Yorta Yorta Elder Aunty Pam Pedersen recently attended First Nations Day at the 2023 Australian Open, along with 40 kids from AV’s Buldau Yioohgen ‘Big Dreams’ Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy program. We spoke to Aunty Pam about what First Nations Day at the AO means to her, while dozens of children were having a hit on court nearby in Margaret Court Arena.
“Today is First Nations Day. How wonderful is this?!” said Aunty Pam.
For Aunty Pam, the day is all about providing opportunities for young Aboriginal kids to get involved in sport, celebrate their Culture, and connect with families from right across the state.
“This program is wonderful for our young ones, and I love coming each year. It’s so important that our young ones get the opportunity to come to the Australian Open,” Aunty Pam said. “Without the support of Buldau Yioohgen and Anglicare Victoria the children would not have the opportunity to come along.
“We’re all very grateful and I thank everyone for inviting all our young children along this morning.
“The kids I’ve spoken to today have really enjoyed it, and the parents have as well,” said Aunty Pam. “You never know, we might have more Aboriginal tennis players out there just like Ash Barty, and just look what she has done for our country.”
Aunty Pam said First Nations Day at the Australian Open is an important recognition by Tennis Australia of the ongoing contribution of Aboriginal people.
“This is the second year that we’ve had this, and I’m sure if we continue, we’ll have more people coming along to this event,” she said.
“We’ve had a lot of young people from all over Victoria attending from the Buldau Yioohgen program, and I’ve so enjoyed myself being with our young ones today. Some of them have had a hit up at Rod Laver, and the others had some time on Margaret Court. We’re also lucky to be at Margaret Court Arena to watch a game, which is very exciting.”
Aunty Pam even headed out onto the court herself to have a hit with the kids. “I was on Margaret Court, and I tried to have a hit of the ball, but I was running for the ball more than hitting it!” she said.
