Coldstream Football Netball Club celebrated its own Indigenous Round on Saturday 2 August.
The footballers wore their inaugural Indigenous guernsey for the first time.
The jumper was designed by two women’s players, Sophie Stark and Kahla Gossip, who both have First Nations backgrounds.
Darkinjung woman Stark said that the theme of the artwork is Stronger Together.
“On the design, there’s a central meeting place which symbolises our club, and then underneath that, there’s a waterhole with streams coming off it that’s to represent us, Coldstream,” she said.
“There are kangaroo tracks around it to represent us playing on country.
“At the bottom, there are mountains, and they represent backdrops of our home grounds.”
“On the piece, you can see there are two people present at the bottom, which represents a mother and a daughter, which particularly reflects around the many women and children that contribute to the club on and off the field,” Kalkadoon woman Gossip added.
The two players came up with the idea of designing an Indigenous guernsey after one of the junior players experienced bullying and racial discrimination around her skin colour and culture.
Through this project, the two artists wished to promote the culture of supporting each other within the club, which has a high Indigenous population.
“As a club, we are better when we are all on one side,” Gossip said.
In the round, the women’s team played against South Croydon while the Men’s teams took on Upper Ferntree Gully at their home ground, Halley Supple Reserve.
South Croydon women joined the special occasion by wearing their own Indigenous jumper.
Unfortunately, Upper Ferntree Gully footballers couldn’t wear an Indigenous guernsey for the game as they have no such uniform, but they were very actively involved with Coldstream’s celebration.
“Women’s are now in the finals, sitting second place on the ladder, so we have to wait to speak to the league (if we could wear the Indigenous jumpers in the final games). We would love to be able to wear our Indigenous jumpers through finals,” the Kalkadoon woman said.
“The plan will be that they are also worn next year, particularly around those Indigenous Rounds.
“There will be multiple occasions throughout the year we’d really like to celebrate with wearing them.”
The sporting club successfully distributed the special jumper to the players for free of charge thanks to five sponsors: State Plant Hire, DNA Tree Services, Victorian Roof Access and Safety, Eastern Security and Communications, and Harris and Co Painting Solutions.
“We were really fortunate to have five sponsors between the women’s and men’s teams,” Gossip said.
“The jumpers were fully covered, and it really again promoted Stronger Together with the community supporting us by wearing them.
“It was really incorporating the whole community in this design and getting it out there.”
With this special guernsey, Coldstream Football Netball Club will continue to be more than just a sporting club.
It will continue to be a place of cultural celebrations, community pride, showing off players’ hidden talents and supporting each other in tough periods.
