Troupie Tales

As you may have read a few entries ago, I have been issued with a Toyota Troupie (an 11-seat 4WD passenger vehicle that is the size of a small army tank) for getting about the Island and transporting artists and guests. I've had a few requests to see what it looks like, so I'm posting some snaps.

This week the Troupie has become a school bus for the kids at Dhambala. The vehicle the kids and Margaret (one of the mothers living at the homeland - who now works as a tutor at the school) would normally catch is out of action.

One morning I was heading to work at the art centre in Galiwin'ku (a 5km drive from Dhambala) and as I headed off I came upon Margaret and 9 barefoot children walking along the road in the rain.

I pulled up and offered them a lift. They had a 6 km walk ahead of them, so they were all very grateful. And it was Margaret's first day in her new role as tutor, so it was good to get her to school on time. She said it would have taken them a hour to walk all the way in to the school.

I didn't have my camera on me on the first day I became the Dhambal school bus driver, but I did on day two. There were only 6 kids and Margaret this day, but it was still a thrill. The kids were all so pleased to be in their best clothes, heading to school and hitching a lift. And they all said thank you.

Their usual car should be back on the road next week so the Troupie's days as a school bus are likely to be short lived. The other pics below show the Troupie parked outsided my house and me driving the Troupie on the road up the Island during a 4WD training lesson with Ruth's husband Tony. Just a bit differernt from my old Barina!

Oz Day

This week Australia Day was celebrated on Elcho Island in a unique way. The Yolgnu (the local Aboriginal people) decided they would like to re-enact the landing of Cpt Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove in 1788 (please forgive any historical inaccuracies of mine) on Galiwin'ku's main beach. The idea was to show that while Yolgnu and Balanda (the term sued to describe non-Aboriginal people) have not always got along, we have forged a partnership that has a future.

The re-enactment (which involved a group of Balanda in 18th century costume arriving on the beach in a small boat and being met by local tribesmen in traditional dress) was followed by a reconciliation ceremony, a parade with lots of flags up the main street to the church lawn, speeches, a BBQ lunch and then bands and dancing on the netball courts.

I heard that the re-enactment here caused a bit of controversy in the media down south but I'm not sure if this is true. I heard that Indingeous leaders from New South Wales and Victoria, who tend to see Oz Day as 'Invasion' or 'Survival' Day, thought re-enacting the Sydney Cove landing was poor taste. Having participated at this end, I'd have to disagree.

It was a hot, colourful, high energy day and the mood was optimistic. Yolgnu and Balanda walked together. There was a sense of two cultures coming together. I'll let the pics tell the rest of the story.

Stingray Surprise

On the weekend I was sitting on the front porch at Dhamabla, talking to Nathan and our friend Alex via Skype (on-line video call) when a group of the small boys who live here on the homeland came marching passed in a line, singing and swinging buckets. They called out, 'Stingray'.

I took the laptop over with me, with Nathan and Alex wathcing through the screen from my kitchen in Healesville, and when I got to the boys I saw they had half a dozen baby stringrays in one bucket and a huge ray in another.

I was in awe. The boy's took the baby rays out of the bucket with their hands and patted them like they were kittens. Then one of the boys held up the large ray, which appeared to be smiling up us. I was mesmorised, but one of the boys pointed to my laptop and could see Alex and Nathan watching on electronically. I explained, 'These are my friends from Melbourne' and I held the computer up so Alex and Nathan could see the rays and the boys, and vice versa.

The boys were so excited. They thought they were on television and started dancing and singing and showing off their fishing catch. I went and grabbed my camera and got these shots. I don''t know what Alex and Nathan thought of it all - via the web - but here on Elcho the boys and I thought it was a very entertaining cultural exchange.

Creation Stories Project

Last weekend I got to spend some time with the T.O. (Traditional Owner) of Dhambala, the homeland where I am living. His name is Gandhuwuy and his clan, the Liyagawamirr, have lived on this land for countless hundreds of years.

Gandhuwuy and I have struck up a friendship. He says he is responsible for me now that I live on his people's land and he is a very good neighbour. I have met his two wives, Nancy and Margaret and some of his 14 chidlren and dozen or so grandchildren.

Gandhuwuy and I shared tea on by deck and I asked him about the significance of the rock formations dotted along the beach here at Dhambala. Gandhuwuy said the rocks have their own 'creation story' and after tea he led me down onto the beach, took me through a ceremony at an anciet waterhole and he told me the Dhambala Creation Story.

In short, Dhamabla was created by two ancient creation spirits known as the Two Sisters. The sisters dug walking sticks in the sand and created a waterhole. A flock of giant black cockatoos, known as Nadili, flew down and drank the bubbling water and over time transformed into the large dark sculptural rocks that now sit prominently on the beach.

This is one of more than 100 creation stories for how the landscape at Dhambala came into being and Gandhuwuy has offered to share them with me. I have offered to write them up and take photos of the landscape features to go with each story. Wehen they are done we will put them all together so visitors to Dhambala can learn about the Liyagawamirr clan and their deep spiritual connection to the land.

In the meantime, below is a pic of Gandhuwuy and one of the giant cockatoo (Nadili) rocks on the beach.

Elcho Island Arts

Work at the art centre has been challenging but incredibly rewarding and exciting. Much of the first week involved meeting and working with artists. At this point the art centre works with up to about 200 artists. Many live in Galiwin'ku (the town on Ekcho Island) while others come from homeland or outstation communities dotted across the Island, located on neighbouring islands or spread along the north east coner of mainland Arnhem Land.

The art from Elcho Island encompasses many traditional styles of Aboriginal art and some that are unique to this part of the world. Art styles include bark paintings, hollow logs, clan poles, spears, carvings and yidaki (didgeridoos), which are mostly done by the men. The women mostly create pandanas grass baskets and mats, bush string bags, boutique fibre work and jewellery. The Island is also know for the Morning Star Pole - a ceremonial pole decorated with ochres, bird features, bush string and bees wax. These poles are used during funerals to tell the story of how the spirit of the dead is carried across the night sky to meet the 'morning star'.

There are a number of significant artists working with Elcho Island Arts. These men and women artsits have exhibited and sold work nationally and internationally and their works are held in important gallery and museum collection across the world. Despite this, many people are still unfamiliar with the region, its artists and culture. But we are hoping to change that...

Last week we spent some time organising the work in the art centre, and purcahsed new work from artists and I spent a day and half photographing individual works. We will use these images to promote the art, the artists and the Island, and to entice visitors, buyers and galleries. They'll be used on our new website (which is being developed) and in all our promotional material.

Below is a sample of the pics to give you a glimpse of what is to come. The first is of a beautiful pandanas grass woven bag featuring parrot features, bush string and bees wax by Mavis, one of the Island's senior artists. The second is a pic of three Wirrah-Bun-Bun Spirit men carved by Jeremiah, one of Galiwin'ku's emerging artists. The third is of a mixed fibre basket woven by Phyllis, a wonderful artist who lives in a homeland on mainland Arnhem Land.

Sunsets for Sore Eyes

During the first week here at Dhambala we have been treated to some magnificent storms and sunsets. In the evening, after work at the art centre, I have come back to my little beach hut, taken a walk along the sand and collected sea fossils, prepared a simple dinner and then sat on the back porch to watch the theatre of clouds, light, rocks and water. Here's a glimpse of what we saw from my back door in week one.

Dhambala Dreaming

We arrived on Elcho Island on the tail of 100km per hour gale force winds stirred up by a cyclone forming in the Gulf of Carpenteria. After a night in Galiwin'ku (the town on the island Nathan (who has come along for 10 days to help me settle in) and I moved into a small house right on the beach in a homeland called Dhambala (about 4 kms from Galiwin'ku).

Dhambala is home to one of the T.O.'s (Traditional Owners) of Elcho island and his family. They live in two houses and I'm in the third house, so I have been very lucky to find myself living in a small, tight-knit community. The T.O. and his family have made me feel very welcome. On the first night he showed me how to run the deisel generator which supplies power to our houses and we had a great chat about art and culture and Yolgnu (local Aboriginal people) and Balanda (white people) living and working together.

Below are some snapshots of the house I am calling home for the next 12 months and the beach at Dhambala which is about 4 metres from my back door when the tide is in. It is a magical spot.

Top End Tease

After leaving Melbourne in early January - on route to Elcho Island - Nathan and I took in the sights of Darwin and then climbed aboard a Britz Campervan and spent three days in Litchfield National Park. Being the Wet Season, there weren't too many tourists around but there was plenty of water and bush, so we had ancient rockpools, waterfalls and cycad forest to ourselves.