In 2011, the Indigenous research Network (IRN) at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia brought together a team of playwrights and researchers to tell the story of the Boathouse dances as its first community driven research project. The Boathouse dances were held in the late 1950s and early 1960s and was a significant meeting place for Indigenous people of Brisbane and the greater South East Queensland region. The dances were organised by an Aboriginal man, Uncle Charlie King to fund the first Indigenous football team in Brisbane and an Indigenous women’s virago team. The Boathouse dances were a time of celebration, reconnecting, establishing new relationships and falling in love. It was also a focal point of significant social change in the lives of many Indigenous people and these changes were driven by Indigenous people who were experiencing a new agency. To date, this story is untold. It is a part of Australia’s hidden histories. The chapter will focus on the processes and subsequent tensions of researching and retelling the story of the Boathouse dances. To understand these tensions, we will need to take the reader on a journey to firstly understand what is meant by hidden histories within the Australian context. This will involve a brief history of colonial Australia leading into the social and political backdrop of the 1950s and 1960s. From this backdrop, we will explore the cultural and social significance of Boathouse dances, the significance of the location of the Boathouse, the ritual of preparing and travelling to the dances and the story of Uncle Charlie King who made the event possible. We will also explore the evolution of researching and retelling the Boathouse story so that it is an authentic representation for our Elders and also honours the transformative nature of the dances to create a better future for Indigenous people in the greater Brisbane region.