Today show entertainment reporter, Brooke Boney, 31, made history when she became the first Indigenous person to join a commercial breakfast team in January.
But the journey to success hasn’t always been smooth-sailing for the former Triple J newsreader.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, Brooke, who is a Gamilaroi Gomeroi woman from Muswellbrook, NSW, recalled her earliest memories of racism – which she faced as a child.
Shcoking: Brooke Boney, who is a Gamilaroi Gomeroi woman from Muswellbrook, NSW, has recalled her earliest memories of racism – which she faced as a child
‘One guy at school called me the n-word and slammed me against a wall. Which is funny, right, because I’m the most caramel-coloured Aboriginal person you’d ever meet!’ she said.
‘I remember the principal telling me, ‘Look, we know this guy is a troublemaker, but would you mind just dropping it.’ ‘
‘And that’s what I did. I don’t think they were being malicious or anything; the school just really didn’t know how to deal with it. It was easier to pretend it didn’t happen.’
The shocking incident would later motivate Brooke to become a journalist and inspire others in the Indigenous community.
‘The best sort of change happens naturally’: It comes after Brooke said that her addition to morning TV is a sign of more inclusive and progressive changes that are to come in the Australian media
‘…If you’ve never even seen someone finish school, or you don’t have that space to study and go through those processes that other kids do, you just don’t know how to do it,’ she said of Indigenous children.
It comes after Brooke said that her addition to morning TV is a sign of more inclusive and progressive changes that are to come in the Australian media.
She said that while she won’t be using the same Indigenous language greeting ‘Yaama’ (‘hello’ in Gamilaroi) that was her signature on Triple J, she nonetheless plans to gradually introduce change to the Channel Nine breakfast show.
‘I think the audience of Triple J is a little bit more radical, they’re a little more open to those things,’ she said.
‘There have been so many changes at Today already, I don’t want to freak people out and make them think the things they love about their show are changing completely, because they’re not… we want people to be comfortable.’
‘It’s not the sort of thing you go in and force feed people… The best sort of change happens when people are on board and it happens naturally.’
Motivation: Brooke, whose career includes stints at NITV, SBS and ABC, said growing up without representation on television has motivated her to ‘change’ Australian media
Brooke, whose career includes stints at NITV, SBS and ABC, said that growing up without representation on television motivated her to ‘change’ Australian media.
The ambitious journalist, who was one of six children raised by a single mother, said she didn’t particularly identify with Ernie Dingo and was inspired to forge her own path.
She said her hopes are that society can begin to appreciate ‘the enormous and incredible contribution that Aboriginal culture could make’ to Australia.
Close bond: Brooke, who is a Gamilaroi Gomeroi woman from Muswellbrook, is pictured with her mother
Earlier this year, it was announced that Brooke would replace veteran entertainment reporter Richard ‘Dickie’ Wilkins on Today.
‘I’m really thrilled to be joining the team and so excited to be working alongside Richard Wilkins. He’s such a legend in the business,’ she said in a statement.
‘It’s such an exciting time to be joining Nine and am looking forward to learn from everyone on the Today team. As a young girl growing up in the country I watched Today so it’s really awesome to know it’ll be my new home.’
Inspiration: Brooke once interviewed ‘the father of reconciliation,’ Indigenous Australian MP Pat Dodson