Two weeks have flown by, but at last I can resume the story of this incredible journey.
My last day in Darwin was spent visiting some amazing gardens and a spectacular art gallery. The art gallery featured winning works of art by indigenous people from across Australia. They included works in many different media, including glass, and were simply stunning. So powerful, so unique and so beautiful! Unfortunately, however, I could not take photographs.
I was reminded of this when a week ago I attended ‘Dark Emu’, which was yet another spectacular performance by our internationally acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre. The dancers in this company are all of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, and are superb dancers. Everything they do is very symbolic, telling stories of their past and present. In this performance they were capturing the essence of the very well-researched book ‘Dark Emu, Black Seeds: agriculture or accident?’ by Bruce Pascoe, which dispels the myth that our indigenous people were simply hunter-gatherers, and shows they were far more sophisticated. The dancers also showed the impact of the white settlers who invaded their land and massacred so many of them - the pain, the grieving . . .
When you see the works of art such as I saw at the art gallery, the artistic sets used in ‘Dark Emu’ and the highly athletic, beautifully choreographed dancing, not to mention hearing the music, you really appreciate the rich and unique culture of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
As we travelled around some coastal spots, we saw some most unusual and yet gorgeous plants in the gardens. The photos below show just some of them. I am sorry that I cannot identify them. It was a great way to spend my last day in Darwin before catching the Ghan. I am delighted to say that I was able to visit Darwin again two years later, when I trekked there after exploring the coast of Western Australia and the Pilbara region, which is famous for its iron ore. That will be another story.
