AFL Indigenous Round was capped by a significant presentation symbolising the reunion of the Port Adelaide Football Club and the contribution of its Aboriginal players past and present.
A pair of boomerangs were presented to club president Brett Duncanson at The Port Club, as the Power faithful celebrated their team’s come-from-behind victory over North Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
Outer Army committee member Vicky Welgraven presented the framed boomerangs which had been carved by her brother-in-law Terry Coulthard from Iga Warta, an Adnyamathanha Aboriginal community in the Northern Flinders Ranges.
Shaped from Vimba - a pine tree native to the area - the boomerangs were painted and detailed by Terry’s daughter, Leaha Coulthard.
The intricate design features two Magpies set apart on one of the boomerangs and coming together on the other, symbolising the One Club reunion of Port Adelaide’s SANFL and AFL divisions.
“The artwork links the two clubs and reflects on the Aboriginal players who have made significant contributions to both (the Magpies and the Power),” Vicky said.
“Those players are champions for our people, but they have also become champions for the club and for Australian Rules football.
“The club can be proud of its support of not only Aboriginal players, but their families and their communities.”
Vicky also drew comparisons between the boomerangs and a football team.
“You just can’t go out and use any piece of wood to make a boomerang, though, just like you can’t go out and select any player or players to make a football club,” she said.
“You’ve got to look for the right piece of wood in the right place at the right time. When you recruit players, you need to know how to recruit the right player or players from the right places at the right time.
“You then need to turn that piece of wood into a weapon which can be used to attack or even to defend.
“Football clubs nurture, develop and produce players who become on-field ‘weapons’. They not only must be skilful and creative attackers, but clever and nullifying defenders.
“You design the boomerang to be solid and strong and it can be a symbol of the community, their culture and their spirit. So - too - with the player. The player needs to be a leader and a role model and a representative of the club, its culture and its spirit.”
Vicky had donated the boomerangs to the Outer Army as auction items at a pre-season fund-raising quiz night. But fellow committee members believed they were worthy of framing and presenting to the club as a part of AFL Indigenous Round.
It was an especially significant gesture, given the Aboriginal Power Cup, the program that combines football and education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary students. The Aboriginal Power Cup has become an annual event which this year - for the first time- became a part of AFL Indigenous Round.
“The Aboriginal Power Cup is a showcase event which recognises the younger generation and their abilities as future players and perhaps even future champions of the clubs,” Vicky said.
“It is occasions like this that signify the true meaning of reconciliation. The AFL needs to be commended for honouring its Indigenous players by having a round of football dedicated to the First Peoples of this country.”
The boomerangs were presented to club president Brett Duncanson and young forward Chad Wingard who is the latest Indigenous player to represent Port Adelaide in the AFL.
The boomerangs will be displayed in The Port Club, Queen St, Alberton, for all members, supporters, officials, players and staff to view.
