ATHLETE
Politician
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Australia's First Aboriginal & Northern Territorian to Win an Olympic Gold Medal.
Nova Peris became the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal as part of the Hockeyroos in Atlanta 1996 and the first Australian mother to win gold since 1956.
Peris uniquely represented Australia in two sports—hockey and athletics—at separate Olympics. She is the only person globally to reach back-to-back Summer Olympic finals in two sports and to win both Olympic and Commonwealth gold medals in different sports.
Australia's First Aboriginal Woman elected to Federal Parliament.
Since the mid-1990s, Nova Peris has been a strong advocate for Aboriginal people, visiting hundreds of communities to understand their challenges. Using her platform in Federal Parliament, she amplified the voices of those often unheard and made a profound, positive impact on young Aboriginal lives through both her words and actions.
FOLLOW ME ON
Where Legends Sleep: My Anzac Day at Bomana Cemetery, 2025
Today I stood where silence roars, Where memory breathes through distant wars.
Bomana, where the fallen lie in rows of white, And courage is carved into morning light.
In the dawn’s hush, I carried a wreath, Not just of flowers, but stories beneath.
For those who served our nation with grace, Whose blood and dignity stained this place.
80 years since the world’s guns fell still, Yet here, the echoes of courage linger and thrill.
In this sacred ground where the diggers lie, The sky weeps gently, not with grief, but pride.
I came as a daughter of the first to roam, Of people once shut out of even their own home.
Yet our men, my kin, stood tall in the fight, Hiding their blood, but never their might.
They wore khaki, but not their true name, For to say “Aboriginal” was to shoulder more shame.
Yet in foxholes and fire, beside white and black, They gave just the same, no thought to look back.
Let us remember the 39th’s youth, Baby-faced heroes, raw in truth. Thrown into fire, too green to despair, But they fought like lions in tropical air.
Let’s honour B.S. Kingsbury, VC,
Only 24, bold and free.
He rose with a Bren gun, fire at his hip, And held the line with an iron grip.
Reg Saunders, first officer of our own, Led with courage history’s rarely shown. And his brother Harry, who wrote from the fight, Then fell just weeks later, lost to the night.
My great-grandfather Sergeant Jack Knox, my own family line, A bushman who led the lost through vine. Mentioned in Dispatches, humble and strong, He showed us all where we belong.
Among these graves, six stars gleam — Jewish diggers, whose truth redeems. Pte. Joseph Rovkin, just sixteen when he lied, Changed his name, his faith he’d hide. A young Jewish soul with Australian pride, He gave his life so others survived.
And those with no grave, yet full of grace, The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, who kept the pace. Carrying the wounded, barefoot, kind, Their courage lives in all our minds.
Today I stood — not alone, but with all, Answering the silent bugle call.
Lest we forget 🥀
#ANZACday2025 #bomanawarcemetery #lestweforget🥀 #dreamwalker #kokoda
Kokoda at Sunrise 🌅 A Moment Etched in Eternity
This morning, as the sun rose over the majestic Owen Stanley Ranges, I stood arm in arm with two remarkable men beneath the archway of the Kokoda Track. The photo captures more than just a sunrise, it captures brother, sister, brother in arms. A moment of deep reflection, gratitude, and unwavering respect.
On my first Kokoda trek in 2022, I met Aidan Grimes, the owner of Our Spirit, a man who has walked this sacred track over 130 times. Aidan is not just a guide; he is a walking encyclopedia of Kokoda – a custodian of memory, history, and the Anzac spirit. Through his tireless dedication, Australians are guided not just through jungle and mud, but through stories of courage, mateship, sacrifice, and endurance.
It was also on that first trek I met Andrew Johnston – or “Jono” as we all call him. A student of Aidan’s and now a leader in his own right, Jono walks with quiet strength, deep respect, and fierce pride in honouring our fallen. He lives and breathes the Anzac legacy.
In 2025, we mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War. But every step on Kokoda is a living tribute – to those who gave their today for our tomorrow. Their blood carved the freedom we now walk upon. This photo, this moment, is everything to me.
Lest we forget.
#lestweforget #weshallrememberthem #anzac #anzac2025
This morning I hiked from the Goldie River to the top of Owers Corner — my third time setting foot on the sacred Kokoda Track. In 2022 and 2023 I walked the full length with Our Spirit and my good mate Aidan Grimes. This time, I returned to welcome new trekkers on the eve of Anzac Day — and to lay a wreath in honour of Aboriginal servicemen and all our Anzacs who gave theirs for ours. This year marks 80yrs since the end of World War 2
This morning, I visited the Bomana Cemetery and paused at the grave of B.S. Kingsbury VC — just 24 when he gave his life in the Battle of Isurava. Kingsbury was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, becoming the first Australian soldier to receive the VC on Australian territory, as Papua was then an Australian territory.
His heroism remains a defining symbol of Australian courage on the Kokoda Track. His epitaph reads: “He gave his life that others may live in peace and security.” That line says it all, their story, their courage. Our history, our freedom!!
My great-grandfather, Sgt. Jack Knox of the 2/16th Battalion, fought in Syria, Lebanon and here in Kokoda. Their sacrifices are our history.
To anyone who thinks it’s okay to deface war memorials — learn your history. Your freedom was paid for in blood. This track, this land, these names — they matter.
#lestweforget🌹
#kokoda #kokodatrack #ourspirit #novaperis #dreamwalker #weshallrememberthem #OurDiggers