The youngest members of a remote Aboriginal community have played their first organised football match in years.
Players from Burringurrah, a tiny community in Western Australia’s Gascoyne, made the 600km round trip to Meekatharra for a special game hosted by the Stephen Michael Foundation.
The immense logistical effort brought parents, elders, teachers and police together to drive the budding footballers more than 10 hours through the remote desert.
Due to the huge distances, limited access to fuel and a lack of funding for local facilities, the kids have been unable to take part in competitive football against other communities, with their last game more than two years ago.
Raymond Morrison, 15, who lined up as a defender for his second game, said he loved “running around, making new friends” and the rare chance to lay tackles on soft grass.
It was a far cry from the harsh red dirt and spinifex of the Burringurrah oval.
His grandfather and community elder, Ray Lockyer, said the day meant “more than just kicking the footy around” to those involved.
“It’s great to give them that exposure,” Mr Lockyer said.
“[They] get to meet those other kids from other towns and communities, so they can get out there together and … enjoy it as much as they can.”
The community of Burringurrah, 450 kilometres east of Carnarvon, shares its name with the traditional Wajarri word for nearby Mount Augustus.
While the population fluctuates throughout the year, about half of the community’s 50 residents are aged 16 or below.
Many of the kids, Mr Lockyer said, are “footy mad” but opportunities are hard to come by.
“When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for every game of footy or basketball,” he said.
“We had enough people in the community back then to have our own team.
“It’s sort of lost a little bit, I reckon.”
The long and dusty road to Meekatharra
Herding children out of the house early on a Saturday morning is no small feat.
As first light streaked across Mount Augustus, arguably the world’s largest rock, an assortment of 4WDs and even a police car moved door to door, collecting the sleepy players to get to the outback town Meekatharra, hundreds of kilometres away.
Brevet Senior Sergeant Colin Sibson has been stationed in Burringurrah just short of three years and was one of the driving forces behind the match.
“It was a big, big effort to just get them on the football field, so it was very uplifting,” he said.
“They all then started saying, ‘Well, when can we go to the next game?'”
Without a bus to take the young people to the game, teachers, parents, and police officers volunteered to make the journey at their own expense.
Burringurrah was without a fuel source until late last year when two tanks were installed in the community.
Any long-haul travel comes at a serious cost for local families as prices sit around $2.60 a litre.
‘A really big deal’
Burringurrah Remote Community School principal Jasmine Harris drove six hours from Geraldton as soon as she heard the kids would make the game.
She felt she had to be there to cheer them on.
“It just shows we value them playing and that we value the effort they put in,” she said.
“The kids have been coming up to me saying, ‘Miss, did you see that goal I kicked?'”
Ms Harris said the match was a “really big deal” for the community.
“We want to set up some more opportunities like that,” she said.
As part of the school’s commitment to organising more sport, an all-terrain bus is being budgeted for next year and refurbishments planned at the local footy oval and basketball court.
Post-game feed of freshly caught lizard
Despite playing four quarters of football, no match is complete without a celebratory feed afterwards.
Traditional hunting practices are an important part of life in Burringurrah.
Many of the kids love tracking sand goannas, kangaroos and bush turkey.
When three boys spotted a large lizard through the police car’s window during their journey home, they pleaded to turn around.
Hopping out, it wasn’t long before they returned with the evening’s dinner in hand.
“I think that was the biggest high of the day,” Brevet Senior Sergeant Sibson said.
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