Swans to give Noongar names to ends of Steel Blue Oval at the start of National Reconciliation Week

Swan Districts Football Club, who recently launched their third Reconciliation Action Plan in April, will reveal their new names for the eastern and western ends of Steel Blue Oval in Bassendean at their National Reconciliation Week Breakfast on Thursday morning (27 May) in time for the Count Me In game against East Fremantle on Saturday.

The eastern end will be named “Derbarl Yerrigan” and the Western end will be known as the “Boorloo” end. Chair of the Swans Aboriginal Advisory Committee, Cheryl Thomas, said that “Derbarl Yerrigan is the Noongar name for the Swan River and Boorloo is the Noongar name for the area that the Perth CBD now sits.”

Jeff Dennis, Swans Chief Executive Officer, said that “while it is important for our club and supporters to play in finals, win premierships and help elevate our male and female players to the AFL, the Swan Districts Football Club exists for a deeper purpose. The Clubs purpose is to build community and develop people.”

He spoke of the importance of launching the new names during Reconciliation Week, “A significant part of our journey towards reconciliation is taking proactive steps to learn more about the culture of Aboriginal people, and to understand the significance of where we live, where we work and where we play. Place names have enormous significance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies and cultures. They represent meaning, encode history and geography.”

It is thought that Swans might be the first sporting organisation in Australia to acknowledge the traditional owners, of the land in which they play, in this way.

Swans WAFL players Nelson Waite and Jiah Reidy joining Swans Aboriginal Advisory Committee members Wanita Bartholomeusz, Ian Westmore, Roanna Edwards, Swans WAFLW player Amber-Ugle Hayward, Kathryn Bowie and Committee Chair Cheryl Thomas.