(Photo: QRU)
July 5, 2017
When the Queensland Reds take on the Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, the talents of a Murgon High School student will be on display to the world.
Janita Langton, 15, designed the artwork, entitled “Together As One”, which has been incorporated into the Red’s jersey for the Indigenous Round.
The Queensland Reds annual Indigenous Round provides Queensland Rugby Union with an opportunity to celebrate and highlight the Queensland Reds Indigenous Program and the achievements of its participants.
Janita saw the Reds in action during last year’s Indigenous Round and was inspired to enter the competition to design the artwork for the 2017 jersey.
“I’m speechless to think the Reds will play in my jersey, I’m just really happy,” Janita said.
“For the jersey design, I used Torres Strait, Aboriginal and Australian colours to represent all of us as we all come together.
“The five big circles represent us all gathering as a family. The red circle represents the genes of (the) people, the reddish-brown dots on the outside represents the earth we are standing on and the blue represents the sea.”
The Reds Indigenous Program takes a “crayon to career” approach, aiming to help Indigenous youth transition from primary school through to secondary school, and then onto tertiary education, training or employment.
Janita is the first Indigenous Program participant who has transitioned through the Future Indigenous Leaders Program from Year 7 through to Year 10, and is now preparing to enter the Reds Generation Next program as she begins to look at life beyond school, with aspirations to further her art.
Reds captain James Slipper visited Murgon and Cherbourg in May this year to experience first-hand the work the Queensland Reds Indigenous Program staff are carrying out in the region.
He first visited Murgon State High School where he spoke at assembly about leadership, the importance of education, the challenges of overcoming serious setbacks such as injury, as well as congratulating Janita in front of her peers.
His next stop was Cherbourg, where he visited The Ration Shed Museum and was given a tour by Cherbourg Mayor Arnold Murray.
He then visited Cherbourg State School, where he welcomed five new Year 6 students into the Reds’ Future Indigenous Leaders Program, and handed out backpacks full of stationery supplies to younger students as a reward for good attendance.
“The history, tradition and the story behind the town is amazing. It was a great experience and something I’ll never forget,” Slipper said.
[Original report by by Brendan Hertel]
