The Deadly Awards, formally titled National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Arts and Community Awards and commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of
Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands.
Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
and
Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was hosted by
Vibe Australia, founded by
Gavin Jones in 1993, and was held from 1995 to 2013, when government funding was cut.
The
Dreamtime Awards are a successor in recognising Indigenous achievements.
Description
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Arts and Community Awards, commonly known as The Deadlys,
were an annual celebration of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community.
The word "
deadly" is a modern colloquialism used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to indicate "great or wonderful".
History
The Deadly Awards stemmed from the
Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-op's 1993 ''
Deadly Sounds'' music and culture radio show, and were driven by Gavin Jones. Jones created
Vibe Australia, a management agency which ran The Deadlys,
[ among other events, and the first Deadlys (then the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Arts and Community Awards) were held in 1995 at the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-op in the Redfern suburb of Sydney.]Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...
in Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...
, Fox Studios, and others. Then 2001 began The Deadlys residency at the Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
, from where the annual gala was broadcast by National Indigenous Television.[ to include sport, entertainment, the arts, health, education and training in the Indigenous Australian community, and candidates began to be nominated and voted on by the public.
The last Deadlys were held in 2013.]
Cancellation
In June 2014 it was announced by the Abbott government that funding for the Vibe Project would be cut from 1 July, in measures designed to reallocate funding to Indigenous education programs and other frontline services. Deadly funding in that year was phased back to $1 million and no funding provided for future years. All Vibe projects, including The ''Deadly Sounds'' radio show concluded on 30 June 2014.[
On 12 July 2014, Gavin Jones was found dead.]["Reinstate the Deadly Awards in memory of Founder Gavin Jones." at Change.org] and a Kickstarter campaign reached .Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
on 30 September 2014, would not occur.[
In November 2017, the National Dreamtime Awards were launched to fill the void in recognising Indigenous achievements as a result of the cessation of the Deadly Awards.]
See also
* List of television awards
* Indigenous Australian music
References
External links
*
Photographs of the Deadly Awards, 19 October 1998-10 September 2013, by Jamie James
held at the State Library of New South Wales (catalogue entry)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deadly Awards
Indigenous Australian mass media
Australian television awards
Defunct organisations serving Indigenous Australians
Australian music awards
1995 establishments in Australia
Awards established in 1995
2013 disestablishments in Australia
Awards disestablished in 2013