‘Something from nothing’: How a rundown shack in Cairns’ industrial sector became a trailblazing First Nations boarding facility
AFL Cape York House’s founding staff members will quietly celebrate their humble beginnings this week, a decade on from first opening their doors to First Nations students.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A trailblazing Indigenous boarding facility will mark a major milestone and celebrate its founder at a special event in Cairns on Friday.
Started in 2013, AFL Cape York House will observe its 10th anniversary and general manager Rick Hanlon’s induction into AFL Queensland’s Hall of Fame with current and former staff.
It’s a remarkable rise from a ramshackle ruin in the city’s industrial sector to a leading educational institution for young men and women hailing from Cape York, the Torres Strait and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Today, AFL Cape York House supports almost 100 young men and women studying in Cairns based across two multimillion-dollar campuses.
But AFL Queensland CEO Dean Warren admitted to having doubts when he visited the dilapidated shack in Portsmith that would later become the site for the boys’ boarding facility.
“I’ll never forget the day,” Warren said, earlier this week.
After wading through the tall grass, Warren inspected the abandoned highset house that would later be demolished with a sense of curiosity.
“Rick turned to me and said, ‘I want to build something for kids to help them finish secondary school’,” Mr Warren said.
“He had a vision of what he wanted to achieve.
“Here we are, 15 years later with the girls facility established (in 2019) and that’s all because of Rick’s determination and passion.”
The House’s inaugural high school graduate, Anthony Nicholls, said Mr Hanlon remains a “father figure” and source of inspiration to him.
“I’m living a life I could never have dreamt of,” the proud Torres Strait Islander said.
“Rick still helps me today. The values he’s been able to instil in us and how nurturing he’s been is unbelievable.
“He’s been there every step of the way, even after I graduated.”
Today Nicholls, who’s worked as a trainer for the North Queensland Cowboys and GWS Giants, is an Associate Lecturer at University of Sydney and a physiotherapist.
But countless wayward kids can thank Hanlon and the House for their guidance, he said.
“A lot of young men and women go back to community, start families, get good jobs and become leaders,” Mr Nicholls said.
“And now they’re sending their kids to the House, so it’s come full circle.
“It’s a culturally safe environment to learn and it was so important in terms of developing my capacity academically and as a person.”
Already an Order of Australia medallist and member of the AFL Tasmania Hall of Fame, Hanlon’s close mate John Hollander said the boarding program was his greatest professional achievement.
“It’s something that started from nothing,” Mr Hollander said.
“The offers Rick’s had and the money he’s been offered to go elsewhere isn’t funny.
“He’s knocked them all back because of the passion he has for the kids.
“My respect for him is immense. He’s a genuine bloke who’s selfless in what he does for those kids.”
Hollander, now a director at AFL Cape York House Foundation, recalled with a chuckle his first meeting with Hanlon at the site of the current Boys House.
“The ferals had gotten in and made a hell of a mess inside the building,” he said.
“When he told me what he wanted to do, I said, ‘Really?’.
“Well, look at it now.”
More Coverage
Originally published as ‘Something from nothing’: How a rundown shack in Cairns’ industrial sector became a trailblazing First Nations boarding facility
‘Going to die’: Business owner puts woman in chokehold on fishing holiday
A former business owner has shut up shop and relocated 1200kms after an alcohol-fuelled domestic violence act where his partner of 18 years “thought she was going to die”.
Renewed flooding fears as monsoon brings ‘another round’ of wet weather
The BOM are expecting “another round” of showers and thunderstorms as a monsoonal trough could cause already flooding river levels in Far North Queensland to again rise.