PacificAus Netball Series: Maryke Babia becomes first Torres Strait Islander to represent First Nations side
Playing for her cancer-stricken mother, ‘hero’ father and a generation of Torres Strait Islander girls, this Black Swans player is blazing a trail she hopes others will follow.
She’s the trailblazing Black Swan playing for her family, her culture and a generation of young Torres Strait Islander girls craving a sporting hero.
Between the firsts she’ll rack up and the people she’s playing for, Maryke Babia should have the weight of the world resting on her shoulders when she takes the court for First Nations side the Black Swans at the PacificAus Netball Series in Brisbane this week.
She’s playing for her cancer-stricken mum Margie – who gave her a love of netball – and her Torres Strait Islander dad Eric, who has instilled in her such a sense of cultural pride.
For the people of Mabuyag Island and Saibai Island and her wider family who feel such honour at her being the first Torres Strait Islander selected for Australia’s First Nations netball side.
For the young girls of the Torres Strait, who she hopes will look past the “shame” culture that often prevents them from trying something new and want to be the sports stars of the future.
And for herself.
But the Brisbane-based Babia, who wants to become Australia’s first Diamond of Torres Strait Islander descent, will play with the freedom that “standing on ancestors” will bring.
Currently playing in Queensland Netball’s Ruby Series – the second tier state competition underneath the premier Sapphire Series – the wing defence/goal defence is determined to make her mark this week when the Black Swans take on sides from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Papua New Guinea as well as invited outfit Scotland.
“It comes with a lot of privilege and honour to wear the Black Swans dress and represent pretty much (the whole) Torres Strait,” Babia said.
Babia is not only the first Torres Strait Islander (TSI) to play for the Black Swans, she is the only TSI player in the team.
While she’s a born and bred Brisbane girl who started her netball journey at age six, playing at the Metropolitan Districts Netball Association where her mum first coached her and then moved through the age group ranks with her, Babia is steeped in the traditions, stories and dances of the Torres Strait.
“I’ve always had culture in my life,” she said.
“(Dad) is really big on teaching me things even though sometimes I don’t really want to.
“His first language is actually his native tongue, so he’s able to teach me all that and all the dances and stuff and I’ve just grown up around it.”
Netball too has been a way of life since Babia can remember.
“One of (mum’s) her friends taught me how to do a chest pass when I was two years old,” Babia said.
Her mum then coached her through the junior ranks and was there again when Babia was dropped from the Ruby Series ranks briefly a couple of years ago, coaching her Metro Districts side to a premiership.
That was before Margie contracted Sezary syndrome in 2022 – a rare form of lymphoma that eventually lead to a stem cell transplant a year later.
“It’s just been over a year in December from the stem cell transplant, so that was pretty scary but the thing is she never exposed me to how scary and dangerous it was,” Babia said.
“Now that I think about it, it’s scary to think about what she went through. But she’s really good now … I’m trying to make her proud by doing this and excelling in my sport.”
Through it all, Eric has been his family’s rock, helping his wife to all her treatments while being such a fixture at Nissan Arena, where the PacificAus Series will be played, that he’s known to all.
“He’s one of my biggest heroes because he works so hard and when mum was in hospital, he was working two jobs, coming home, cooking dinner for me and my brother, going into hospital with (mum) every day making sure she went to appointments.
“And on the back of that, he went to every single training session like that I’ve been to, every single game.”
Little wonder then that Babia will represent her family with such pride this week.
“I just want to show everybody what I can do and what (mum’s) taught me and how I’ve been brought up and show who I am on court,” she said.
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