Day 2 - The Walkabout
begins.
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| Ancient art work of Ngyiampaa people. What do you see? |
Mt Grenfell is about 50 k west of Cobar. Along the red clay dirt
road off the Mitchell highway, after crossing causeways & dry riverbeds you
arrive at the Mt Grenfell historical aboriginal site. The Ngiyamba or Ngyiampaa (there are several differnt English spellings) Aboriginal
people visited this site regularly over thousands years. Dave explained that
this Mt Grenfell area was sacred to the Ngiyamba who held ceremonies, taught,
collected water & traded with other Aboriginal people.
The Ngiyamba moved from place to place in a
methodical & logical way following their needs, traditions & seasons.
Mt Grenfell was an important place in this cycle of life. There are a series of
caves where their art records hunting rituals, historical events, animals,
growing children & lessons of life. One cave showed how the kangaroo took
control over the Ngiyamba to teach them a lesson about not over hunting to
conserve the kangaroo population. Another cave shows a progression of hand
outlines indicating the growing child from infant to teenager. Dave said that
this cave was a place for lessons. This site had a water which Dave said always
has a supply of water even during droughts.
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| This water hole has been been by the Ngyiampaa people for thousands of years. |
Water being the source of life also gave Mt Grenfell another special
significance, because this area had a reliable source for the Ngiyamba. The
local Aboriginals knew the locations of water holes, which were normally within
a days walk. The locations of these water holes were woven into to song lines,
which were past from generation to generation.
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| Rocky creek bed. What colours would the Ngyiampaa people use in thier art work? |
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| Describe the differeces between this art work & the one below. |
The rocky outcrop with native cypress pines & emu bushes has
a dry creek bed winding through it. Sitting above this landscape is a plateau,
which had a strong spiritual presence from past sacred ceremonies &
meetings with other regional Aboriginal groups.
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| What do you see? |
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| Feral goats. How do they damage the environment? Can you find another photo in this blog which has feral animals in it? |
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| For those nasty colds, just boil Emu bush then sip away. |
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What insect do you think made these holes?
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Graham finished our walk with a prayer & an appropriate
reflection on the spirituality of this place & the people.
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Describe what you think a walkabout is?
We stopped in Wilcannia for lunch a town where more than 90% of
the population, as Dave told me, is Aboriginal. Dave stops here with his school
groups to visit the only school, which of course is a public K - 12 school.
Many of the places like Wilcannia Public School have had visits from 'Village
Space' the program coordinated by my wife Jenny over the last 10 years, which
brings theatrical dramatisations of social justice stories to
students. This is one of the very few drama programs that reach schools in
remote places like Wilcannia.
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| How long do you think it would take to get from Sydney to Broken Hill in this coach? |
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| Our home near Broken Hill. |
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| Nothing like a warm wood fire in winter near Broken Hill. |
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| It's a dogs life! |
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| Speak for yourself I'm thinking lots! |
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| The dogs of Mulberry Vale Bush Cabin |
We arrived at our Broken Hill refuge 'Mulberry Vale bush Cabins'
a kilometre or so outside Broken Hill. Off the road to Menindee there lies a
short dirt road to a most eclectic group of buildings, sort of a outback
station. Highlights are open fire, common meal room with fairy lights, replica
Cobb & Co coach seen above, a cage with various cockatoos, Old VW, surround wide expanse
covered with salt-bushes & a view of the slag mountain. See photos here.
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| Broken Hill slag mountain. Where did it come from? |
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What is a slag mountain?
Part of this spiritual journey was the sharing of meals both
preparation & cleaning, literally living in communion. After that meal Dave
started the 'yarning circle' with thoughts about walking the sacred Ngiyampaa
land, while Graeme finished our gathering with prayer reflecting on this
spiritual moment.
