THIS weekend, football and netball clubs from across the region will join together to honor our Aboriginal heritage and culture, with the Central Murray and Golden Rivers Football Netball Leagues set to celebrate the NAIDOC Round.
The highlight of the day will be the marquee game between Macorna and Wandella, with a number of activities planned throughout the afternoon to help celebrate, educate and honor our region’s traditional owners.
The day at Macorna will begin at 9.30am with a Welcome to Country, prior to the start of both the junior football and netball.
This will be followed by a traditional Smoking Ceremony prior to the first bounce of the senior football.
Among the many activities planned on the day will be a communal painting created using handprints of attendees, as well as the painting of Indigenous symbols and patterns onto bark and stones.
Both Macorna and Wandella football and netball teams will also adorn specially designed football guernseys and netball bibs for the weekend.
Macorna local Kylie Rowe was the artist behind the Tigers’ creation, with the design representing coming together – which is achieved through using local animal tracks that come back to one another as well as meeting place symbols.
There will also be player awards for each game, along with the presentation of the Barapa Barapa Trophy to the winning club at the conclusion of the seniors’ football.
The recent fixture changes in the Central Murray have unfortunately put a dampener on their celebrations, with the original feature game between the Mallee Eagles and Tyntynder now no longer scheduled for this this weekend.
As a result, both clubs will still be promoted as being the feature clubs, although they will be playing against different opposition.
Along with the Mallee Eagles and Tyntynder, NNW United in the Central Murray and both Quambatook and Moulamein in the Golden Rivers will also wear specially designed Aboriginal guernseys and bibs in their respective games, with a majority of matches across both leagues to conduct smoking ceremonies and other cultural activities throughout the day.
