EA Southee Public School’s captains Kerstyn Taylor and Lilliana Chick were one of 19 teams who represented eight primary schools at the NAIDOC Week Public Speaking Competition.

Linking with NAIDOC Week’s theme, students were asked to speak along the lines of, ‘Because of Her… We Can’.

“Kerstyn and Lilliana chose to speak about Evonne Goolagong-Cawley as an inspiration Wiradjuri woman,” EA Southee’s principal Leonie Stevenson said.

Mrs Goolagong-Cawley, from Barellan, was a world number one tennis player and won 14 grand slams.

”They spoke of her dream as ‘just a country kid’ to play tennis at Wimbledon and the work her Goolagong Foundation does to support young indigenous students,” Ms Stevenson said.

“This was a really different type of public speaking experience for us and we had a good time,” Kerstyn and Lillianna said.