Faith Thomas
Faith Thomas AM (born Coulthard; 22 February 1933 – 15 April 2023) was an Australian cricketer, hockey player, and nurse. She is remembered as the first Indigenous woman to represent Australia in any sport and for her service to the Indigenous community.
She was born at the Nepabunna Aboriginal Mission in South Australia, with a mother who was Adnyamathanha and a German father. As a baby she lived at the Colebrook Home for Aboriginal Children in Quorn, where she enjoyed playing cricket with improvised equipment. She trained as a nurse at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, finishing in 1954, becoming South Australia’s first Indigenous nurse employed as a public servant. She later trained as a midwife and worked at Raukkan (Point McLeay Aboriginal Reserve), eventually becoming a patrol nurse who often worked from her car while on call.
Cricket came to her through a colleague at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. She quickly impressed, taking a hat-trick in her second club game, and was selected for the South Australia women's team after only three club matches. She played for South Australia from 1956 to 1958, and in 1958 she earned a place in the Australian national team. Her only Test was against England in Melbourne on 21 February 1958, making her the first Aboriginal woman to represent Australia in sport. She was selected to tour England and New Zealand after her debut but chose to focus on her nursing career. Known for her fast yorker and a short run-up, she played club cricket into the early 1960s, even while eight months pregnant.
In her honour, the Women’s Big Bash League features the Faith Thomas Trophy match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Perth Scorchers. Faith Thomas died on 15 April 2023, aged 90.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:25 (CET).