Blacky
Blacky is the protagonist of the novel. He lives at The Port, which is a predominantly white area of the small town in which he grows up. He comes from a large family with six siblings and an abusive father who is always drunk and who is only home when the pub is closed. His mother is a gentler influence on Blacky's life although she is too tired to stand up to his father. Blacky realizes quite early on in his life that he does not share his neighbors' racist views and he finds this quite stressful. He wants to be friends with both Aboriginal friends and white ones and despite his close friendship with Dumby, who is an Aborigine and comes from The Point, he does not want to make a stand about his belief in inclusion just yet.
This changes as Blacky changes. He is obsessed with Aussie Rules football but is often scared to tackle the kids who are bigger than he is. He goes to considerable trouble devising plays that appear to be tackles but are actually elaborate dodge moves. His football life mirrors his real life, because he doesn't really want anything to do with responsibility off the football field either. This changes when he begins to date Dumby's sister, Clarence, and when Dumby is shot dead and he attends his funeral. He realizes that his beliefs are valid and worth standing up for and becomes more public in his liaisons with the Aboriginal community.
Blacky's Dad
Blacky's father is really a stereotypical white Australian; he is an Ocker, which basically tells us that he is lower middle class and has some rather racist views that he considers perfectly normal. He does not believe that the white community should have anything to do with the indigenous Aborigines. He is large man and a big brute of a drunk who does not mince his words or hold back with his fists. He only comes home to eat or when the pub is shut.
Blacky's Mom
A gentle and kind woman, Blacky's mother is too exhausted to put up any kind of resistance to her husband's verbal brutality and if she were to try to reign him in at all it would most likely not go very well for her. She is the mother of seven children and is constantly exhausted.
Dumby
Dumby is the best player on the football team but this goes unnoticed, partly because what he does is so natural and skilled that he makes it look easy and partly because he is an Aborigine and therefore it will not be acknowledged when he is good or the best at something. The team manager is not going to give him any award or accolade because he will never admit that an Aboriginal player is better than a white one. Dumby is a nice kid who gets mixed up in crime and is killed when he tries to hold up a bar. He has a great effect on Blacky, more in death than when he is alive.
Clarence
Clarence is Dumby's sister and is immediately taken with Blacky when she meets him before the grand finals. There is an instant connection and spark between them.The Aboriginal people do not have a much better view of white folk than the white people do of their indigenous neighbors and so the relationship with Blacky is as forbidden for her as it is for him. Clarence is a good influence on Blacky because she encourages and enables him to become the person he has always wanted to be.
