Goolagong is a compelling and inspiring mini-series – a story for all Australians
- Written by: Liza-Mare Syron, Indigenous Scientia Senior Lecturer, UNSW Sydney
Evonne Goolagong Cawley was one of Australia’s greatest champions of all time.
Goolagong, a compelling and inspiring three-part mini-series honouring the Wiradjuri tennis legend, is a rags-to-riches story about a small-town girl with a ball and a piece of 2 x 4 who dreams of one day winning Wimbledon. A little Aussie battler.
Evonne is portrayed by the remarkable Whadjuk and Wardandi Noongar actress Lila McGuire, who delivers a sublime performance that compellingly showcases Goolagong’s vulnerability, resilience, grace and fighting spirit. The ensemble cast of Australian actors provides a rich, talented and authentic foundation for the story.
Evonne’s destiny unfolds when her family moves to Barellan, next door to a local tennis club. Her father, Kenny (multi-award-winning Wiradjuri actor Luke Carroll), works as an itinerant shearer.
After being spotted by the local coach, Eve – as her family calls her – is invited by a Sydney coach, Vic Edwards (Marton Csokas), to assess her potential.
From there, her journey towards Wimbledon begins.
Her training includes elocution and deportment lessons, as well as school and tennis instruction. The story focuses on her transition from girlhood to womanhood. It highlights the hardships that threaten to derail her ambitions – being away from her family, support and Country; unwanted sexual advances from her coach; the loneliness of tennis touring; and the doubts about the sacrifices she has made.
All the while, you are cheering for her to rise.
In all the turmoil she finds love, a companion and confidant in Roger Cawley (Felix Mallard), a young English journalist, who later would become her husband.
This series is not just for tennis fans, who will relish the big tournament moments and the portrayal of renowned players of the time, such as John Newcombe, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. This is a story for all Australians.
Skilfully directed by Batjala, Mununjali and Wakka Wakka man Wayne Blair, the series offers an in-depth look at the complexities of athletes’ lives both on and off the field, and an intimate portrayal of an Indigenous family’s life in rural Australia during the 1970s.
The story is well-structured, written by Steven McGregor and Megan Simpson Huberman, and elevated by the moody echoes and rhythmic undertones of composers Cornel Wilczek and Alex Olijnyk. Katie Milwright’s cinematography is strikingly tempered, creating a deeply affecting sense of distance between the warmth of rural New South Wales and the stark, solitary confines of behind-the-court bunkers.
The series is set in the 1970s, a period of significant social and political change worldwide. It is the age of the rise of women’s rights, Aboriginal land rights and Apartheid – and all historical moments are foregrounded as Eve is asked to respond by her community in Australia, and by the press.
For her, however, sports should not be about politics. She wants to show the world that Aboriginal people are just as good as white people, and that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity, no matter the colour of their skin.
Her story is of laying the foundations for future generations as a role model – work the real Goolagong continues today. Her legacy extends well beyond her remarkable athletic achievements: she has passionately advocated for Indigenous rights and education, using her platform to highlight the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians and to inspire broader conversations about cultural identity and representation in Australian sports.
I have met Goolagong twice. Once, when I was at the Sydney Open with my nephew in the late 1990s, I asked her to sign his tennis ball, and she kindly agreed. The second time was during the development of the stage play, Sunshine Super Girl (2021), written and directed by Yorta Yorta playwright Andrea James. I sat next to her, and she leaned over to greet me with a warm and welcoming smile. I have never known her to be anything but gracious.
Both the play and the mini-series are based on her biography Home! The Evonne Goolagong Story, first published in 1993 and co-authored with Phil Jarratt. While the staged story was groundbreaking, the mini-series delves even deeper and more intimately into her personal life, the international tennis circuit and what it takes to be the world’s best.
Goolagong is on ABC and ABC iView now.
Authors: Liza-Mare Syron, Indigenous Scientia Senior Lecturer, UNSW Sydney
