Names Not Labels, 611 Beach Road, Melbourne (2026)

19/02/2026

DARLENE | Genuine Darling | Little Dear

She woke up like this: professional, gracious, and yes… an actual darling.

Darlene means "darling" or "little dear" and in a world where names and personalities rarely align, Darlene is the exception that proves the rule. I learned this first hand when we met, the carpet in front of my workstation was well worn with passersby ensuring she became everyone's go-to, not because it was her job but because she is genuinely ‘that’ person… the thorough type, a brilliant listener, calm in the chaos, the one who holds the room together without ever needing the credit.

For all those that know this babe, she is not soft or a pushover. She is genuinely good and kind, the person who maintains grace under pressure, keeps both personal and professional relationships alive long after the job ends, and balances career, family and friendship without losing herself in any of it. A mother of two amazing (her words) adults in a house of Comms (not commons!) says much about this family's upper echelons.

Darlene
(adj) Genuine Darling
(n) Little Dear

And yes, she actually is one. This is a Names Not Labels celebration, where sometimes, just sometimes .

Happy Feb 19 Queen Deyonce!👑🎶
You have centre stage and set the bar my friend! 🥂🦄

21/01/2026

Elizabeth | Unwavering oath | Pledged to God

Elizabeth means "God is my oath" or "pledged to God."

Alaska, 1945. White senators sat around debating whether Native Alaskans deserved to be treated as human beings. Whether "No Dogs, No Natives" signs should finally be illegal. Whether people could eat, sleep, exist in their own ancestral homeland without being turned away. In an official government chamber.

Senator Allen Shattuck stood up and called them savages. To their faces. "Who are these people, barely out of savagery, who want to associate with us whites, with five thousand years of recorded civilisation behind us?"

Elizabeth Peratrovich set down her knitting. She walked to the front. And she destroyed him:

"I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with five thousand years of recorded civilisation behind them of our Bill of Rights." She took his racist slur and shoved it back down his throat. She exposed every senator who claimed "civilisation" while defending signs comparing Native people to dogs.

When they argued a law couldn't change hearts, she didn't flinch:
"Do your laws against larceny and murder prevent those crimes? No. But at least you legislators can assert you recognise the evil and intend to help us overcome discrimination."

The vote passed. 11 to 5. February 16, 1945. The first anti-discrimination law in United States history. Not in the South. Not in a major city. In Alaska. Thanks to a Tlingit woman's refusal to stay quiet when called a savage.

Elizabeth died in 1958. She didn't live to see the federal Civil Rights Act. But she lived long enough to see those "No Natives" signs come down. She lived long enough to be assured her children could walk into any business without being turned away.

Ten years before Rosa Parks. Nineteen years before the Civil Rights Act.

Elizabeth Peratrovich held senators accountable to their oath to uphold the Constitution. She reminded them what civilisation actually means. And she won. This is another name meaning in action.

At Names Not Labels, we celebrate people like Elizabeth. Milestones that changed the world for the better. Stories that should NEVER be buried in history books or forgotten because they happened in the "wrong" place or to the "wrong" people.
This was a significant step toward anti-discrimination worldwide.

Elizabeth Peratrovich deserves equal recognition to any civil rights leader in American history.

Her name. Her oath. Her victory.
Stories matter.❣️

08/01/2026

Glenn McGrath.
Valley. Grace. Good fortune.🩷

That chant "Oooh Aahhh Glenn McGrath" rang out across cricket grounds for over a decade as he became one of Australia's greatest fast bowlers. The love this country had for him was loud, undeniable, and genuine. And it continues to grow!

Glenn means "valley." McGrath means "grace" and "good fortune."

When Jane died in 2008, Glenn could've stayed in that valley of grief. Instead, he took the love this country had for him and turned it into something that heals: 150,000+ families supported, 250+ McGrath Cancer Care Nurses funded and care reaching 90% of Australian women.

Every summer, the Gs drown in pink. Not because of what Glenn lost but because he turned his worst day into 150,000 families' best chance. And thousands of communities across Australia have followed his lead pinking up their local ovals, raising funds and turning grief into grace.

A man from the valley, living out grace and creating good fortune for people doing it tough. That's what happens when you wear your name like a promise.

🎶Oooh Aahhh Glenn McGrath! 🩷

Images to help me weave my magic courtesy Yahoo and SCG

08/12/2025

JENNY | Radiantly Devoted | White Fairy

This is a Names Not Labels “This Is Your Life” tribute! Jenny. Late 80s. Youngest-minded person I know. Self-proclaimed green dragon.

Jenny means "white fairy" from the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, magical, ethereal, timeless. And bloody hell, a name meaning that captures Jenny perfectly. She's both fairy AND dragon. The fairy brings magic, lightness, celebration. The dragon - yeah that voice, the fire and the refusal to be quiet.

In 1980s Australia (and most definitely before and after!), "dragon" was what they called teachers and women who speak up. Women with opinions who won't sit down and shut up. Jenny owns ‘Green Dragon’, her favourite colour wrapped around her absolute refusal to be silenced.

She's contemporary in ways people half her age struggle to be. She cheers passionately for the Crows as a cheer squad member and speaks up to protect the brand at all costs. She celebrates everyone's accomplishments loudly and proudly, be it in her community or her family.

Her family is everything. Three incredible children Tracy, Jamie & Emma and her grandchildren are her proudest achievements. Only Jenny can attest to how she feels about family, pride most definitely leading the way for other feelings: the awe, the joy & the fierce celebration of watching them become who they're meant to be.

Jenny ‘simply loves’, she wears her heart on her sleeve, owns being vocal and shows up: for games, for milestones, for people. That's what a white fairy with dragon fire actually means. Magical enough to make everything lighter and brighter, fierce enough to speak truth and celebrate loudly. Total grace with spine.

Happy celebrating Jen. You're the magic & the fire we all need more of more than ever 💚🐉

27/11/2025

TERRI | Lovingly Relentless | Harvester

Today we celebrate Terri Irwin. She barely needs an introduction. But at NNL we lead with names not labels. Not “Steve’s widow”, not “Zoo owner”. Just Terri. And what a force she is.

Terri means “harvester” or “to reap” and fairdinkum she’s been harvesting Steve’s legacy while growing her own for nearly two decades.

In 2006 the world watched her lose Steve, Australia’s larger-than-than life, irreplaceable Crocodile Hunter. And gosh the grief was global.

But Terri? Well what a force she is, she lovingly and relentlessly harvested what they planted. Australia Zoo is now thriving and wildlife conservation is expanding. She raised her two kids Bindi and Robert in the public eye without losing themselves. They took what could have broken them AND turned it on its head - both young adults who are successful and distinctly their own people. Both carrying forward their dad’s passion with their mum’s steady, consistent & loving hand. Their family values are what should be celebrated, this is true success. ❣️

Terri didn’t try to be Steve. She didn’t disappear into grief. She lovingly harvested. Quietly. Relentlessly. Year after year. Such incredible strength from an incredible woman.❣️

That’s what a harvester actually means. Not loud or showy. Tending to what’s been planted. The one who protects the legacy while letting the next generation grow into their own light. Every name meaning surprises, this one is next level accurate.❣️

And this is what Names Not Labels celebrates, the traits we share with others who carry our name. Whether you’re Terri stewarding an environmental empire and raising champions or quietly tending to what matters most while the world moves on, your name predicted endurance. Keep going.❣️

And endurance? Endurance is showing up every day for what you believe in, even when the person who believed in it with you is gone.❣️”In Your Dreams”

Video courtesy ❣️

20/11/2025

ANITA | Quietly Formidable | Grace ❣️

Some people carry grace like a shield. Others carry it like a foundation, my Mum is kinda both. Steady, unshakeable, characteristics passed down through generations. Anita. Angeneitha. Three generations of Dutch women, Oma, Mum and my sis Angie, each carrying the same name meaning "grace" or "God has shown favour." They are a lineage of strength and its wonderful to see characteristics passed like a baton between the gens.

Mum arrived in Australia in the 1950s, a young Dutch immigrant starting fresh in a country that must have felt a world away from everything she knew. A decade later she lost her mother. Her father remarried immediately, dividing his attention between his new wife and his only child. That kind of loss teaches you to stand on your own two feet early. To be independent. And that's exactly what she taught her four daughters, independence, self-discipline, how to manage money, how to choose life partners with passion and commitment and how to believe you could achieve anything you put your mind to. Classic Dutch pragmatism mixed with fierce feminist conviction. You can do it, so get on with it.

Mum loves entertainment, has devoured books for decades, immersing herself in fiction. From Lassie and Little House on the Prairie to Jaws and Evil Dead - we learned early what diversity looked like! Mum declared she would have loved to have been an actress: "but I had to raise four daughters!" Classic Dutch woman. Today we tell her: it's not too late!

Being an only child can make integration tricky. But being a quiet supporter is where Anita shines. She doesn't need the spotlight (even though she imagined the Director calling cut! Haha!). She's the steady foundation we, her four daughters stand on, the grace beneath the surface, the favour that shows up in how you all navigate the world.

Happy Birthday, Mum. Your name predicted grace and favour, and you've lived it through everything, immigration, loss, building a family with your one true love , raising four independent women who souvenir life and build bridges and create community. That's the favour right there.
Love is all!❣️

16/11/2025

MAGDA | Powerfully Authentic | Tower❣️

I’ve been proudly wearing Magda’s name across my bumps, manifesting positivity because if there’s one person who deserves prime real estate, close to my heart, that’s our national treasure and big time softie Magda Szubanski.

This woman is a tower and has been living up to her name meaning for as long as we can recall. Over the past couple of decades she has lovingly gifted us Sharon Strzelecki (hero), Esme Hoggett (icon), Lynne (menace), Michelle & Chenille (legends), and as Aussies, it’s our style to liken these characters to people we all know.

Magda’s filter free authenticity sparkles. She’s a local hero, a strong female voice and a respected one. Her memoir ‘Reckoning’ where she wrote with searing honesty about sexuality, family secrets, and finding herself, to leading the charge for marriage equality, has taught us strength through vulnerability and that towers don’t just stand, they show others it’s safe to stand too. A powerful life lesson in leadership and self love.

Magda, you’ve been a tower for so many of us. Your comedy. Your courage. Your refusal to be anything but exactly who you are. You’ve entertained us, brought us so much joy, now together let us hold you.

Names Not Labels will donate 100% of proceeds from any Magda pieces to research Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL). And not just for awareness but a cure because that’s what communities do, we rally. Whether your name’s on ‘the box’ or just on your license, we’re all human. All vulnerable. All deserving of being seen, not labeled. That’s what Names Not Labels has always been about, celebrating the Magdas everyone knows AND the ones only their mates know. Every tower matters.

If you want to wear Magda’s name and support MCL research, DM me or head to the NNL website. If you just want to send love to a woman who’s given us so much, do that too.

Sending love, Magda. We’re right behind you❣️

Names Not Labels

19/02/2026

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