Fifty primary school students have joined Michael Long and special guests in Jingili, Northern Territory for the 2020 Little Long Walk.
Held at Jingili Primary School in the lead-up to Dreamtime in Darwin, sporting legend Nova Peris, Essendon VFLW player Freda Puruntatameri and Luke Gosling MP - one of the original walkers with Long - joined the students on Thursday as The Long Walk celebrates its 16th year.
This year's Little Long Walk was proudly supported by Coles - official supermarket partner of the Bombers, partner of The Long Walk and Essendon's Tiwi Pathway Program.
Through the partnership, Coles and the Bombers aim to help Tiwi female footballers realise their dreams of becoming AFLW players, while supporting Indigenous communities in living healthier and happier lives.
Puruntatameri, who hails from the Tiwi Islands and was set to play her second season for the VFLW Bombers, joined the students for a meet and greet and kick-to-kick.
The students were also treated to a cooking class from Coles ambassador and 2020 MasterChef contestant Courtney Roulston, supported by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.
Long, whose groundbreaking walk from Melbourne to Canberra in 2004 to put the lives of Indigenous Australians back on the national agenda and inspire The Long Walk, said he was proud to see the Little Long Walk make its way to Darwin.
"The Little Long Walk is an important event to promote understanding and reconciliation among our future generation," Long said.
"To be able to do the Little Long Walk with kids from Jingili, so close to where I grew up, has made this year's event even more special."
The Long Walk is calling on all Australians committed to reconciliation, equality and the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take part in a virtual edition of this year's walk ahead of Saturday night's Dreamtime in Darwin match between Essendon and Richmond.
While COVID-19 has taken away the opportunity to walk physically with Long this year, a five-day online event will ensure a rich tradition continues.
Click here to find out how you can take part.
