Ashleigh Gardners mum Katherine is a Muruwari woman from North-Western NSW. Katherines mum died when she was just five days old. She lost her foster parents at a young age too, and was brought up in a boarding house in Orange.
“She didnt have much to do with her direct family, which was pretty sad, because shes lost that connection too,” Ashleigh says.
“Shes still learning, at her age now, so I guess once she starts to learn things, she then tells me, so she has been a little bit disconnected to her family.
“Hopefully listening to stories and stuff, she can get reconnected.”
Ashleigh is 21. She grew up in Sydney, and is now an Indigenous leader. But because of her mothers disjointed childhood, the star Australian all-rounder is still learning about her heritage. Gardner though, is part of history. Later this week she flies out to England to lead an Indigenous womens cricket side, who along with their male counterparts are playing a series of matches to commemorate the 150-year anniversary of the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England, the first Australian sporting side to embark on an organised international tour.
“I didnt get to have that connection, but being able to play in the NICC [National Indigenous Cricket Championships], or the Imparja Cup back then, was a really good learning curve for me,” says Gardner, who last year became just the second Indigenous woman to represent Australia.
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“Being able to play with other Indigenous athletes, and hearing about their stories and about where theyre from. Ive still obviously got a lot to learn about my culture, but Im definitely willing to take that step and hopefully learn a little bit more.”
Ash Gardner and Dan Christian on Wednesday.
Photo: Dominic Lorrimer
Veteran all-rounder Daniel Christian leads a strong male contingent, including Australian representative Scott Boland and Queensland fast bowler Brendan Doggett, who has just been called up to Australia A.
“Its a huge honour,” Christian told Fairfax Media on Wednesday.
“[Im] pretty excited. Its obviously come around pretty quickly.
“Its right up there [in terms of my career achievements]. I was lucky enough to do something similar in 2009. It was more a development squad then. It was mainly made up of 17, 18, 19 year-olds back then. But to be taking over a full-strength team is a huge achievement.
“Im really looking forward to the tour, and not just the tour itself but hopefully the progression of the Indigenous program over the next few years.”
Christian and Gardner were in Canberra on Wednesday, meeting dignitaries including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The men play five Twenty20 matches, while the women play four, with several of the games being played at venues where the 1868 team also played.
Christian said he was expecting opponents Surrey, Sussex, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to field reasonably strong sides, with a mix of first XI and second XI players. The tour opens on June 5 with a match against the MCC at Arundel Castle.
Daniel is an Age sports reporter.
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