Tiwi Island Footy

Last weekend I had a unique Australian cultural experience--attending the Tiwi Island Football Finals. The Tiwi Islands are located off the coast of Darwin. One can get there by ferry or by taking a 20 minute flight. The islands were proclaimed an Aboriginal Reserve in 1912, & the vast majority of the inhabitants are indigenous. For tourists, there's no overnight accommodation--just day trips to the islands.

Every March, the Tiwi Islands host the Football Grand Finals, which attracts thousands of visitors for the day. A large contingent from the hospital goes every year, & I decided to join them. The first thing I did after I got off the plane, was visit one of the local Aboriginal Art Galleries, where the local artists proudly displayed their art. I decided to splurge & purchased two beautiful works.

The crowd slowly gathered around the football oval. The game was fantastic! It was Australian rules football, which is sort of something of a hybrid between soccer & rugby. The game is played on a large oval shaped grass field. There are 18 players on each team & the goal is to score a goal by kicking the ball between the middle two goal posts. Players can kick, "handball," & run with the ball. There's some weird rule about bouncing the ball on the ground periodically & players should not get caught holding the ball. The game is played in four quarters that are about a half hour long, so the entire game lasted slightly more than two hours. It was a very hot day & the game is extremely physically demanding. I was exhausted just spectating in the heat.

The locals really take their footy seriously. It was wonderful to see the indigenous people in their element so happy & proud to have all us visitors their to see them at the their best. The best footy players are Aboriginal & the vast majority of the players last Sunday, if not all, were indigenous. Then, to top off what was a wonderful day, on the flight back to Darwin, the pilot let me sit up front with him in the co-pilot seat!