Aboriginal Australian cricketer, Faith Thomas (1933-2023), was in a children’s home during her childhood.

Faith Coulthard was born to an Adnyamathanha woman and a German migrant. Faith’s mother, Ivy, did not think the Nepabunna Aboriginal mission—which ran from 1931-1977 when it was handed back to the traditional owners—was the right place for her daughter, so she took her to the Colebrook Children’s Home in Quorn, over 340km north of Adelaide in South Australia. It was at work as a midwife that Faith found out it was possible for women to play cricket. By then she was one of the first 6 Aboriginal nurses in Australia and South Australia’s first Aboriginal public servant. She trained in Adelaide at the Queen Victoria Hospital and then worked at the Point McLeay Aboriginal Reserve.

After going out to play for the first time with a workmate on a Saturday, she was soon playing for the state and the country.

In 1958, Faith Coulthard became the first Aboriginal Australian woman to play cricket for Australia—against England at the Gabba in Brisbane. Indeed, Faith was the first Aboriginal Australian woman to represent Australia in any sport.