Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin has said she will attend Thursday night’s Melbourne Storm home game despite ongoing concerns with the club’s board.
The Storm announced this week that an Acknowledgement of Country would be held prior to their match with the Brisbane Broncos, marking the NRL’s Indigenous Round.
The club also apologised to Aunty Joy for the cancellation of a Welcome to Country before to the Storm’s Anzac Day match, where the Wurundjeri elder had been at the stadium to perform.
Ahead of Thursday’s match, Aunty Joy said she would attend in support of players, staff and community, despite a resolution not being reached with the club’s board after Anzac Day.
“This is about the board, not the game. This is about setting a standard not just for Melbourne Storm but across all sporting codes,” Aunty Joy said.
“I will always stand strong beside community and as a leader take responsibility to care for those who hurt badly.”
Melbourne said at the time that the club’s “board had not approved for it to be held on Anzac Day”.
The cancellation came hours after Bunurong and Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown was booed and heckled by members of the crowd at the dawn service at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.
The Storm said its decision was not related to the booing earlier in the day, but Aunty Joy said she was told it was.
Aunty Joy said Wurundjeri people wanted to continue their association with the Melbourne Storm, but highlighted they “cannot safely undertake formal ceremonies” due to one board member’s reported links with lobby group Advance Australia.
“I carry a deep responsibility to community and will not compromise my integrity as a proud Aboriginal woman and community elder,” she said.
“We cannot support an organisation that has associations with any group that incites racial vilification and division.
“We are willing to continue to work with Melbourne Storm to address the deep community concerns but cannot endorse any official functions or cultural work until measures are put in place to ensure cultural respect and safety for all.”
Wurundjeri woman and Djirri Djirri dancer Ky-Ya Nicholson was due to perform at the Anzac Day game before the Welcome to Country was cancelled.
In a statement, she said Djirri Djirri would not associate with the club “until there is meaningful change at board level”.
“Our decision to end our long-standing relationship with Melbourne Storm comes as a result of the disrespect shown towards Aunty Joy on Anzac Day, which was a lost opportunity to honour her veteran father and First Peoples servicemen and women who fought alongside Australian soldiers,” Nicholson said.
“We as a community feel very disrespected by the actions of Melbourne Storm’s board, as a Welcome to Country ceremony is a tradition of unity and goodwill. Which has been completely disregarded, this shows their tokenistic approach and lack of understanding to this symbol of unity.”
