GIANTS’ Indigenous Dress designer Krystal Dallinger hopes that future generations will be better positioned to understand their history following the latest Suncorp Super Netball Indigenous Round.
Dallinger has designed the GIANTS Netball dress for the fourth straight year, with a chance meeting with GK Sam Poolman turning into a deeper connection with the whole team in recent years.
This year’s design draws inspiration from the 2021 NAIDOC theme of “Heal Country” and calls on the community to reconnect with the elder generation.
“We did lose a lot of knowledge because of the stolen generation,” said Dallinger.
“Healing country is all about educating ourselves now and regaining that education so that we can get our culture back and as alive as we can which will allow us to pass it down to future generations.”
The dress includes imagery that represents elders that Dallinger believes we must reconnect with to ensure their knowledge is not lost over time.
“NAIDOC is so important for every Indigenous person and for the Suncorp Super Netball competition to be able to celebrate this along with us means so much,” said Dallinger.
“It educates everyone and that hopefully inspires some people to connect to their own culture and find out more about where they came from.
“It’s such a learning journey for all of us and that’s what makes it amazing.”
Poolman, who first introduced Dallinger to GIANTS Netball through her connection with the local Newcastle community, said she’s proud of the growth Krystal has shown over the years.
“Her journey with our club has been really inspiring,” said Poolman.
"We’ve seen her grow from a school girl to now a young woman. She’s been a voice in making sure their rich culture stays alive through the next generations.
“Once again she has captured the NAIDOC theme for this year into her inspiration behind the dress.
“I love that she has featured the turtles in the dress from the original design in 2018. It represents her journey with our club and it is a special part of our dress.”
“This years dress launch at our club was even more special with Krystal joined by nine indigenous Netballers who are from the Hunter region and are on the same journey as Krystal was when we first met through Aspire.
"I am thrilled Krystal now is a role model for these Netballers as it’s important for them to share their family’s stories and play their part in keeping their culture alive.”
The GIANTS will wear the Indigenous dress for the round five clash against the Fever in Perth as well as during round six when they host the Swifts at Ken Rosewall Arena.
