This is the first time the Firebirds’ First Nations dress will be available to own with all proceeds going towards the Diamond Spirit program – which uses netball as a vehicle to engage, empower and educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote and regional communities across Queensland.
The auction will have seven First Nations’ dresses featuring artwork by contemporary artist Rachael Sarra – one for each position - available for purchase along with a bib signed by the entire Firebirds’ team.
Firebirds defender Remi Kamo encouraged people to not miss out on the opportunity to secure a rare piece of memorabilia as well as support a worthy cause.
“I think it’s a really, really cool idea,” Kamo said.
“It’s nice for fans and other people to be able to have an opportunity to take a piece of beautiful art home with them and display it.
“It’s a great initiative particularly so we’re supporting Diamond Spirit as a program as well.”
The Firebirds will wear their First Nations dress for this weekend’s match against Giants Netball in Sydney and the following weekend when Melbourne Vixens travel to Nissan Arena.
The dress features multiple elements from Goreng Goreng artist Sarra’s artwork ‘The Future Reignited. Healing Smoke, Uniting Flames’ which represents how netball is about more than just the seven players on a court at one time.
Kamo will be taking part in a Suncorp Super Netball First Nations Round for the first time, her Maori background providing extra significance to the upcoming matches.
The 29-year-old has a Maori father and Kamo has grown increasingly connected to her link to the Ngāti Mutunga tribe from the remote Chatham Islands east of New Zealand’s South Island in recent years.
“My dad is Maori but he moved to Australia when he was 18 and he was quite disconnected from his culture so we were disconnected I guess as well,” Kamo said.
“It’s only been in the last, maybe 10 or so years, that me and my family have sought out information and learned a lot more about our history and our tribe. We’re really lucky that my brother still lives in New Zealand and he’s been able to travel to the Chatham Islands and see our homeland.
“Really beautifully, when he was there, quite a few people came up to him and asked him ‘are you a Kamo?’
“It’s really lovely to have that connection to New Zealand, to the land there, and also to my name, to wear it on my dress proudly.”
Diamond Spirit aims to engage, empower and educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls, young women and their communities through the power of netball.
Since 2017, 2500 participants in remote communities have accessed netball clinics and inter-community carnivals through Diamond Spirit while 500 students have enrolled in Educate Hubs, which provide opportunities to enhance physical and cultural wellbeing.
For more information on Diamond Spirit, head to https://qld.netball.com.au/diamond-spirit.
The Firebirds First Nations dress auction is live now and runs until June 6. To make a bid or for further information, visit https://www.fanplus.com/auctions/firebirds-first-nations-2023-dress-with-bibs/.
