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Australian Open cups visit Koondrook

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Aust Open Cups
Koondrook Tennis Club treasurer, Maree Telford (centre), with AO Cups, the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (1903 – 1933, Women’s Singles) and the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup (1877-1968, Men’s Singles), surrounded by Dungala Culture on Court tour group. Photo: The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

Kendall Jennings, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

Locals were blessed with a visit by the Australian Open singles trophies on Tuesday. The trophies, affectionally named ‘Daph and Norm’, were accompanied by Tennis Australia representatives celebrating 100 years of women’s tennis championships in 2022, and the Dungala Culture on Court tour, partnered by Anglicare Victoria.

The Australian Open Cup Tour is scheduled to visit 20 Victorian towns, celebrating inclusivity of tennis and to uplift community spirit as the state reopens from the pandemic, finishing in Swan Hill on Friday, November 19.

Dungala Culture on Court is a cultural partnership (Anglicare Victoria) event from November 15-19. The group was invited to share the Yorta Yorta beliefs, traditions, sustenance, existence, and stores of their ancestral river, Dungala. 

Starting at Gunbower, the Dungala group travelled to Echuca Tennis Club for a hit of tennis, then travelled to Koondrook via speedboat for a social tennis match, before being pampered with catering by the Koondrook Tennis Club. Wednesday was spent in Koondrook with Yorta Yorta cultural experiences. 

The group then travelled by road to Murrabit, enjoying the immaculate lawn tennis courts before a boat trip from Gonn Crossing to Pental Island on Thursday, and will finish the trip with a chance to play on the Swan Hill Tennis Club courts where Country Week tennis, the largest grassroots tennis event in the southern hemisphere, is held.

The Bridge caught up with the cup tour and the Dungala Culture on Court group at the pristine Koondrook Tennis Courts, and after a quick game, the youth stopped for a quick photo and afternoon tea. 

The Kondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper 18 November 2021

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 18 November 2021.

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