It was an honour to be asked to design a jersey for the Signature Rugby program at North Lakes State College last year. Each year NLSC’s Signature Rugby program fundraises for a charity of choice by auctioning off jerseys (all proceeds go to the elected charity). The director of the Signature Rugby program, Sean Purvis, asked me to design a jersey to fundraise for Beyond DV. We choose this charity as we became aware of the alarming statistics around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women involved in Domestic Violence. I was very humbled that Sean asked me to design a jersey to fundraise for an issue which is unfortunately quite prevalent. 

This jersey design was created to directly link with the charity this year - Beyond DV (helping domestic violence victims) and last year’s NAIDOC week theme, Heal Country. There is a massive call for stronger measures to help preserve and protect our land and the ways that we can continue to strongly support the oldest living culture in the world. 

On the jersey, I’ve included the water ways which provide us with the flowing water that keep us and our wildlife alive. I’ve used kangaroo symbols to show strong and raw energy which the clean water ways provide for us. 

The Representation of the hand symbol means ‘belonging to’. The dots coming from in between the fingers represent the power we have as an individual, the power we have with family, the power we have as a community. The hand opens emotional, social, cultural and spiritual channels for the inner-self to flourish. ‘The feeling of belonging, we are stronger together’. 

Furthermore, The circle on the shoulder represents community, together as one. That we all belong to this area. We need to respect it, thank it and protect it the best way that we can.

Lastly, the Goanna is an animal which translates to inner power and survival - spiritual warrior. The Goanna was placed on the sleeve to represent ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’. This representation helps us mourn for those effected by Domestic Violence and that you, whole heartedly are here to protect and continue to fight for change. 

It was so rewarding to watch the signature A team wear this jersey with pride through their tournament season. Once the season was over, we auctioned the 15 jerseys and were able to raise $2000. Below is also a photo of Sean Purvis and myself presenting the jersey to the founder of Beyond DV, Carolyn Robinson.