By Justin Huntsdale and Nick McLaren, ABC
Brian Gardiner was turned away by security at a Wollongong pub because of his facial tā moko. Photo: ABC Illawarra / Justin Huntsdale
When Brian Gardiner chose to have his face tattooed with Māori symbols, or facial tā moko, he was recovering from a deep depression and reconnecting to his New Zealand ancestry.
He never thought it would result in him being refused entry to a hotel.
The former professional rugby league winger was separated from his friends and went home early on a night out in Wollongong this month.
"I saw some mates that play soccer with my son and they said, 'Why don't you come out on the town?' So as we're walking up Crown Street, they said they were going to go into this hotel," he told ABC Illawarra Drive.
"I walked up to the mall and when I came back [to the venue] and walked up to the security guard, he said, 'Sorry mate, you can't come in'. I thought it must be full.
"I called out to my friends that I'd have to wait for someone to come out but then the security guard then said, 'He can't come in because he has a facial tattoo.'"
After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate with the security guard and then a venue manager, Gardiner chose to go home for the night.
Policy not enforced in daylight hours
Curious about whether the facial tattoo policy would be enforced during the day, Gardiner returned to the venue at 10.30am on a Monday.
Not only was he able to enter the venue, but he was also served a beer by bar staff.
"I said to her, 'That's strange, I came here Saturday night and I was refused entry to this hotel and now you're serving me a beer,'" he said.
"I asked to leave a note for a duty manager so I wrote down my name and number and I've never heard anything back."
Significance of facial tā moko
Tā moko is a centuries-old tattooing tradition that is a sacred and personal cultural practice for Māori people.
The patterns usually represent the bearer's ancestry, and Gardiner said he spent hours with a tattoo artist discussing the elements he wanted to be represented on his face.
His facial tā moko includes animals significant to his ancestry like the hawk and shark, as well as symbolism for his ancestors who served in the military.
"What's on my face carries my prestige, love of the people, love of the land and my family and ancestors," he said.
"It's a protection for power, strength and endurance and I'm the only one in our whānau (family) that has the tā moko, so all my cousins contact me when they want to know something [about family history].
"You can see it's not a tattoo that's just slapped on."
Gardiner said he lost his partner eight months ago and his experience at the Wollongong hotel had been an emotional setback.
"My son says, 'Dad, you gotta get out, you can't sit at home,'" he said.
"I've been good and then it comes crashing down on Saturday night."
Brisbane nightclub apologises for similar incident
Three years ago, Papuan Australian Moale Jones was declined entry to a Brisbane nightclub because of her traditional facial tattoos.
James posted about the incident on social media, calling out the club, Hey Chica!.
The club apologised in a private message to James but said it would continue to enforce a blanket ban on face and neck tattoos.
As a result of this and other similar cases, Queensland's anti-discrimination laws are under review and some individual clubs have changed their policies.
The Wollongong venue in question states in its dress code that uncovered neck, facial and head tattoos will not be accepted.
Anti-Discrimination NSW referred the ABC to the Australian Human Rights Commission when asked about the legality of banning patrons from entering NSW clubs due to traditional facial tattoos.
A spokesperson for the federal body said it was up to the courts to interpret racial discrimination laws.
The ABC contacted Clubs NSW to ask about its polices on facial tattoos but it failed to respond, and there was no freely available information about the policies on its website.
The ABC contacted the Wollongong hotel that refused Gardiner entry for a response.
- ABC
