Wrestling was a National sport in India, and many Indians maintained their interest in the sport when they came to Australia, competing at all levels of the sport that were staged in a wide range of venues, for example; Massa Singh fought Australian Harry Pearce for a purse of £100 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, at the Tivoli Theatre in Brookman Street, renamed Her Majesty’s Theatre in early 1900.
Tivoli Theatre – Brookman Street, Kalgoorlie
Wrestling matches were also staged at the Hippodrome and the Kalgoorlie Town Hall. On 29 July 1901, Massa Singh defeated Charles Watson when he won the Australian Championship Match at the Fremantle Town Hall, Fremantle. Massa Singh only wrestled in Western Australia and held this title for 161 days. Buttan Singh, Gunga Brahm and other Indian wrestlers competed nationally and internationally.
The centre photograph was taken at the Hippodrome in Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie – Recently demolished. The college is the work of Crystal Jordan.
The Hindu, Gunga Brahm, who was a hawker, an importer of women’s clothing, a fishmonger with a shop in Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, and a Champion Wrestler in Australia, challenged the Sikh Wrestler, Buttan Singh, for the Australian Wrestling Championship staged at Wirth’s Circus, Melbourne, as The Revival of Wrestling; it was held on 30 April 1903. Gunga Brahm won the match, making him the first Hindu to win the Championship of Australian Wrestling. Buttan Singh said,
“You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Brahm.”
Buttan Singh then challenged Gunga Brahm for the Australian Wrestling Championship held on 2 May 1903. Buttan Singh won that Championship. Gunga Brahm died aged 44 and was cremated at Koroit, Victoria on 1 February 1916. 300 people came to his funeral. It is not known what happened to Buttan Singh.
Kalgoorlie Miner WA 3 Jan 1902 p. 8
The most well-known amateur wrestler during post World War Two was Bakhtawar (Buck) Singh Samrai from Cairns, Queensland. Buck was the eldest of three boys, and they were the sons of Bakhtawar (Buck) Singh Samrai Senior, who migrated to Australia in 1910. How Buck Senior was able to enter Australia is not known, but at that time the “White Australia Policy” was being strictly enforced. Two of Buck’s brothers were wrestlers. Sarwan (Peter) wrestled at 18 stone, two stone lighter than Buck, who tipped the scales at 20 stone. His other brother Sital (Sid) was the Queensland Welterweight champion and held that title for a number of years. In 1954, Sarwan (Peter) Singh Samrai was elected Acting Secretary for the Cairns Boxing and Wrestling Club; he was also a referee for boxing and wrestling. Buck was a referee at the Cairns Boxing and Wrestling Club, which also provided training facilities for the local community and staged boxing and wrestling tournaments as a means of providing competitions for the youth of Cairns.
Buck was selected for and competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games and later in the 1974 Commonwealth Games at Christchurch, New Zealand. As well as competing at a high level for over 20 years, Buck still had the time to train in jujitsu and received his black Belt in jujitsu in 1950. According to the Samrai family history, Buck was also Australian Jujitsu Champion for a short period. Buck, like several high-level athletes, gave back to the sport that gave him so much enjoyment.
Credit: Crystal Jordan, Australian Indian Historical Society Inc – http://australianindianhistory.com/indian-wrestlers-australia/
Camperdown Chronicle VIC – 5 Mar 1904 Page 3
Mechanics Hall. Tuesday, March 8th, 1904.
CATCH AS CATCH CAN
Champion Wrestling Match, Gunga Brahm v. Buttan Singh, Champions of Australia, have returned after a most successful tour of every town in West Australia. Gunga Brahm and Buttan Singh offer £10 to nothing to any man who can throw them one fall. Come and try your strength !!! Stage 3s, Front Seats 2s, Back Seats 1s.
WA Sport Gunga Brahm Wrestling Champ Coolgardie- (Photographer: F. Martyn Coolgardie. 1904)
Moya Sharp
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