Local teen’s artwork displayed on crocs Indigenous jumpers

A local teenager has used her artistic talents to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as part of the AFL’s Indigenous round.

For the first time, the Port Douglas Junior Crocs under 18s team will play in specially designed Indigenous jumpers designed by 14-year-old Charlene Mene-Whap.

President of Port Douglas Junior Crocs, Craig Mitchell, has coached Charlene in the Crocs girls team for the last three years, where he discovered she could draw.

“I asked Charlene if she would like to design a jumper, from there she drew up some designs and here we are, we have some Indigenous jumpers for the first time ever,” he said.

“I am very happy with how they have turned out, they are amazing, I am so proud of Charlene.”

The Crocs under 18s team will wear the jumpers for their next two games as part of the AFL Cairns Indigenous Rounds.

“Then over the next five years we will utilise these designs and even hopefully go further and get them for the younger grades,” Mr Michell said.

“It’s important because it is a celebration of our community and culture and I want to ensure the guys who wear them respect it and understand the significance.

“I just want to embrace it and celebrate the players that have played for our club in the past and the players that will play in the future.”

For Charlene, who is of Torres Strait Islander descent, it was an extremely proud moment to be selected to create the designs.

“I have been taught many designs as a child, I grew up learning all these things from my grandparents,” she said.

“When Craig asked me I thought it would be a great opportunity to show my talents.”

Charlene said she drew her inspiration for the design from both her culture and the environment around her.

The stripe designs each represent their own traditional stories.

The tracks across the centre and bottom of the shirt represent the crocodile, labelled by the words ‘bilngkumu’, crocodile in the local Kuku Yalanji language and ‘Koedal’, in Charlene’s Kalaw Lagaw Ya language, representing both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

There is also a boomerang on the front and a traditional drum on the back.

“I put our drum on there because often during Indigenous round, it is mostly Aboriginal art that is used and Torres Strait Islanders don’t get recognised as much, so I wanted to put a bit more of my culture in there as well.”

“I am very happy with how they turned out.”

The under 18s will don the new jumpers when they run out tonight in Cairns against the Trinity Bulldogs and again next week against the South Cairns Cutters.