Johnathan Thurston has revealed how he only discovered his mum was part of the stolen generation halfway through his own career, helping change his path in life.
Forever proud of his own Indigenous heritage, Thurston only learned for the first time in 2010 of the details of his mother’s childhood at a crunch time in his career.
Speaking for the first time about the topic, the champion playmaker claims that and a trip to her early home in outback Queensland proved the missing pieces in his life.
“I always knew I was Aboriginal and always knew Mum grew up in Mitchell about eight hours west of Brisbane,” Thurston told the Bounce Back Podcast.
“But that was the extent of what I knew.
“It wasn’t until 2010 NRL indigenous all stars and we did an exercise (on how much you knew of your family”s culture).
It prompted Thurston to hire a bus and drive to Mitchell with his cousins and uncles, on a journey of discovery on his own family’s history at the end of that year.
“My mum’s family were removed from their mum and dad at a young age,” Thurston said.
“Mum was one of 13. She’s the second eldest, she certainly looked after the rest of the family.
“Meeting the elders, we did traditional dancing, we went to the local watering hole.”
It came at a crucial time in Thurston’s life.
He had just been arrested for public nuisance earlier that year, the last of any off-field woes after admitting he had issues growing up.
It helped kick him into gear on the field too, with 2010 a year he had to take the most lessons from on the field.
He won just three of 17 games for North Queensland as he battled injuries, before a masterful seven-year run began in 2011 of successive finals appearances.
In truth, it was from that season the Cowboys’ run to their maiden premiership began with Thurston the main conductor.
“That (trip) was when I started having a deeper thinking about what I wanted to do with my platform in rugby league,” Thurston said.
“2010 was a big year for me both on the field and off the field.”
“It was a huge moment. It was probably the missing piece of the puzzle of my life.