Bush Sports 2008

This is a 2 yearly event Yirara runs to help promote the school. We are possibly going to push for this to be an annual event because the amount of work involved is enormous. We invite communities to bring in the littlies and showcase what Yirara has to offer. I ran the 2 day sporting event- Athletics on 1 day and then Basketball, Soccer and Australian Rules on the other. We had 4 players from Richmond also attend. A big concert on the last night and fireworks for the kids. We involve our 12 and 13 year olds, but we have kids come who are between the ages of 6 – 13 year olds. Very cute to see the little ones playing basketball and mixing it on the footy field with the older kids. I was very tired after the 2 days, but certainly worth the effort and seeing how much the kids enjoy it. We had 2 days in a row of 35 degrees and it sapped all our energy and dried out the skin…need to cleanse and moisturise a bit more.














What a thrill for this kid. Getting his age champion award from me!








The winning Bush Sports team from Areyonga.









Some of the Yirara fellas with Richmond players











I love the sound of my own voice. This is work!!











Kids from Papunya










This lad is from Finke









Richard Tambling with Troy.

Ayer's Rock Footy Academy Trip

Went on my first trip with the Football Academy out to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). We stayed at Nyangatjatjara College (another one of our remote campuses). You will need to ring me for the pronunciation of this school or talk to Tammy Wolter about her experiences out there. We took out 20 fellas from our school and combined with fellas from Docker River and Imanpa communities. This trip help me see the Footy Academy at work and get to know the guys who run this a bit better. Also, it was invaluable for my relationship with some of these older fellas. They are hard work at times, but footy is a great leveller and common ground which helps. Actually, starting to build some good bonds with some of the fellas and talking to them. Yirara's answer to Buddy Franklin- Junior Doolan. He is quite the character, but unfortunately he is now no longer at the school. He was suspended for Term 2, came back, but just did not toe the line. He has been at the school for awhile, but football was about all he did. Not sure what his future holds.
This is Joe Clarke. He is one of the Footy Academy employees. For more information on the Clontarf program, I would look on the internet for the background and what they do. Joe is a cousin of Darryl White, so we get along very well as Brisbane Lions supporters. He is an incredible ally and friend. He knows many of the kids' families and this can carry a lot of weight around the place. He knows what most of the kids are saying in language, so this is an asset as well.
After a hard game, the fellas love a photo.
This is Mick James who is in charge of football operations at Yirara. An ex-Carlton player, we worked out that we actually played Teal Cup against each other in 1988 in Canberra. Victoria beat us in the wet and slush that day.

Joe and I love this photo of Mick training the fellas. Have a look at the fella yawning. That is Junior who i mentioned earlier.
There I am umpiring.
Great balance and skill.
Franklin is poetry in motion. A beautiful kick, quite quick and a good bloke. Also has picked up basketball very quickly. Very troubled early in the term, but we get on really well....hope he comes back to see out the year.
Michael is a Mutijulu (traditional owners of Uluru) local who is at Yirara. (I have a picture of his Dad down the page). Good footy and basketball player.

Franklin and Q.B (Quinton)
Franklin, Glen and Zephaniah.
Richie is the Recreation Officer at Mutijulu. He interpreted for Sammy (traditional owner) who took us on a tour around the base of the rock. He told us some traditional stories, particularly showed us the boy areas and the men areas. He told us where the women sacred areas were, but he is not allowed to tell us anything about them. He has two sons at Yirara (Michael (photo earlier) and Justin).

All the fellas at the base of the rock. No climbing allowed today...too windy. Sammy referred to the chain that goes up the rock as the "white man's scar". The thing about climbing the rock is quite interesting. They ask you not to climb it because people have died climbing up it and coming down. It is not that death is not handled well by aborigines, but it has quite a spiritual realm to it. Quite spooky i guess. Some of the fellas sleep with the lights on because of certain spirits "out there". It is something that seems to deeply sadden them that people have died on it. The sacred areas are around the rock, not necessarily the rock itself.

This is the cover on our upcoming rap album. MC Sammy and Russ T.
Harold, Clarence, Rodney, Lane, Adam, Quinton.
Some rock art at Ayer's Rock. Sammy told us that Bus Drivers use to bring buckets of water to splash on the rock to bring about a good looking photo. All it did was wipe off the newer work and exposed the older works that could be thousands of years old.
Me with Clarence and Anthony.

Q.B and Michael
I have more photos, but this should give you a bit of an insight into a footy trip. Trying to keep the word count down.

Alice Springs Rodeo

Apparently has been struggling for the last few years so we decided to support this event. My Mum and Dad arrived the same day and I told Dad we just had to go. We thought this could be a better experience than having to pay an exorbitant price at the Outback Spectacular on the Gold Coast. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse and I played football that afternoon in about 15 degrees and the night got into single digits...that was without the wind chill factor. I wore a singlet, shirt, long sleeve shirt, jumper, beanie and my big Billabong jacket...and it was still cold. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the events, but it has been a long time since I have experienced such a bitterly cold night. (Memories of -5 skiing in NZ came flooding back to me). They tried to hype up the crowd with loud music and gee ups on the microphone, but the music was songs like “Boys light up”, “Smells like teen spirit” and Shania Twain repeated over and over again. We were there for only a couple of hours, but I am sure we heard the same songs about 5 times.

Henley-on-Todd Regatta

This was a good afternoon (and it rained!!) The pictures tell most of the story and the boys loved it. Especially the final battle on the sand of the Todd. Big booms and loud cheers from those watching show why this is (supposedly) the only event of its kind in the world.

Territory Day- July 1st

Hmmm, supposed to be celebrating the advent of the Northern Territory, but I get the feeling it is more an excuse for shops to make some more money. This is the only day you are allowed to buy and let off fireworks in the NT. We just went and sat for an hour at the local park and watched people let off the fireworks. We didn’t have too many just miss us. The official finishing time is 10pm, but you still heard the odd one till 1 or 2 am in the morning and the odd one is let off at night since then.