29-05-2025
Modelling fashion and football passion
OK, shine the spotlight, pump up the music, let's hit the catwalk and meet some designers!
Earlier this month, Australian Fashion Week was held in Sydney. It's an annual celebration of culture, clothing and the designers who create Australia's diverse range of fashion. It's also where Australian fashion designers get models to wear their clothes and show them off in front of big crowds.
One of this year's featured designers is Wiradjuri woman Denni Francisco. She loves creating fashion that reflects her culture. She incorporates colours from country, such as gumtrees, into her clothing and says she does this to bring culture and country together. She was thrilled to have ten First Nations women wear her clothing in front of an excited crowd.
19-year-old First Nations model Shamaiah Sullivan is already up to her third year of walking down the runway. She became a model six years ago after watching an Australian drama on TV and feeling like there were no Indigenous people on the show. Shamaiah says that this year's Fashion Week featured more Indigenous designers and models than ever before, and that meant that people all around the world could learn about First Nations people, and their fashion.
In the outback Queensland town of Mount Isa, a group of women get together each week to do just that. They've all moved to the area from another country, and they don't speak much English. But what they all do together is sew!
Amina moved with her husband from Pakistan. When she arrived in Mount Isa, she didn't know any English, and that meant she found it hard to get a job. One day, Amina met a Pakistani friend in the street who invited her along to the sewing classes, where women also get to practice their English.
That's right! These things take time, and eventually Amina grew in confidence to speak English. She managed to land a job at the town supermarket, she's had a baby, and she's got a lovely community to support her through it all.
Animals can do many different jobs, but an assistance animal is one that gives support to people with a disability, so that they can be more independent and confident. In Australia, assistance animals are considered working animals, along with seeing and hearing dogs. In Tasmania, one assistance animal named Violet has made the news, because Violet is an alpaca.
Violet is very important to her owner, Abbygail-Nigella. Together they've gone on cruises, to the airport, but recently Abbygail-Nigella took her assistance alpaca into a Tasmanian supermarket to pick up some groceries. They were both asked to leave the store, because the staff said that Violet is livestock, and livestock isn't allowed inside. Abbygail-Nigella made a complaint, and now a court will decide if the supermarket discriminated against them.
Discrimination happens when someone is treated unfairly because of things like their age, gender, race or disability. Now, the Magistrates court of Tasmania will investigate whether the supermarket has discriminated against Abbygail-Nigella. She says that Violet has been trained as an assistance animal and goes everywhere with her. She even wants to take Violet onto a plane to Melbourne one day. Will it be possible? We'll have to wait and see how this story ends for Abbygail-Nigella and her furry assistance friend.
Although both soccer and AFL involve getting a ball around a field, and scoring goals, they are very different games to play! Someone who knows this very well is Sarah Rowe. She plays soccer in the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners. In fact, her team just won the 2025 Women's championship!
While her teammates might be celebrating their win with a relaxing holiday, Sarah hasn't taken any time off. Three days after her team's win, she started training with the Collingwood Magpies ahead of the AFL Women's pre-season. Busy, busy!
Well the good news for Sarah is that her games will never clash! Sarah moved from Ireland to Australia just to play Aussie rules but realised that A-League's season fit neatly into the AFLW off-season. But there was plenty to learn about soccer and Sarah became a defender, even though she played as a winger, which is an attack position, in AFL. The Mariners coach believed in Sarah, and she was placed straight into the starting team. Sarah says football careers are short, so she wanted to get as much out of hers as possible. You're an inspiration, Sarah! Keep kicking goals!
A few weeks ago, at about six in the morning, a great flash of light lit up the skies over Western Australia… it was a meteorite! Lots of people saw it blazing across the sky and some keen beans decided to hit the road to try and find the spot where the space rock had landed.
One of the meteorite hunters was a local police officer named Marcus. Seven days after the meteorite hit earth, he hit the road, driving for two hours and scrambling through dense bush. Then, in the middle of a salt lake, he found a tennis-ball-sized plain-looking space rock!
Marcus was quite impressed with his find, but many people think there's more to be discovered. When the meteorite came through the atmosphere, there were lots of bright flashes, and that usually happens when the rocks fragment, or split apart. So, if you're out on a walk in the south of Western Australia, keep your eyes peeled!
