Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 44

News
MARNGROOK
ON THE MAIN
IPP boys contributing to the Close
the Gap campaign
Marngrook — the Indigenous Australian football game — took
centre stage at Scotch on National Close the Gap Day, 21 March, as
Scotch students participating in the School’s Indigenous Partnership
Program (IPP) played the game on the Main Oval at lunchtime.
Marngrook (or Marn Grook), was traditionally played at Indigenous
gatherings and celebrations, and sometimes involved more than 100
players. It is often seen as a predecessor of Australian Football.
The game was part of Scotch’s participation in National Close the
Gap Day, a campaign aiming to achieve for Indigenous people the
access to healthcare that non-Indigenous Australians take for granted.
According to Old Boy historian, Jim Poulter (‘59), the game at
Scotch is believed to be the first game of marngrook played by official
rules since 1852, and it was certainly the first official marngrook game
ever played on the Main Oval. Jim, who has long maintained close
friendships with Indigenous communities, advised Scotch on aspects
of this game, and the students honed their skills for several weeks
leading up to the game on 21 March.
Throughout Term 1, students participating in the IPP worked
together to shed light on the critical health issue of Indigenous health.
Together, they took steps to increase an awareness of Indigenous
history and culture among their fellow students, and of the importance
of improving health outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
Their efforts included starting conversations among boys about
health, creating a marngrook mural outside the tuckshop, developing
and sharing a quiz about the facts and figures behind the health
gap, and speaking in Assembly about the confronting impact these
statistics have on the lives of our Indigenous students, and the wider
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. The IPP students will
continue to contribute to the Close the Cap campaign as the
year progresses.
KATHERINE CAMERON –
TIC, INDIGENOUS PARTNERSHIP
PROGRAM
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Great Scot Number 156 – April 2019