Tent boxing is an amusement previously seen at agricultural shows throughout

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History

Starting in the late 19th century, boxing troupes of professional fighters would travel the mining towns and outback of the country, following fairs and carnivals, putting up big top tents and taking on all-comers for cash in the ring. Among the more famous of tent boxing troupes, are the ones created by Roy Bell and Jimmy Sharman. Fred Brophy is believed to be one of the world's last boxing tent showmen. Brophy continues to travel with his troupe across Queensland each year. For his years of touring with his tent boxing show, Brophy was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in 2011 for his role in raising money for charity and for services to the entertainment industry.Wilson, Karyn; Harris, Juli
Fred Brophy, boxing tent legend, awarded OAM
ABC Western Queensland, 28 January 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2018.

A dangerous sport

Largely unreported on, little is known about early tent boxers and events due to participants and spectators being largely illiterate. In more modern times, very few photographs exist of the movement as organisers disapprove of media involvement. Fred Brophy insists he will continue travelling with his tent boxing troupe, until he dies, even though the sport was banned in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Victoria,

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and

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in 1971 by the government, due to health concerns.

References

# Lewis, Daniel. (2003-04-15)
Sharman the showman is an official bloody legend
''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved 2013-05-28.

History

A dangerous sport

See also

References

Further reading