For our Indigenous Nationals uniforms in 2025, we were honoured to welcome back JCU student Grace Andrews to design the artwork.
Grace is a proud Gunai Kurnai woman from Deniliquin, NSW, currently in her second year of studying Psychological Science.
Grace has shared her process and the story behind the art below:
"I was incredibly honoured to be asked to design these artworks for a second time. After consulting again with Traditional Owner Uncle Eddie Savage, I felt inspired to continue honouring the cultural symbols and stories of the Bindal and Wulgurukaba peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the land the University sits on and wider Townsville community."
For the uniform this year Grace incorporated symbols significant to both the Wulgurukaba and Bindal peoples, including a snake and dancing brolga.
"[The snake is] a powerful symbol of transformation and regeneration. For the Wulgurukaba people, the carpet snake holds deep spiritual meaning. Their creation story tells of a great snake that travelled down from the Herbert River, carving out the Hinchinbrook Channel before moving out to sea. His body became the land, his tail resting at Halifax Bay, his body at Palm Island, and his head at Arcadia on Magnetic Island. I wanted to honour this beautiful story and pay tribute to the spiritual connection Wulgurukaba people hold with this Country.
I also continued to incorporate symbols that are significant to the Bindal people. The Dancing Brolga, their totem, remains a central part of the design, representing movement, strength, and connection. Another important symbol is the shooting star. The Bindal people believe that the direction a star falls can mean that danger is coming, or someone in that direction needs help. I included multiple stars and constellations to reflect this belief and its importance in their storylines."
We'd like to thank Grace for sharing her art and stories with us. We'd also like to wish our Indigenous National team luck as they compete in Perth at the end of this month!
