Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Noel Pearson's eulogy for Whitlam
In case you missed Noel Pearson's eulogy for Gough Whitlam. Very moving, challenging - an amazing speech
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Back to Wadeye!
Starting this blog while flying to Darwin - heading for a 2 week Locum in Wadeye. By myself!
Tim is staying home to keep things ticking over at work in Leongatha. (and I'm hoping he has time for some bike rides - we're going on the Great Victorian Bike Ride a week after I get home)
It feels quite strange going to Wadeye alone, and I know I'll miss Tim a lot. There is always the phone, and Skype...
We've just had a great week off. We had a flying holiday! In both senses of the word. We went with our good friends from Warrnambool, Phil & Lynne Carter. What an adventure! We flew with Andy Kube in a Cessna 210. Andy is Tim's cousin, and it was great to spend time together. Andy did such a great job with the plane and the trip.
We flew from Essendon, to Flinders Ranges the first night. Such great views of Wilpena Pound.
The next day we got to Birdsville, and stayed in the iconic Birdsville Hotel. An amazing sunset tour to the edge of the desert. So hot there!
The "waddi" trees are a type of wattle & can live to 1,000 years old.
On the way to Coober Pedy the next day we flew over Lake Ayre, and stopped at William Creek - a very small town, a long way from anywhere, with a hotel! There's a flying business based there, and the senior pilot made us espresso coffees and then told stories about dingo baiting flights.
Coober Pedy was so interesting. 80% of the people live underground! Our hotel was underground too. We had a great tour, just our group and the guide, exploring, visiting underground churches, a museum-home, opal mines. They say there are a million mine holes in Coober Pedy!
Beautiful desert colours at the Breakaways, near Coober Pedy.
Our last night was on Kangaroo Island, at a lovely B&B with its own airstrip. And the use of a car for exploring! We were too late for Granny Stirling's Devonshire tea at Penneshaw, but the Thai takeaway was great. That night we watched ". ". So good to hear of real examples from Northern Ireland, Israel-Palestine, Rwanda. Real people struggling with such tough issues. Perhaps there is hope for the world after all.
Pink lakes on the way to Kangaroo Island
We stayed near American River
Lovely beach - not sure it's the best in the world though
We flew back to Essendon along the Coorong, and the south Coast of Victoria. Great views of
Warrnambool, The Twelve Apostles, Wye River, the Heads, Melbourne!
Taxiing off - our hosts watching the plane leave
Wye River
Such a fabulous trip. It was great to fly low. As I write I'm at 30,000 feet or so. Not easy to see much below! We so enjoyed the desert patterns and the paddock art; pink lakes and the coastline; wind farms and airstrips. Andy's business is A Kube Aviation - check out the website.
So Wadeye is next. I'll be there at 9am tomorrow, which is great, because initially I couldn't get a flight till Tuesday. I was going to have to work in the Darwin office of the Department of Health, supporting Wadeye by phone. Not ideal!
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Have now arrived, eaten, shopped for starting groceries - all ready for tomorrow. During dinner, I saw "Muryil", the pied imperial pigeon - Muryil is the name my Yolgnu sister gave to Tim. So that was special.
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Ku tek
I walked out to the White Subaru again today - by myself this time. Tim is in Nhulunbuy for the weekend, covering obstetrics (and having a lovely catch up with the grand daughters. And a fathers' day breakfast today).
I saw 2 girls going back the other way, and then a man, his wife and another lady. He stopped to talk. He said that this is his wife's country. I'd just seen a red-tailed black cockatoo, and I asked her if that's her totem. Yes, it is. Ku tek. He said, it's protecting you. He works for Catholic Care, as a drug and alcohol worker. I floated with him the thought of a controlled sale of alcohol. He said, "the people need to take responsibility first." Wise words.
Cycads are ancient plants. They seem to survive the annual burn.
New shoots
And treasure! Orchids grow on them.
Grog or no grog?
Grog: such a complex issue. The following article highlights the problems: foetal alcohol syndrome, or partial syndrome, developmental abnormalities; domestic violence; mental health issues and suicide.
Wadeye is a dry community. But it isn't! The white people can get a grog license, and some of them drink well over safe limits. And Aboriginal people smuggle it in. The police try to control it, but they also have to sleep.
Many people report that they drink most days - refreshingly honest about it, but it's concerning nevertheless.
We wonder if abstinence is the best goal. It's failing miserably! What about controlled supply: no more than 4 drinks a day, no takeaways, in a place where we could all socialise?
Out walking late yesterday: the White Subaru is still there
I walked with Tracy - she's dwarfed by this termite mound
An orchid growing on a cycad - very special find
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
Funding cuts
Here is a link to a news article about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders' responses to government policies and budget cuts. Pretty distressing.
Monday, 1 September 2014
Wadeye - Port Keats
Galiwin'ku seems like a dream now! We've been in Wadeye 3 weeks. I was sad to leave, but felt the whole experience was very worthwhile; at the very least, it was good to facilitate the registrars staying there till the end of their term. I flew out with them and Jeremy's parents, on Saturday morning - only one flight a day to Elcho. I got up early, went bird watching, checked in my stuff at the airport, home for the last tidy up - after a swing by the registrars' place to see a recently created bower.
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| the bower from side-on. about 30cm high |
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| the bower from end-on. I would love to see the male displaying there! See all the green things he's collected. |
A lovely beach walk my last night - mine the only footprints on the sand.
With the registrars, waiting for the plane
- - -
It was great to meet up with Tim in Darwin! And we had a good weekend there before coming out to Wadeye. We caught up with Julie U'Ren and Dave Pugh (she's Tim's cousin) - and their family.
Wadeye. The familiar. It's good to be back. The team seems to be functioning well and reasonably settled. Tracey is an energetic leader. As in previous years, Tim's working in the acute area, and I'm in the chronic conditions area, focussing on catching up with checkups for people with rheumatic heart disease, and also people with diabetes and/or kidney disease. So there's plenty to do! Sometimes I've found I'm not too busy - partly because people don't always want to come for checkups. But I've had some great conversations with people. It's always good to see people we've met before. Often they remember us. We of course have the advantage of the medical record to help our memory. It does seem though, that returning several times is building some relationships and rapport. I think we are also feeling more comfortable, as well as being very aware that we're still learning.
The clinic is quite well staffed at the moment, so I'm working in a room which used to be an office. On the shelf I found a cultural orientation book, and some language resources. It's really interesting to read the cultural information. I've made some notes on the 22 clans - their language, totems, the family groups and the traditional owners. It's a good thing to talk about - where their country is, how often they visit, the kinds of bush food available there etc. Some clans' country is 2 hours' drive away.
We had a "scabies day" last week. The clinic was closed for the day, and the team divided into small groups to drive around the community giving out soap, washing powder and scabies cream, to try and treat everyone all at once. The council had been around earlier giving out plastic bags for a rubbish collection. Many people were cleaning up their yards. One lady was glad when we came - it gave her an excuse to stop raking and tidying, and sit down to rest. It all felt quite paternalistic in a way. Tim and I were apprehensive about it. But it didn't turn out that way. We were mostly well received, and people accepted the soap and cream, and listened to the explanations. So many people live in each house! We had some fun and good chats with people. There was a BBQ lunch in town, put on by the clinic - for the whole community. Sausages and white bread! I'm not sure that's a good health message.
I went in to Darwin later that day, for a GP supervisors' training day. Tim came in the next day (Friday) after work. And we had the weekend in Darwin. It was great fun! Botanic Gardens, and Museum-and-Art-Gallery - had the entries for the national indigenous art award. It was great to spend time there. And a great cafe in both places! We also saw "Charlie's Country" at the Deckchair Cinema - a great movie, and fun to see it at that venue. We met a lady there with whom we'd trekked in Nepal with the Leprosy Mussion! We did a bit of food shopping, and I went for a swim. Lovely.
We've been assigned a different house this time, and it's very comfortable, right on the edge of the town - it looks out over the cemetery. The need to lock gates and doors is sad, and a contrast to Galiwin'ku; also the midgies here mean that we can't sit outside on the veranda - which was just so lovely in Galiwin'ku. Comparisons are odious!! I've found a new bird watching spot and continue to enjoy weekend mornings in the bush, just wandering slowly, listening, looking. I've also walked out out to Blue Bucket a few times after work. Continuing further along that track would lead to the White Subaru, and Dee Creek. Turning off the track leads to Air Force Hill, the back way (the usual way is along the main road into town) - you know it's the right way, because you pass Washing Machine. These are the kinds of landmarks that our western mind can understand! I have a great respect for the Aboriginal people who just know their way about. Their landmarks are things that we may not see, but they are there, and they have meaning in the whole scheme of life and worldview.
Blue Bucket used to be on a tree - but at least it's still there!
On the way home from Blue Bucket
We've enjoyed a couple of BBQs at the beach, and it's great to take team members who haven't been there before! It's great to get out of town and see the water, and of course the sunset over the water is always a great treat for us Southerners. I don't think you can have too many sunset photos..
Christobel is still wandering around the community!
We look out onto the cemetery
We we're given some mudcrabs last night! So then we had the challenge of cooking & preparing. Quite yummy, surprisingly so for a creature that lives in mud. Tim couldn't eat them in case of the shellfish allergy.
Yesterday (Sunday) we had a phone call from one of the team, advising there was a lot of alcohol about, with fighting & injuries, and the police wanted us all to stay at home all locked up. We did go out for a walk later in the day, out past Blue Bucket. We heard today that someone died last night - rolled the car. It's so sad - it was a guy Tim had seen recently, someone motivated to work on his health. Then a family member came to see us today - quite upset - that makes two family members they have to bury out at her father's country .
Beautiful new buds & shoots in a dry & burnt area. Perhaps there is hope. It's hard to see sometimes - but it is there
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Q&A
Q&A was live from the Garma Festival last night. It was a great programme with honest and robust discussion, and was hopeful and inspring. Great! Watch it if you can. Here's the link
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