Boost Mobile Racing powered by Erebus has unveiled the tweaked livery they will run at this weekend’s inaugural Indigenous round at Hidden Valley Raceway.

Both Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown’s Commodores will carry the artwork which was designed by Bininj artist Dale Austin and acknowledges the Mimih Spirit.

Austin’s artwork is influenced by his culture of West Arnhem and Kakadu and features a male and female Mimih spirit.

To the Bininj people, Mimih spirits were the original spirit beings who taught Aboriginal people many of the skills needed to survive in the bush and symbolises the uniting of knowledge and culture from both genders and all teachings.

“Our style of art is always very well known as one of the most continuous styles that has gone fairly unchanged, and this particular symbol is highly regarded within our West Arnhem Kakadu culture,” Austin explained.

“There is always a male and female side to learning and teaching within our culture and the Mimih spirits represent the combining of that knowledge.

“People say that the Mimihs were spirit beings but they’re actually the ancestral spirits of all the previous people that passed on that knowledge.

“By displaying our culture on these vehicles, it lets people know that we’re still here and we’re still strong even after the atrocities of the past and the hurdles we still face today.

“It’s a great way to showcase the past, the present and the future.”

Born in the Australian Capital Territory, Austin has spent many years of his life retracing his ancestry to be able to share this knowledge with future generations.

Erebus’ Managing Director Shannen Kiely believes the history of the design is the perfect summation of the culture within the team.

“We are very fortunate to have worked alongside Dale and to learn about his culture,” Kiely said.

“The symbolic meaning behind Dale’s design runs deep in everything we do and for every member of our team.

“The theme acknowledges teamwork and the passing down of knowledge and as a team we learn from each other and past experiences to continuously improve.

“We are very proud to not only run this artwork, but to be making a contribution to help make a difference in the lives of Indigenous children.

“The Starlight Foundation’s Healthier Futures Initiative is close to Dale’s heart and helps reduce the significant gap between the health status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.”

The team, along with major partner Boost Mobile, has donated $10,000 to Austin’s charity of choice, which helps to improve access to health services in Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities and enhances the clinic experience for children

Partnering with health professionals, the Healthier Futures Initiative brings Captain Starlight to remote community health clinics to provide positive distraction for Indigenous kids and helps boost participation in healthcare.

“Starlight does a lot for Aboriginal children who come into the hospital service,” Austin said.

“They help make sure they’re comfortable because the hospital can be very daunting so it’s important to make sure that the parents are communicated with properly because if they’re not comfortable, the children won’t get the services they need.

“I also run activities from the Starlight room in the Royal Darwin Hospital. I teach children that are in the hospital about cultural painting and the significance of all the different colours and figures. I teach them about the Bininj perspective on West Arnhem land.”

The updated livery will take to Hidden Valley Raceway tomorrow morning with practice commencing at 10:50AM ACST.