Uncle Victor Wright has never missed a Koori Knockout.
For 49 years, he has turned up to either play, coach or watch his family represent their community.
This year — the event's 50th anniversary — it will be no different.
"It's a milestone, I'll be racing back to Sydney and driving down to Nowra … I'm not gonna miss it," he said.
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of people who have died.
Mr Wright, a Dunghutti and Anaiwan man from Kempsey, is one of the founding members of the event.
Over the past five decades, he's seen it grow from its humble beginnings to one of the biggest Indigenous sporting events in the country.
More than 30,000 players and spectators are expected to descend on the NSW south coast this October long weekend for the anniversary.
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID, the South Coast Black Cockatoos will finally be able to host the event after winning in 2019.
There are more than 60 men's teams alone, along with women's and junior competitions — all vying for the coveted trophy and pride of their community.
"It's been a long, hard journey … [but] when you see where it is today and it's still as strong," Mr Wright said.
The now 74-year-old remembers sitting at the back of the Clifton Hotel in Redfern when the idea of an all-Aboriginal football carnival came up in conversation.
It was the early 1970s and he was there with Bob Smith, Bob Morgan, Bill Kennedy, Danny Rose and the late George Jackson.
They were all young Aboriginal men from country New South Wales working and playing footy in Sydney, and all associated with the Koorie United team, who would become the founding members of the Knockout.
"We just sat down and had a few little yarns … we wanted something for ourselves, something that was grassroots," he said.
There had been many town-based carnivals in previous years, but they wanted a state-wide event.
The first ever Knockout was played at the Camdenville Oval in St Peters in 1971.
There were about a dozen teams, mostly from Walgett, Kempsey, Moree and a few from Sydney.
"They felt there wasn't enough representation of Aboriginal players in the big league, so they decided they'd form their own competition, and it was called the Koori Knockout," Gamilaroi man Ronald Briggs said.
Mr Briggs, a curator and librarian at the State Library of NSW, has worked for the past two years with the community, families and the founding members to capture the history, pride and excitement of the event in a new exhibition.
Photos, videos, and other memorabilia tell the story of its historical origins to its "modern contemporary representation" today.
"I've been to most Knockouts since about 1986, so it's been a real thrill bringing it all together," Mr Briggs said.
"When the Knockout was in my hometown of Moree, I remember it being just a huge family event, mob from all over the state converged on Moree and it was just such an exciting, thrilling event for me as a young kid.
"It is all about the football of course but it is also about reunion, bringing mob together — we want to capture that and keep it for people to look at in the future and understand why it is such an important event."
In the 1974 competition, the Kempsey team won.
From that point on, it was decided the winning team would host the following year — kick-starting a tradition that carries on today.
This year is the first time a South Coast team will host.
"It's like a modern day corroboree, it's a real celebration for Indigenous people. We all get together, we catch up, and obviously share in the passion we have for rugby league," NRL Pathways Manager and Anaiwan man Dean Widders said.
Like many, Mr Widders has a long association with the Knockout, playing with his family and community.
While grassroots, it also attracts some of the games' biggest stars like Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr and Cody Walker.
"I think it's the only sport in the world where a world champion can be playing against someone who doesn't even play," he said.
"Our mob created it, worked hard, kept turning up and found the money to pay for it, and built it up in terms of professionalism … so it is something that we hold dear to our hearts, that's something we're really proud of."
The Koori Knockout exhibition is on show at the State Library, from September 24 to August 27 2023.
