / Julian Faigan
    Faigan, Julian
    [Book : 1992]
  10. Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 1951-
    [Video ]

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  1. Website: Australian Sports Commission
    www.ausport.gov.au
    Matching pages:
    View 3 matching archived pages
  2. Website: 2002 Year of the Outback
    www.outback2002.com.au
    Matching pages:
    • Evonne Goolagong Cawley - 18/2/2002
    • ... Evonne Goolagong Cawley Evonne Goolagong Cawley Evonne was born in the NSW Town of Barellan in 1951...
  3. Website: Australian Women in War
    www.womenaustralia.info
    Matching pages:
    View 12 matching archived pages

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