The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was held from 1995 to 2013. The Dreamtime Awards are a successor in recognising Indigenous achievements.[1]
The Deadly Awards earlier growth continued, along with widening regard as a community and Australian institution. Anchored by their annual event held at the Opera House (hosted by Jones' Vibe Australia), later years added venues in other states. Expansion also happened beyond their original music focus[4] to include sport, entertainment, the arts, health, education and training in the Indigenous Australian community, and candidates began to be nominated and voted on by the public.
In June 2014, the Deadly Awards' funding was cut by the Abbott government in measures designed to reallocate funding to Indigenous education programs with 2014 Deadly funding phased back to $1 million and no funding provided for future years.[7]
On 12 July, Gavin Jones was found dead.[3] Vibe Australia announced on 14 July 2014 that the 20th edition of the event, due to be held at the Sydney Opera House on 30 September 2014, would not occur, along with all other Vibe projects, with funds instead "directed to the Australian Government's programs that deliver front line services from 1 July 2014".[6]
All Vibe projects concluded on 30 June 2014.[8] After a story was run on Triple J's Hack program on 15 July 2014, a groundswell of community support for saving the Deadly Awards began.[9] A petition on Change.org attracted over 26,000 signatures[10] and a Kickstarter campaign reached A$6,699.[8]
In November 2017, the National Dreamtime Awards were launched to fill the void in recognising Indigenous achievements as a result of the cessation of the Deadly Awards.[1]