{{short description|Australian cricketer, hockey player, and nurse (1933–2023)}} {{for|the American screenwriter|Faith Thomas (screenwriter)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = Faith Thomas | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM|size=100%}} | image = | country = Australia | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|2|22|df=y}} | birth_place = Nepabunna, South Australia | death_date = {{death date and age|2023|04|15|1933|2|22|df=y}} | death_place = | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Right-arm fast | role = Bowler | international = true | onetest = true | testdebutdate = 21 February | testdebutyear = 1958 | testdebutagainst = England | club1 = South Australia | year1 = 1956–1958 | columns = 2 | column1 = WTest | matches1 = 1 | runs1 = 3 | bat avg1 = 3.00 | 100s/50s1 = 0/0 | top score1 = 3 | deliveries1 = 36 | wickets1 = 0 | bowl avg1 = – | fivefor1 = – | tenfor1 = – | best bowling1 = – | catches/stumpings1 = 1/– | column2 = WFC | matches2 = 7 | runs2 = 106 | bat avg2 = 13.25 | 100s/50s2 = 0/0 | top score2 = 38 | deliveries2 = 148 | wickets2 = 9 | bowl avg2 = 23.11 | fivefor2 = 0 | tenfor2 = 0 | best bowling2 = 4/79 | catches/stumpings2 = 1/0 | date = 17 April | year = 2023 | source = https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/faith-coulthard-53490 ESPNcricinfo |testcap=48|female=true}}
'''Faith Thomas''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} ({{nee|'''Coulthard'''}}; 22 February 1933 – 15 April 2023), born '''Tinnipha''',<ref name="guar" /> was an Australian cricketer and hockey player.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vale Aunty Faith Thomas |url=http://www.saca.com.au/news/vale-aunty-faith-thomas/2023-04-17 |access-date=17 April 2023 |website=Cricket SA |language=en |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417021638/https://www.saca.com.au/news/vale-aunty-faith-thomas/2023-04-17 |url-status=live }}</ref> She was also a nurse in regional South Australia. Thomas is known for being the first Indigenous woman to represent Australia in any sport as well as for her distinguished service to the Australian Indigenous community.
==Early life== Thomas was born at the Nepabunna Aboriginal Mission in South Australia. Her mother, Ivy, was an Adnyamathanha woman and her father was German.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2018/07/12/5-indigenous-women-who-didnt-get-credit|title=5 Indigenous women who didn't get the credit|website=NITV|language=en|access-date=4 March 2019|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306051817/https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2018/07/12/5-indigenous-women-who-didnt-get-credit|url-status=live}}</ref> Her mother would take her to the Colebrook Home for Aboriginal Children in Quorn when she was a baby.<ref name="messagestick">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s1161638.htm|title=message stick – Faith Thomas|work=ABC TV (Australia)|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=4 March 2015|archive-date=20 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520185916/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s1161638.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="autobiog">{{Citation | author1=Thomas, Faith | title=From the shoulder | date=1990 | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/38819051 | accessdate=9 November 2016 | archive-date=17 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417021638/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/38819051 | url-status=live }}</ref> She would play cricket with other children at Colebrook, using stones as balls, and making bats from wood they found.<ref name=":0" />
== Nursing career == Thomas completed her nursing training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, graduating in 1954.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faith Thomas |url=https://www.morethanourchildhoods.org/stories/faith-thomas/ |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=More Than Our Childhoods |archive-date=4 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304202708/https://www.morethanourchildhoods.org/stories/faith-thomas/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She was South Australia's first Indigenous nurse to be employed as a public servant.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.eoas.info/biogs/P004111b.htm|title=Thomas, Faith – Biographical entry – Encyclopedia of Australian Science|last=Centre|first=The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research|website=www.eoas.info|language=en-gb|access-date=4 March 2019|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044347/http://www.eoas.info/biogs/P004111b.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/23/aboriginal-cricket-pioneer-faith-thomas-im-still-the-fastest-woman-bowler-ever|title=Aboriginal cricket pioneer Faith Thomas: 'I'm still the fastest woman bowler ever'|last=Jackson|first=Russell|date=22 December 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=4 March 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=19 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419003422/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/23/aboriginal-cricket-pioneer-faith-thomas-im-still-the-fastest-woman-bowler-ever|url-status=live}}</ref> Thomas undertook midwifery training in Adelaide at Queen Victoria Hospital in Adelaide and in 1958 was employed to work at Raukkan (known then as Point McLeay Aboriginal Reserve).<ref name=":1" /> Thomas later went on to become a patrol nurse, spending much time living out of her car while on call.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Monga |first=Sidharth |date=25 October 2019 |title=Faith Thomas is the Aussie legend you haven't heard of |url=https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1204339/faith-thomas-is-the-aussie-legend-you-haven-t-heard-of |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=The Cricket Monthly |archive-date=4 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304202708/https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1204339/faith-thomas-is-the-aussie-legend-you-haven-t-heard-of |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Cricket career== After being introduced to cricket by a colleague at Royal Adelaide Hospital, Thomas made an immediate impact for her club side, taking a hat-trick in her second game. She was selected to play for the South Australia Women's cricket team after only three club games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jolly |first=Laura |date=1 February 2020 |title=Keeping the Faith: How Thomas's legacy is living on |url=https://www.cricket.com.au/news/feature/faith-thomas-coulthard-trailblazer-australia-womens-cricket-indigenous-pioneer-ashleigh-gardner/2020-02-01 |archive-date=21 February 2020 |website=Cricket.com.au |access-date=27 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221124217/https://www.cricket.com.au/news/feature/faith-thomas-coulthard-trailblazer-australia-womens-cricket-indigenous-pioneer-ashleigh-gardner/2020-02-01 |url-status=live }}</ref> She played for her state side between 1956 and 1958.
In 1958 she was selected for the Australian national team.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110442197 |title=Aborigines meet over sport grants |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=45 |issue=12,675 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=5 December 1970 |accessdate=9 November 2016 |page=38 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=28 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228042237/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110442197 |url-status=live }}</ref> She played her only international match against England, at Melbourne in February 1958.<ref name="messagestick" /><ref name="cricketarchive1">{{cite web | url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/10/10841/10841.html | title=Faith Coulthard | publisher=CricketArchive | accessdate=23 January 2013 | archive-date=5 November 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105041652/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/10/10841/10841.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | author1=Whimpress, Bernard | title=Few and far between : prejudice and discrimination among Aborigines in Australian first class cricket 1869–1988 | date=1992 | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/192607022 | accessdate=9 November 2016 | archive-date=17 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417021638/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/192607022 | url-status=live }}</ref> She was the first Aboriginal woman to be selected to represent Australia in sport, and until 2019 (following the selection of Ashleigh Gardner<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jolly |first1=Laura |date=18 July 2019 |title=Aussie trio to make their Test cricket debut in Taunton |work=cricket.com.au |publisher=Cricket Australia |url=https://www.cricket.com.au/news/toss-teams-australia-england-womens-ashes-test-debut-tayla-vlaeminck-ash-gardner-sophie-molineux/2019-07-18 |accessdate=20 July 2019 |archive-date=20 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720010351/https://www.cricket.com.au/news/toss-teams-australia-england-womens-ashes-test-debut-tayla-vlaeminck-ash-gardner-sophie-molineux/2019-07-18 |url-status=live }}</ref>) was the only Indigenous woman to play test cricket for Australia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Booth |first1=Andrea |last2=Briscoe |first2=Luke |title=20 inspiring black women who have changed Australia |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2015/03/06/20-inspiring-black-women-who-have-changed-australia |website=NITV |access-date=9 November 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612170929/http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2015/03/06/20-inspiring-black-women-who-have-changed-australia |archive-date=12 June 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nit.com.au/history-in-the-making-a-fast-bowler-with-raw-pace-and-wicket-taking-ability/|title=History in the making: a fast bowler with raw pace and wicket-taking ability|date=25 September 2018|website=National Indigenous Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 March 2019|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044440/https://nit.com.au/history-in-the-making-a-fast-bowler-with-raw-pace-and-wicket-taking-ability/|url-status=live}}</ref> Thomas was selected in the squad to tour England and New Zealand after her test debut, but turned down the opportunity to focus on her nursing career.<ref name="Jolly">{{Cite web |last=Jolly |first=Laura |date=1 February 2020 |title=Keeping the Faith: How Thomas's legacy is living on |url=https://www.cricket.com.au/news/feature/faith-thomas-coulthard-trailblazer-australia-womens-cricket-indigenous-pioneer-ashleigh-gardner/2020-02-01 |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=Cricket.com.au |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310033642/https://www.cricket.com.au/news/feature/faith-thomas-coulthard-trailblazer-australia-womens-cricket-indigenous-pioneer-ashleigh-gardner/2020-02-01 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Thomas was known for her fast bowling off a run-up of just a few steps.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davies |first=Will |date=22 December 2017 |title=10 legendary Aboriginal cricketers who bowled us over |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/10-legendary-aboriginal-cricketers-who-bowled-us-over/iwp4vxjdn |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=SBS |archive-date=4 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304191857/https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/10-legendary-aboriginal-cricketers-who-bowled-us-over/iwp4vxjdn |url-status=live }}</ref> She was renowned for her pace and skill of bowling the yorker.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 July 2019 |title=Faith Thomas and Mike Whitney handed Queen's Birthday Honours |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/faith-thomas-and-mike-whitney-handed-queen-s-birthday-honours-1188176 |url-status=live |archive-date=4 March 2023 |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=ESPNcricinfo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304191857/https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/faith-thomas-and-mike-whitney-handed-queen-s-birthday-honours-1188176 }}</ref> Thomas's skill as a fast bowler came from her time in Colebrook where she would throw rocks at galahs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 November 2020 |title=A Test star who chose nursing over cricket |url=https://savesaservices.com.au/Web/News/2020/A_Test_star_who_chose_nursing_over_cricket.aspx |access-date=4 March 2023 |archive-date=4 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304193401/https://savesaservices.com.au/Web/News/2020/A_Test_star_who_chose_nursing_over_cricket.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Thomas played her final club cricket game in the early 1960s. She was eight months pregnant at the time.<ref name="Jolly"/>
The WBBL plays an annual Faith Thomas match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Perth Scorchers to honour her achievements in both cricket and nursing. The winner of the match is presented with the Faith Thomas Trophy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 November 2021 |title=STRIKERS AND SCORCHERS SET TO MEET FOR FAITH THOMAS TROPHY |url=https://www.adelaidestrikers.com.au/news/faith-thomas-match/2021-11-12 |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=Adelaide Strikers |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205144454/https://www.adelaidestrikers.com.au/news/faith-thomas-match/2021-11-12 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Death== Thomas died on 15 April 2023, at the age of 90.<ref name="guar">{{Cite news |last=Fontaine |first=Angus |date=17 April 2023 |title=Cricket mourns Aunty Faith Thomas, first Indigenous woman to play Test for Australia |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/apr/17/cricket-mourns-aunty-faith-thomas-first-indigenous-woman-to-play-test-for-australia |access-date=17 April 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417042552/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/apr/17/cricket-mourns-aunty-faith-thomas-first-indigenous-woman-to-play-test-for-australia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Faith Thomas, the first Indigenous woman to play cricket for Australia, dies aged 90 |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/faith-thomas-the-first-indigenous-woman-to-play-cricket-for-australia-dies-aged-90-1369437 |access-date=17 April 2023 |website=ESPNcricinfo |language=en |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417054140/https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/faith-thomas-the-first-indigenous-woman-to-play-cricket-for-australia-dies-aged-90-1369437 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Nick |date=17 April 2023 |title='True powerhouse': Australian sporting pioneer Faith Thomas passes away aged 90 |language=en-GB |work=foxsports.com.au |url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/australian-sporting-pioneer-faith-thomas-passes-away-aged-90/news-story/f76b0a9b5e1ee855e4de3f4347d9d3e4 |access-date=17 April 2023 |issn= |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417025030/https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/australian-sporting-pioneer-faith-thomas-passes-away-aged-90/news-story/f76b0a9b5e1ee855e4de3f4347d9d3e4 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == {{Refbegin}} * {{cite news|last1=Jackson|first1=Russell|title=Aboriginal cricket pioneer Faith Thomas: 'I'm still the fastest woman bowler ever'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/23/aboriginal-cricket-pioneer-faith-thomas-im-still-the-fastest-woman-bowler-ever|accessdate=18 April 2017|work=The Guardian|date=23 December 2016|archive-date=19 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419003422/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/23/aboriginal-cricket-pioneer-faith-thomas-im-still-the-fastest-woman-bowler-ever|url-status=live}} * {{cite web |last1=Jolly |first1=Laura |title=Keeping the Faith: How Thomas's legacy is living on |url=https://www.cricket.com.au/news/feature/faith-thomas-coulthard-trailblazer-australia-womens-cricket-indigenous-pioneer-ashleigh-gardner/2020-02-01 |website=Cricket.com.au |publisher=Cricket Australia |accessdate=27 February 2020 |date=1 February 2020 |archive-date=21 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221124217/https://www.cricket.com.au/news/feature/faith-thomas-coulthard-trailblazer-australia-womens-cricket-indigenous-pioneer-ashleigh-gardner/2020-02-01 |url-status=live }} * {{cite journal|last1=Monga|first1=Sidharth|title=Encounter: Faith Thomas is the Aussie legend you haven't heard of|journal=The Cricket Monthly|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|date=25 October 2019|url=http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1204339/faith-thomas-is-the-aussie-legend-you-haven-t-heard-of|accessdate=6 November 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106075548/http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1204339/faith-thomas-is-the-aussie-legend-you-haven-t-heard-of|url-status=live}} * {{cite web |last1=Ramsey |first1=Andrew |title=Aunty Faith Thomas: The trailblazer's unlikely journey to Ashes |url=https://www.cricket.com.au/news/4188582/faith-thomas-womens-ashes? |website=Cricket.com.au |access-date=20 December 2024 |language=en |date=19 December 2024}} {{Refend}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Faith}} Category:1933 births Category:2023 deaths Category:Indigenous Australian cricketers Category:Australian nurses Category:Australia women Test cricketers Category:South Australia cricketers Category:Australian women's field hockey players Category:Australian women nurses Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Sportswomen from South Australia Category:Australian people of German descent Category:Australian Indigenous rights activists Category:Cricketers from South Australia Category:20th-century Australian sportswomen