Reconciliation Round

We were excited to catch up recently with one of our club legends, Levi Pearce, to have a yarn about his heritage and what our club’s support of Reconciliation Round means to him. Levi is into his 12th season with the mighty Rangers and does a brilliant job as our club registrar, leads our 5th grade side around the park as Captain, and is into his 5th year volunteering on our committee!

Levi with Glasshouse District Cricket Club’s Reconciliation Round this upcoming weekend can share with us a little about your cultural heritage?

My connection comes from dad’s side of the family which has been traced back to Alice Williams (Stapleton) my great great grandmother who was born at Mount Arrowsmith Station in 1879. She married Richard William Gilby in 1904 and they had a son and two daughters. In 1932 Ada Gilby (great grandmother) married Frank Gordon Pearce, which is where my surname originates from. My pop Maurice John Pearce was born in 1944 and passed away on 18 March 2010. Dad was born in 1967, the eldest of five children and we are all descendants of the Malyangapa and Barkindji tribes from the far west of New South Wales.

What is reconciliation round and why is it important to you and our First Nations People?

Reconciliation round is about cricket celebrating connecting to country across Australia. It is important to recognise and acknowledge First Nations peoples traditions and cultures not just through sport but in everyday life. Starting conversations can be hard when it comes to topics like this but it is about being understanding and open minded. Education is the key I think as we can all learn something from each other if we allow ourselves to.

What can we expect at this years GDCC Reconciliation Round?

Our home ground is located on the traditional lands of the Jinibara and Gubbi Gubbi people. The mountains themselves hold particular significance in story telling and cultural identity. As part of our ongoing commitment to see Cricket Connecting Country at the Grassroots, this year we are humbled have Uncle Alan return to share an Acknowledgement to Country whilst also leading our Barefoot Circle Ceremony demonstrating our pathway to unity and sharing.  Mark Peters will also be sharing a traditional cultural didgeridoo performance as part of the mornings time together.

How can people at GDCC and the wider community get involved?

All players, supporters, and the wider community are invited to join our barefoot circle and Reconciliation Round at Glasshouse Districts Cricket Club. Our Junior and Senior players, members, association umpires, along Members of the Sunshine Coast Goannas (the first Sunshine Coast Indigenous soccer team) would like to extend a warm ‘Wunya’ (welcome) to all as we acknowledge and thank the traditional owners of the land that we play this great game on –  the Kabi Kabi /Gubbi Gubbi people as part of our Reconciliation Round celebrations. The proceedings will take place on our main oval between 9 am & 9.30 am on Saturday the 29th January 2022.

*About our feature image “Cricket Connecting Country” by Uncle Alan Parsons

About the artist:  

Alan C. Parsons recognised aboriginal artists, active community members, and advocate for people with a disability.  

Alan C. Parsons was born in Charleville and has traditional links to the Bidjira/Yiman  people in Central Queensland. Alan is a recognised artist who was encouraged to explore his talents at a local community centre in 2004 and discovered a strong cultural affinity to his artistic expression.