A “welcome to country” ceremony held before the A-League Grand Final in Melbourne has been booed by fans, just weeks after similar scenes unfolded at an Anzac Day dawn service.
Grand final attendees told Noticer News that sections of the crowd booed during the anti-Australian humiliation ritual, and loud booing can be heard in Network 10’s television coverage, although the heckling was not reported by the corporate media on the night.
The “welcome to country” was conducted by a man named Colin Hunter Junior Junior, who does not look indigenous, and the booing began when he introduced himself. Fans could also be heard whistling.
Soccer fans booed the “welcome to country” at the A-League Grand Final in Melbourne last weekend.
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Hunter went on to make the false claim that “we are on Wurundjeri country, home of my ancestors, and also home to everybody here today”. The match was held at AAMI Park, in Melbourne, Victoria.
“I wish to pay my respects to both elders past, present and emerging, elders from all nations, especially all aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members joining us here tonight,” he continued, before telling the crowd about the non-existent boundaries of so-called Wurundjeri country.
There were also cheers at the end of his speech.
One fan said the booing seemed to have been inspired by a group of men, including nationalist activist Jacob Hersant, who sparked a national conversation about the unpopular ceremonies by booing and heckling during the “welcome to country” at the Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance on April 25.
“They started something,” the spectator said.
AFL legend Sam Newman has also previously called on fans to boo during pre-game ceremonies, and called the decision to include one at the dawn service a “disgraceful display of stupidity”.
The booing of the Anzac Day ceremony, which was held by professional aboriginal Mark Brown, led to the cancellation of a “welcome to country” ceremony before a Melbourne Storm rugby league game and became an election issue.
News.com.au, the country’s most popular online news site, then ran Australia’s largest-ever poll on the ceremonies, with the vast majority of the more than 110,000 respondents saying they wanted them gone.
Asked “How do you feel about ‘welcome to country’ ceremonies?” 68% responded “they should stop completely”, 21% said “there should be less”, 8% said “there is the right amount, and 3% said “there should be more”.
Header image: Colin Hunter Junior Junior during his “welcome to country” (Network 10).
