St Kilda Football Club is proud to reveal its latest Indigenous Guernsey, in honor of its Ganbu marnang n’uther boolong, the Boonwurrung translation for ‘150th year’. The club pays tribute to those who have greatly contributed to its yawa or journey.
The guernsey, designed by Indigenous artist Jade Kennedy from the Noongar Nation (Wadjak, Willman, Kaartdijin & Bibulman), encapsulates the yawa of the club, its First Nations players, and their families. The design incorporates the family totems of Bradley Hill, Jade Gresham, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Marcus Windhager, Isaac Keeler, Jack Peris, and J’Noemi Anderson. These totems are presented around the names of all First Nations Saints who have played a senior game for the club. The design symbolizes the club’s shared past and present, and the foundations laid for a prosperous future.
Traditional symbols of gathering places and journey paths are integrated into the design to further reference the club’s yawa. In a first, the guernsey features both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the front, while the words Ganbu marnang n’uther boolong are subtly printed into the hems.
Significantly, the guernsey sees the reintroduction of a splash of yellow, reminiscent of the Saints’ uniforms from 1915-1922. Despite being a stark departure from its traditional color scheme, this isn’t the first time yellow has been part of St Kilda’s visual identity. The Saints briefly adopted a yellow strip at the onset of World War I as a show of solidarity for the Allied force, Belgium, which had several players serving in the country. Although the classic look was reinstated by 1923, yellow made a comeback on the field during the 2005 Heritage Round.
The 2023 Indigenous Guernsey will be worn by St Kilda in Rounds 10 and 11 against Greater Western Sydney and Hawthorn, respectively. The latter is a home game on Wurundjeri Country. A variant of this guernsey will also be donned by the Saints’ AFLW side in the upcoming season.
The 2023 St Kilda Football Club Indigenous guernsey is now available for purchase, offering fans a chance to own a piece of this remarkable cultural journey.
Purchase yours here.
