Welcome to Country at A

Sam Newman’s rallying cry for AFL fans to blow out the Welcome to Country ceremony was roundly rejected by supporters at the AFL Grand Final.

The Welcome to Country was delivered by Elder Uncle Colin Hunter Jr., who also presented the ceremony during the Brownlow Medal and Grand Final Parade.

Newman was furious with the ceremony and called on fans to react negatively to it in the run-up to the decider.

‘How about this, the next time you go to a public event like the grand final or a football match or any other public event in an auditorium and they shout out the welcome to the country, start booing… or slowly in the clapping hands,” he said.

Instead, the packed house at the MCG acknowledged the ceremony with respectful silence.

Uncle Colin Hunter Jr. is pictured performing the Welcome to Country during the 2023 AFL Grand Final parade on Friday

Uncle Colin Hunter Jr. also attended the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown Palladium to perform the Welcome to Country

Uncle Colin Hunter Jr. is a respected Wurundjeri Elder and the first Traditional Owner in Victoria to work in local government ‘on Country’.

He spent seven years at Yarra City Council managing the Aboriginal Partnership Policy.

In addition to his important role in local government, Uncle Colin is also an emerging artist and has been involved in several notable projects.

These include the development of Yarra City Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan, implementation of the Aboriginal Partnerships Plan and the provision of a Welcome to Country for notable events such as the Dalai Lama’s visit to Melbourne in 2014.

He was also invited to speak in Parliament in the Woiwurrung language when the new Yarra River Protection Bill was introduced in 2017.

It comes after former co-host of The Footy Show and Geelong Football Club star called on AFL fans to blow off the Welcome to Country ceremony during the grand final.

His comments angered many football fans and a petition was launched to remove him from the sport’s Hall of Fame.

Controversial former AFL star Sam Newman initially called on fans to blow off the Welcome to Country ceremony before softening his stance

Newman, 77, would later soften his stance on the latest You Cannot Be Serious podcast alongside former Hawthorn legend Don Scott.

‘I wouldn’t cheer at the grand final; it was just a lighthearted throwaway line,” he said.

“But I don’t agree with the Welcome to Country during the grand finale.”

“I said last week that we should declare Welcome to Country – it was an extravagant statement,” Newman added.

“(The recognition has) gone overboard and social elites are just trying to perpetuate their own white prejudices by feeling virtuous for continuing to do this.”

Hunter Jr’s Welcome to Country went like this:

“I would like to begin by acknowledging that this afternoon we meet on the land of my ancestors, the Wurundjeri people, and I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to my elders, past, present and emerging countries,” he said.

‘I would especially like to pay my respects to everyone gathered this afternoon. I would like to acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have joined us, acknowledge them and pay my respects to them. Welcome. The Wurundjeri people welcome everyone to land today.

“The Wurundjeri people want you to care for and protect the land, just as they did long ago. The Wurundjeri Country extends from inner city Melbourne and extends over the mountains of the Great Dividing Range, south to the east, and the Wurundjeri people are part of the nation and the Wollwong language.

“You are welcome in the land of the waterways of the Wurundjeri people. Welcome and enjoy the day. Thank you.’