Rugby League player Nicho Hynes grew up knowing a few things were true. His brother Wade called him Nicho instead of Nicholas and the name stuck. His father introduced him to rugby league and his mother was Indigenous. He understood the first two but being Aboriginal – what did that mean?
His mother was a member of the Stolen Generations, and she had grown up without any connection to her Culture. She told Nicho that he was Aboriginal, and he should be loud and proud of it. However when Nicho told others he was Aboriginal he wasn’t believed, and he felt he didn’t know enough to be ‘a loud, proud blackfella’. He kept silent about his culture but hoped that one day he would connect with his Indigenous family and culture.
Nicho’s other dream was to play rugby league, and he worked hard to achieve that dream earning a place first with the Melbourne Storm and then with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Rugby provided friendships with other Indigenous players and an opportunity to play in the Koori Knockout tournament – a place where he knew he was with family as he was bombarded with questions like ‘We’re you from?’ and ‘Who’s your mob?’ He knew he belonged. He had found his Aboriginal family and learned that he was Wiradjuri.
Nicho’s experience is not unique many Indigenous people who have grown up confused about their background and their family connections—consequence of their treatment in the past and the Stolen Generations. And today Nicho is a loud, proud blackfella!
Nicho Hynes is an award-winning rugby league player and a proud Wiradjuri man. Marlee Silva is from the Gamilaroi and Dunghutti peoples of NSW. She is an author and presenter. She currently works as a reporter on the Wide World of Sports.
Illustrator Blak Douglas aka Adam Douglas Hill has a Dhungutti-German father and an Anglo-Irish Scottish mother. He has won a number of major art awards including the 2022 Archibald prize and illustrated several award-winning children’s books including ‘Finding Our Heart’ and ‘The First Scientists’.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
