Gulpa gaka! Welcome! Footy and culture come together as one in My Dreamtime Match, an uplifting picture book by JACINTA DANIHER and TAYLOR HAMPTON. Read on for a Q&A with the authors.

MEET THE AUTHORS

What inspired My Dreamtime Match?

Jacinta: What begins as a simple social media post doesn’t always stay simple. When the Leitchville Gunbower Football Netball Club shared their Dreamtime Round guernsey design on Facebook in 2023, they had no idea it would find its way into the pages of a children’s picture book three years later.

But that’s exactly what happened.

After seeing the post, we were inspired. We reached out to the club, eager to know more about the striking design and they pointed us toward the woman behind it: Aunty Neva Takele. Aunty Neva had created a painting called ‘Leitchy Gunny Dreaming’, which became the guernsey design. Rich in cultural significance, the artwork features the Yorta Yorta totem of the Long-necked Tortoise, representing the two towns of Leitchville and Gunbower coming together as one. Every element of the design carries meaning, rooted deep in Country and community.

Taylor: We both grew up in a small town called West Wyalong, pretty much surrounded by footy. It was just what you did, weekends were spent at the oval and netball courts, and we both played for the same club, West Wyalong-Girral Bulldogs. I also didn’t have an Indigenous Round. I never got to experience that as a kid. So a big part of this book came from wanting to change that, not just for our kids, Ella and Arlo, but for all kids.

These days, my connection to Indigenous Round is pretty personal. I was lucky enough to help my old club, the Beechworth Bushrangers, bring an Indigenous Round into their league in 2022. That included designing training singlets, polos, and both football and netball guernseys, so I got to see firsthand how powerful it can be when culture is celebrated in that space. We wanted to create something that shows how deadly it can be, learning about culture, feeling proud of it, and still just having a kick of the footy with your mates at the same time.

What was your collaboration process like?

Jacinta: Without hesitation, we wanted to work with Janelle Burger again after our collaboration on ‘Our Dance’. We just wanted to make sure she was comfortable with all the details involved in depicting the game of AFL and the specific memories we carry of small-town football and netball growing up.

Janelle was on board straight away and was very open to any and all details and reference photos we could send through. The intricacies of the guernsey design, the people, the boundary lines, the goal posts, the cars parked around the perimeter of the oval, and even the tuck shop that we fondly remember getting our meat pie from after our games of netball or footy.

Those details matter. They’re what make a book feel lived in and true.

Can you tell us about the Sir Doug Nicholls Round and its significance?

Taylor: The Sir Doug Nicholls Round is the AFL’s celebration of First Nations culture and community. It’s a time where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pride takes centre stage on the footy field, recognising the culture, history, and contributions of our First Nations players and communities.

But it’s bigger than just footy. The round celebrates identity, belonging, and showing young mob that their culture is something to be proud of, something that shines in spaces like Football.

For me personally, it’s something that really hits home. I grew up looking up to players like Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin, they were my idols. So to be in a position where we were able to get permission from both of them to use their likeness in the book, that’s something pretty special. It brings it all full circle.

We also wanted to keep it close to our own journey. The opposition team in the book is the Beechworth Football and Netball Club, which is a club I played for, and I also designed their Indigenous guernsey. That made it feel real, it’s not just a story, it’s our story, our communities, and our culture all coming together.

What role does AFL play in building community?

Taylor: Footy plays a massive role, especially in country towns. It’s more than just a sport, it’s where everyone comes together.

You’ve got families, kids, Elders, everyone at the ground. It’s connection, it’s belonging, it’s checking in with each other. For a lot of communities, the footy club is the heartbeat of the town. Which is just like culture. That’s why I love Footy so much. I get to experience community and connection in many different ways.

For mob, it’s also a space where culture can be shared and celebrated. Events like the  Indigenous Round give us that opportunity to stand proud, tell our stories, and bring culture into a space that everyone’s already connected to.

How did your experiences as educators and parents influence the story?

Jacinta:  Across all of our books, we’ve always believed the most powerful stories are real ones. Our own children, Ella and Arlo, have made appearances throughout our previous titles and that tradition of weaving real characters into our pages continues with My Dreamtime Match.

This book follows the joy and pride of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round of AFL through the eyes of one boy and his cousin. Their names are Jahleel and Joel, and they are Aunty Neva’s grandsons. Within the story, the boys beam with pride as they tell the reader how their nan designed the guernsey they’ll be wearing for the match that day. It’s a detail that transforms the book from a story about football into something far more personal. A celebration of family, culture, and the quiet, powerful ways that identity is passed from one generation to the next.

What key message or lessons do you hope readers take away from the book?

Taylor: Across all our books, our biggest aim has always been to show the diversity within Aboriginal culture. We want Aboriginal children and young people to see themselves in our stories, to look at the characters and think, “They’re proud, that means I can be proud too.”

There’s not just one story or one way of being. Every community is different, every experience is different, and that’s something we want all kids to understand and respect.

With My Dreamtime Match, it really comes back to pride. Being proud of who you are, where you come from, and seeing that reflected in everyday things like sport and community.

If kids can read it and feel that sense of pride, or even just learn something new about culture along the way, then we’ve done our job.

And none of this would have come together without the generosity of the Leitchville Gunbower Football Netball Club, and most importantly, Aunty Neva. What started as a simple Facebook post turned into a conversation, and that conversation turned into a really meaningful collaboration.

One that we hope will introduce young readers to the beauty of Yorta Yorta culture and the spirit of Dreamtime Round for years to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Taylor Hampton is a proud Ngiyampaa/Wiradjuri man and Jacinta Daniher is an early childhood educator. Taylor and Jacinta have a passion for educating young people about Aboriginal culture. In 2019, they established Birrang Cultural Connections to offer cultural workshops in education settings, with the vision of creating content that is educational, interactive and exciting.

They have two children, Ella and Arlo, who have inspired them to create picture books that reflect their culture and experiences as young Aboriginal children growing up in Australia today.

Read more about Taylor Hampton here.

Follow Taylor Hampton on Instagram here.

Follow Jacinta Danihler on Instagram here.

Read more about the book on the Hachette website