College News

Join us for a Spectacular Evening featuring Henry Olonga and Redlands College Ensembles on 10 June 2022.

Henry Olonga was the first black player on the Zimbabwean national cricket team and the youngest-ever player to represent his homeland at international level.

A regular hero of the team since 1998, in 2003, Olonga alongside captain Andy Flower staged the famous black-armband protest in their opening match against Namibia at the World Cup to mourn the “death of democracy” in Zimbabwe.

The protest came in the wake of white farmers’ lands being seized forcibly in Zimbabwe by the Robert Mugabe-led government, and the rise in cases of human rights abuse.
Internationally praised for his bravery on that day, wearing the armband triggered the end of Henry’s cricket career. He received death threats and was shamed locally for his actions, unable to return to his homeland. He never played for the country again, and Olonga retired prematurely from international cricket. Initially charged with treason (punishable by death in Zimbabwe), Olonga faced multiple arrest warrants and death threats. He fled the country in 2003 and lived in exile in Britain for 12 years where he was in demand as a sports commentator.

Olonga moved to Australia in 2015, where he now lives in Adelaide with his wife, Tara, and two daughters. After catching the imagination of the audience and judges at The Voice Australia, a singing competition, in 2019 with his beautiful rendition of Anthony Warlow’s This Is The Moment, Olonga today is a successful singer and public speaker.

Enjoy the concert with your family and start the evening with a traditional South African/Zimbabwean ‘Boerewors’ and Sadza (a staple made from maize meal) or on a roll.

To reserve your seats and food, please click here