05 May 2021

When The Amazing Race production couldn’t go overseas due to Corona, they went with the idea they should’ve defs gone with in the first place, ‘straya!

The giddy, fun-loving, infectious smiling, deadly duo that is the Kimberley Cousins brought me much joy on Monday and Tuesday nights earlier this year. 

 

Not just because they Dwes and Katherine were the funniest to watch, bickering at each other at every challenge, but that they were open and proud with sharing their Indigenous Australian culture on reality television.

“I think the media can often show quite a negative image of Indigenous Australians so this was an opportunity for us to show how resilient and strong we are. And to show communities living in regional areas that anything is possible,” Dwes said to The Latch.

Coming from Broome, a small town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, there was a lot riding on them to represent their heritage, community and making them proud.

“Entering the race was always about way more than just winning the prize money, it was about inspiring the young Indigenous community and setting an example of what was possible. It’s just amazing to see that a show can give so much hope to people from all walks of life.”

 

When they were eliminated in the first leg but were then given a second chance, they made it all the way to the halfway mark of the show - and felt grounded to the Welcome To Country ceremonies.

“For us, we understand how important it is to have permission from the traditional land owners and how important the ceremonies are. It provides us with that opportunity to walk freely in that country with the permission of the Elders, both past present and emerging,” said Dwes.

Funnily enough, Katherine was originally opposed to going on the television show.

“Dwes actually applied without my knowledge, he put in the application on both of our behalf and didn’t tell me about it until we got through to the next round,” said Katherine to NITV. “Once he did tell me that we got through to the next round, I sort of just thought to myself, ‘there’s going to be thousands of people wanting to apply for this and we actually got through, so just take advantage of the opportunity’”.

Mother of one and AFLW player Katherine is all about getting young Indigenous out of their comfort zones and is proud to be the beacon for inspiring people in their community to do the same.

Being an Aboriginal gay man is a small town, Dwes has never had problems celebrating his individuality within the Kimberley, and hoped that his time on TV would shine a light for the First Nations voices in the fight for LGBTQIA+ equality.

“Because of this support I’ve been privileged to receive, I actively advocated for LGBTIQ+ young people in the Kimberley to always have a safe space in our society so they can openly celebrate their individuality free of criticism and judgement,” said Dwes to OUTinPerth.

If you want to know more about the hilarious and inspirational duo that is the Kimberley Cousins, have a squiz at their Dream Big, Achieve Big webinar on May 18 at the Year13 Expo!