HE’S ONE of the greatest players to ever grace rugby league, but Johnathan Thurston has been named 2018 Queensland Australian of the Year for his off-field indigenous work.
The judging panel said the North Queensland Cowboys co-captain used his profile to help others, particularly Indigenous people, reach their potential.
He champions Achieving Results Through Indigenous Education (ARTIE), is the face of Synapse’s campaign to prevent acquired brain injury in the Aboriginal community, and is an ambassador for the Apunipima Cape York Health Council’s anti-ice campaign.
He is also an ambassador for the Queensland Reconciliation Awards and actively supports the Beanies for Brain Cancer initiative.
This year, Thurston helped launch the $ 9.5 million NRL Cowboys House, a home for 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from remote north Queensland.
More to come.
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