First Nations culture to the forefront for Indigenous Round

The significant contribution of First Nations culture in the sport of hockey and beyond is set to be brought to the forefront this weekend, as the Stiles Electrical Premier League acknowledges its Indigenous Round.

The round, which commences Saturday 25 May and runs until Sunday 26 May, will see various clubs within the Stiles Electrical Premier League wear playing uniforms featuring unique Indigenous artworks, providing key pieces of storytelling and engagement across the round.

The round also coincides with the beginning of National Reconciliation Week, which runs from Monday 27 May to Monday 3 June.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week for 2024 is Now More Than Ever, serving as a reminder to all that the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people will and must continue.

Hockey WA CEO Fabian Ross it was important for the WA hockey community to celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the sport and beyond.

“It is always fantastic to see so many clubs get behind Indigenous Round by wearing their own respective Indigenous Round kits, with some phenomenal designs,” he said.

“As fantastic as the designs are, they provide a great way of learning about the history of our clubs and the contributions of First Nations people and their culture to our sport.”

WASPS’ uniform depicts the connection between the club and its members.

“The centrepiece on the chest serves as a symbol of the cherished meeting place where players, coaches, devoted families and all the remarkable individuals who selflessly contribute to the success of WASPS come together in harmony,” Women’s player Camryn Tidy said.

“Above the centrepiece is the interconnected waterways and they show the individual journeys of all the hockey players and how they all come back together to form what is our hockey community,” Men’s player Jack Cudby added.

Whitford Hockey Club’s Indigenous uniform, designed by Stephen Reid depicts various significant symbols while maintaining the traditional uniform.

“In this design, the dots continue as an aura but also represent the people of the club and community and still hold the shapes of the traditional uniform,” Women’s player Teneesha Coyle said.

“The dots that surround the number are still a protective aura for that player and keeps them safe while on the field.

“The hands once again represent a stamp of approval by the younger and older members and players for this club and its values.

“The lighter blue shapes depict a meeting place with one showing members and players sitting around together.

“The shapes around the collar also show individual members/players sitting around either talking or watching hockey.”

North Coast Raiders’ uniform was designed by Utah John-Furnace, whose sister Montana played for North Coast Raiders, depicting the club’s history.

“The design includes the history of the North Coast Raiders from the start of the Perth club in 1905 and signifying the City of Perth swan, which the club still uses today,” player Allison Whitnell said.

“The design includes the river and the sea, sky and bush symbolising when the club moved to become the Scarborough Hockey Club and then in 1989 the move to become the North Coast Raiders in North Beach.”

UWA Men’s player Harry Golding said their Indigenous kit design was based around communities.

“We have our senior community and our junior community and the smaller meeting places you’ll see around the outside of the central meeting place – the journey lines bring the community back to the centre where we gather at McGilvray and Claremont,” he said.

Melville’s design overviews the club’s history and ongoing legacy, as described by Women’s Vice-President Colleen Bentley.

“[The circle patterns on the right shoulder] are our founding members in 1956, meeting in Applecross and then we took the journey and we moved to where we are currently in Melville & Kardinya,” she said.

“[The arches on the bottom left] are all our life members inside that keep the club and everything else on the back is all our other members.

“It’s us and our journey.”

Victoria Park’s Indigenous kit was designed by Noongar artist Robin Keen.

“The background on the left and right-side panels represent the mud flats along the Derbari Yerrigan (Swan River),” Men’s player Jase Gabriel said.

“On each side panel are meeting places which represent the amalgamation in between the Xavier Colleges Old Boys and the Victoria Park Men’s Hockey Club. These meeting places have ‘U’ shapes which is a symbol for a person sitting around a campfire.

“Centre of the jersey are two white strips with a dot painting design along each side representing the Derbari Yerrigan (Swan River), where the town of Victoria Park resides. It is also shaped as a ‘V’ to represent the team’s current jersey with the white and tangerine ‘V’.

“Back top left is a transparent dot pattern representing the central town of Victoria Park with outer towns such as Burswood, St. James, Ellam Street, Heirisson Island, etc.

“In between the rivers are kangaroo tracks travelling upwards representing the club growing and moving forward and at the top of the neck is also a small river pattern.”

Indigenous Round fixtures