Northstars Indigenous Day

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The Newcastle Northstars paid respect and acknowledged the traditional custodians of the land on which they play, the Awabakal people, at their first home game of the 2023 AIHL season on May 7.
 
Awabakal Aboriginal Elder, Aunty Cheryl Smith, undertook a Welcome to Country ceremony before the start of the game.
 
The team wore special jerseys featuring an original artwork, 'Country Under the Stars', created by local Indigenous artist, Baayanya by Nina.
 
The player-worn jerseys were auctioned off by silent auction in the Pro Shop during the game, with proceeds supporting the local Indigenous community’s access to learning and playing ice hockey in Newcastle.
 
The Newcastle Northstars were excited to host this game in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledging the traditional custodians of the Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community.
 
The Northstars pay their respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.
 
Playing in front of a full home crowd, the home team were successful with a 13-3 victory over the Central Coast Rhinos.
 
This game saw Wehebe Darge and Josh Adkins make their debut, scoring for the Northstars and returning fan favourites Zane Jones, Ethan Hawes, Francis Drolet and Daniel Berno.
 
Head Coach Kevin Noble said, “It’s obviously good to get the win, and it’s good to see where we are at and where we need to improve by the end of the season.”
 
On his first game in front of the home crowd Josh Adkins shared, “It was an unbelievable experience, the fans and result are great, and you can’t ask for much better than that.”
 
 

The story behind the jerseys: ‘Country Under the Stars’ 2023 Nina Ross
 
At the top of the artwork we have organic shapes representing the pink caves at Catherine Hill Bay with decorative dotting to the right corner. Kangaroo tracks are moving in an out of the whole design, showing how the native animal moves about on Country. On the right of the artwork, you can see local native flora and fauna, with the little insects marking their path with dashed lines, connecting their insect community.
 
The red concentric circle symbol with 6 people sitting around represents the Northstars team and the snowflake designs surrounding them is the ice from the game. The tracks below symbolise the sugar gliders that are known native fauna around Awaba [Awabakal language for Lake Macquarie). The mountain symbols, all unique from one another, represent the 11 significant mountains around Awaba and Awabakal Country, including Munibung Hill, Mount Sugarloaf, One Tree Hill, Sandy Knob, Cocked Hat Hill, Monkey Mountain, Monkey Face Lookout, Mount Myall, Monkey Face Rock Climbing Area, Mount Waring, and Last Hill Lookout. Behind them is decorative dotting.
 
The organic twisty shape of the bottom section, representing waves lapping is an imprint of the actual shape of the Awaba [Lake Macquarie). In the top layer of the wave, you have native sea turtles that visit the Awaba. There are bubbles of air blowing and ripples in the water as they glide through. There are eggs on their shells to show their cycle of life. Underneath you have fish and sea life of the Awaba, a known 'supermarket' for fishing and food for the local Awabakal People, traditionally and today. The next layer shows ripples in the water which represent the dolphins that visit the Awaba.
Underneath in the bottom layer are middens which show archaeological evidence of First Nations people of Awabakal Country as the Traditional Owners and Custodians.
 
Above the 11 mountains on the left side of the artwork are bird tracks to represent the native bird life of Awabakal Country, lorikeets, kookaburras, sea eagles and the
threatened pied oystercatcher. On the left blue concentric circle symbol with 6 people sitting around represents the opponents of the Newcastle Northstars with seed pods from local flora scattered around with decorative dotting above it.
 
In the centre of the artwork, the focal point, features multiple rings of a concentric circle. The outer laced ring represents the sun shining on Awabakal Country, the next layer represents the many spectators, fans and supporters of the Newcastle Northstars Hockey Club. The next layer of yellow stars represents the Northstars players and at the centre of the circle are the circling lines symbolising connection between all people in the hockey club, community and Country.
 
FIND MORE OF NINAS ARTWORK AT https://baayanyabynina.com