DOCSLIB.ORG

Waruku Ngurra, Waruku Kuwiyi Martu People, HunNg and fire in the Western Desert

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Waruku Ngurra, Waruku Kuwiyi Martu People, Hun�Ng and fire in the Western Desert waruku ngurra, waruku kuwiyi Martu people, hun3ng and fire in the western desert Rebecca Bliege Bird, Nyalangka Taylor, Douglas W. Bird, Cur:s Taylor, Brian F. Codding, Fiona Walsh © 2014 Martu Ecological Anthropology Project Citation: Bliege Bird, Rebecca., Nyanlangka Taylor, Douglas W. Bird, Brian F. Codding, Curtis Taylor, and Fiona Walsh (2014) Waruku ngurra, waruku kuwiyi: Martu people, hunting, and fire in the Western Desert, 2000-2010. Unpublished resource. Rebecca Bliege Bird and Douglas W. Bird, Stanford University, USA Jurtujarra (sisters-in-law) hunting near Punmu head down a dune to continue hunting in a Nyalangka Taylor and Curtis Taylor, Parnngurr Aboriginal Community, Aus- burn lit earlier in the day, July 2007. tralia Brian F. Codding, University of Utah, USA Warning: This booklet may contain images and ref- Fiona Walsh, CSIRO, Alice Springs, Australia erences to some people that are deceased. There may also be yumari on these pages. Please be sen- Cover photo: Nyalangka Taylor lights a fire line in preparation to hunt for sitive to those kin that may feel kurnta in seeing or sand goanna near Parnngurr in July, 2005. hearing about these individuals. i PREFACE A hunting fire is lit to clear off a patch of old growth spinifex grass, near Parnngurr Aborigi- nal Community, July 2010. This is the story of the research we have been doing since 2000 So many families helped to put this research together, that we can- when we first started working with Martu, the Traditional Owners of a not name them all here. Parnngurr, Punmu, Kunawarritji families, this large region of Australia’s Western Desert. It was funded by Stanford is our project together. It was your idea, and your work, together with University’s Woods Institute for the Environment, the Leakey Founda- our work and our analysis that made this a story that belongs to all tion, and the United States National Science Foundation, with sup- of us. You know all of this story already -- we just put it to English port from CSIRO, Rangelands NRM (especially Peter See), Martumili words and numbers to tell kartiya the proper story of how Martu live Artists, and Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (the Martu Cultural Knowledge Pro- and how important they are to the health of their country. ject, especially Peter Johnson and Sue Davenport). Neil Burrows It is also important that we thank our dear friends Gabrielle Sullivan, from the Department of the Environment and Conservation has pro- Bob and Myrna Tonkinson, Peter Veth, Jo McDonanald, and Brooke vided tremendous advice and assistance over many years, David Scelza, all of whom have worked with Martu for many years. Without Zeanah from California State University Sacramentao has helped col- them, combined with the kindness and tolerance of all of the Manyjil- lect a good deal of the data we discuss here, and Eric Smith from jarra, Warnman, and Kartujarra families, we would never have had University of Washington and Chris Parker at University of Utah were the opportunity to become walytja. fundamentally instrumental in getting this project up and running. ii We first came to Martu country with the hope of being able to partici- also creates more patches of manguu and kunarka (late stages of pate with people during regular hunting and gathering activities plant regrowth), which provide important homes for parnajarlpa and (what we will call ‘foraging’). We were really interested in the things other small animals. Without Martu hunting and fire there may be that influence decisions about foraging and how those decisions fewer of the animals that sustain people, fewer homes for small ani- shape the patterns of plants and animals on the land. We also mals, and less food for kirti-kirti and kipara. Without Martu making hoped that this information could be used by the Martu community in such things as their Native Title Land Claim (which was granted in 2002), and in working out policy to care for country according to Martu values. We have been so lucky to have been invited by Martu to continue to work and live with them over all of these years. Now we are always homesick when we are not in Parnngurr. This booklet describes how and why Martu hunt and burn country, tilila ngurra. It shows how country is different when Martu burn, com- pared to country that is not being looked after. It shows how Martu benefit from a properly burnt country, and how fire affects the plants and animals that are important to support life in the desert. Much of this research has been published elsewhere: we intend this booklet mostly for Martu and those that support them in the communities. Parnngurr community in 2010, looking toward the south. Today, many Martu live in three remote communities, Parnngurr, Punmu, and Kunawarritji. Most of our research was done in Parnn- gurr and Punmu, although we hunted and became family with many people who call Kunawarritji their ngurra. Our research has shown that Martu people belong to the country, and in nganinpa (gathering) and wartilpa (hunting), Martu kanyin- inpa ngurrara (hold country), and in so doing, kanyininpa jukurrpa (hold the law) and kanyininpa walytja (hold family). Through hunting, there is more of the food people and other animals need to eat to sur- vive and feed their families. Hunting with fire makes nyurnma, waru- waru, and nyukura, different stages of the plants that regrow after a fire that supply jinjiwirrily (desert raisin) and warmula (bush tomato), food for Martu, kirti-kirti (hill kangaroo), parnajarlpa (sand monitor, aka goanna) and kipara (bustard, aka bush turkey). Martu burning Punmu community in 2010, looking toward the west. iii nyurnma (a new burn), rain and lightning cause big fires which can kill many animals in one sweep. But hunting not only sustains the country, it sustains the people, and not just because it feeds people. Hunting also sustains networks of walytja kinship and family, the relationships that make possible the reproduction of life. Burning, sharing, hunting, family, country, men, women, ju- kurr: everything is linked together. This booklet tries to tell that story. Above is a photo of the authors with residents of Parnngurr and Punmu, along with Native American stu- dents from Stanford University, at Kurta-Kurta in Karlamilyi NP, Sep- tember 2009. Below left: Nyalangka Taylor (fore), and from left, Ivy Bidu, Nga- muru Bidu, and Nyeri Morgan pre- paring parnajarlpa (sand goanna) at a dinner-time camp near Parnn- gurr, June 2010. Below right: the patchy mosaic of vegetation created by Martu fires is clearly visible (from the mail plane) across the dunes south of Punmu, August 2010. iv STRELLEY Great Sandy Desert MARBLE BAR Percival Lakes The Pilbara NULLAGINE Great Sandy Desert PUNMU Lake Dora KUNAWARRITJI oute R k to c g S in n Balfour Downs n PARNNGURR a C na T Ethel Creek Talawa rack Little Sandy Desert JIGALONG NEWMAN Lake CAPRICORN Disappointment MARTU COMMUNITY Primary road Martu Native Title Lands OTHER COMMUNITY Maintained track Karlamily National Park Station Unmaintained track Salt playa Desert watercourse v CHAPTER 1 NGURRA (HOME COUNTRY) The track to Parnngurr from Karlamilyi, looking south to Nyukuwarta, 2007. NGURRA-KARTI: COMING HOME TO MARTU COUNTRY The journey to Parnngurr begins with a 1700 km trip north from Perth the three and a half billion year old banded iron of the Pilbara cra- on the Great Northern Highway, the most remote highway in the ton. world. There are three small villages in the first 300 km: New Norcia, Soon you head east on the Jigalong road, leaving the bitumen be- Dalwallinu, and Wubin. Between Wubin and Mt Magnet 300 km far- hind, passing through aeolian sand, dominated by endless stretches ther, there is the roadhouse at Payne’s Find. Next comes the tiny lo- of spiny spinifex hummocks. Spinifex (here, mainly Triodia basedowii calities of Mt. Magnet, Cue and Meekatharra. For the 360 kilometers and T. pungens) is well-adapted to the low-nitrogen, low- between Meekatharra and Capricorn, there is only the Kumarina phosphorus, and iron-rich sandy soils of this part of the arid zone. Roadhouse, inhabited by a crotchety old cockatoo that ubiquitously Just before the Fortescue River crossing, you pass Ethel Creek Sta- inquires, “Have a scratch?” Just past the Capricorn roadhouse and tion, and a Martu campsite from a few years ago where once the sta- before you get to Newman, you take the old graded route of the high- tion owner threatened to shoot a camp dog puppy and two Chihua- way, which passes through the Fortescue River gap in the Op- huas. Where the sand gives way to more clay-like colluvium, dense thalmia ranges. Exposed here are some of the oldest rocks on earth: woodlands of wintamarra (mulga, Acacia aneura) roll past, good places to get mata (the bush potato, Ipomoea costata) or wuukarta 7 (honey ants, Camponotus inflatus). The woodlands also support extensive populations of marlu (plains kangaroo, Macropus rufus), who feed unconcernedly amongst the cattle. The patchy mosaic of of mulga, spinifex, and large expanses of open ground is a function of local geomorphology: spinifex dominates the aeo- lian sands, mulga the clay-like colluvium, and fine, ironstone peb- bles create a stony gibber plain that discourages nearly all plant growth. These deflated areas are the result of slow erosion with little deposition, revealing a desert pavement that exposes small rocks too heavy to blow away, as well as thousands of years of accumulation of chipped stone and tools discarded by people. The road forks left toward Balfour Downs at the old Walgun well. There’s a battered white Holden station wagon from Jigalong with no windscreen parked on the flats just after the turnoff, a camp- fire burning nearby.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • ESC and Old Man Emu
    AI CT ON PRODUCTS / NEWS / TRAVEL / INFORMATION / ADVICE / LIFESTYLE ISS9 UE 3 W IN AN ARB RECOVERY KIT FEATURE ARTICLE ON ESC AND OLD MAN EMU WARN ZEON WINCH LATEST ARB PRODUCTS TRAVEL Find out why the latest offering From Outback Solutions drawers to diff Explore El Questro, Australia’s best from Warn is a game changer breathers and flip flops, there is a heap beaches and the Ice Roads of Canada of new products in store now CONTENTS PRODUCTS COMPETITIONS & PROMOTIONS 4 ARB Intensity LED Driving Light Covers 5 Win An ARB Back Pack 16 Old Man Emu & ESC Compatibility 12 ARB Roof Rack With Free 23 ARB Differential Breather Kit Awning Promotion 26 ARB Deluxe Bull Bar for Jeep WK2 24 Win an ARB Recovery Kit Grand Cherokee 83 On The Track Photo Competition 27 ARB Full Extension Fridge Slide 32 Warn Zeon Winch 44 Redarc In-Vehicle Chargers 45 ARB Cab Roof Racks For Isuzu D-Max REGULARS & Holden Colorado 52 Outback Solutions Drawers 14 Driving Tips & Techniques 54 Latest Hayman Reese Products 21 Subscribe To ARB 60 Tyrepliers 46 ARB Kids 61 Bushranger Max Air III Compressor 50 Behind The Shot 66 Latest Thule Accessories 62 Photography How To 74 Hema HN7 Navigator 82 ARB 24V Twin Motor Portable Compressor ARB 4X4 ACTION Is AlsO AvAIlABlE As A TRAVEL & EVENTS FREE APP ON YOUR IPAD OR ANDROID TABLET. 6 Life’s A Beach, QLD BACk IssuEs CAN AlsO BE 25 Rough Stuff, Australia dOwNlOAdEd fOR fREE. 28 Ice Road, Canada 38 Water For Africa, Tanzania 56 The Eastern Kimberley, WA Editor: Kelly Teitzel 68 Emigrant Trail, USA Contributors: Andrew Bellamy, Sam Boden, Pat Callinan, Cassandra Carbone, Chris Collard, Ken Duncan, Michael Ellem, Steve Fraser, Matt 76 ARB Eldee Easter 4WD Event, NSW Frost, Rebecca Goulding, Ron Moon, Viv Moon, Mark de Prinse, Carlisle 78 Gunbarrel Hwy, WA Rogers, Steve Sampson, Luke Watson, Jessica Vigar.
    [Show full text]
  • Ngaanyatjarra Central Ranges Indigenous Protected Area
    PLAN OF MANAGEMENT for the NGAANYATJARRA LANDS INDIGENOUS PROTECTED AREA Ngaanyatjarra Council Land Management Unit August 2002 PLAN OF MANAGEMENT for the Ngaanyatjarra Lands Indigenous Protected Area Prepared by: Keith Noble People & Ecology on behalf of the: Ngaanyatjarra Land Management Unit August 2002 i Table of Contents Notes on Yarnangu Orthography .................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................................................ v Cover photos .................................................................................................................................................................. v Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................................. v Summary.................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Background ...............................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Canning Stock Route & Gunbarrel Highway
    CANNING STOCK ROUTE & GUNBARREL HIGHWAY Tour & Tag Along Option Pat Mangan Join us on this fully guided 4WD small group adventure tour. Travel as a passenger in one of our 4WD vehicles or use your own 4WD Tag Along vehicle as you join our experienced guides exploring the contrasting and arid outback of Australia. Visit iconic & remote areas such as the Canning Stock Route & Gunbarrel Highway, see Uluru, Durba Springs, 2 night stay at Carnegie Station, Giles Meteorological Station, the “Haunted Well” – Well 37, Len Beadell’s Talawana Track & the Tanami Track - ending your adventure in Alice Springs. 21 Days Dep 15 Jun 2021 DAY 1: Tue 15 Jun ARRIVE AT AYERS ROCK RESORT T (-) Clients to have own travel arrangements to Ayers Rock, Northern Territory. Please check-in by 5:00pm where you will meet your crew and fellow passengers for a tour briefing. Overnight: Ayers Rock Campground • □ DAY 2: Wed 16 Jun AYERS ROCK - GILES 480km T (BLD) Depart this morning at 9:00am and pass by Ayers Rock and take a short walk into Olga Gorge before our journey west along the new Gunbarrel Highway to the WA border and beyond. Visit Lasseter's cave, where this exocentric miner camped after his alleged discovery of a reef of gold. Then on through the Petermann Ranges to WA and Giles. Overnight: Giles • □ DAY 3: Thu 17 Jun GILES – WARBURTON 180km T (BLD) A morning outside viewing of the Meteorological Station. See Beadell’s grader that opened up the network of outback roads in the 1950's and 60's including the infamous Gunbarrel Highway.
    [Show full text]
  • Western Australia – Permits and Permissions Required to Access Indigenous and Other Lands, Including National Parks
    Western Australia – Permits and permissions required to access indigenous and other lands, including national parks General: Quite a number of transit permits for aboriginal lands in WA are able to be issued by the Aboriginal Lands Trust of WA. (N.B.: The Aboriginal Lands Trust has no involvement whatever in the issuing of permits for the Canning Stock Route – for Canning information and Permits see below under the heading of Canning Stock Route). The Trust is a part of the Department of Indigenous Affairs. Applications can be made on-line at www.dia.wa.gov.au and simply follow the prompts. The web site contains a lot of excellent information including maps showing the specific areas and tracks where Permits are required and whether the Trust or a Land Council issues them. The conditions under which permits can be gained via an automated on-line process are also explained. Once you log on to the web site, click on the “Entering Aboriginal Land” button on the left side of the Home Page and read all of the information under the nominated four (4) headings BEFORE applying on-line. The maps showing the tracks and whether DIA or a Land Council, etc., issues them can be found under the “Travel Information” heading. About half way down that page is a map of WA showing the Land Council areas; simply click on the area you want to visit. The Trust can be contacted at: The Permits Officer, Aboriginal Lands Trust, PO Box 7770, Cloisters Square, Perth, WA 6850. Telephone (08) 9235 8000 or Fax (08) 9235 8088.
    [Show full text]
  • Martu Aboriginal People's Uses and Knowledge of Their
    To hunt and to hold: Martu Aboriginal people’s uses and knowledge of their country, with implications for co-management in Karlamilyi (Rudall River) National Park and the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia Fiona J. Walsh, B.Sc. (Zoology), M.Sc. Prelim. (Botany) This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia School of Social and Cultural Studies (Anthropology) and School of Plant Biology (Ecology) 2008 i Photo i (title page) Rita Milangka displays Lil-lilpa (Fimbristylis eremophila), the UWA Department of Botany field research vehicle is in background. This sedge has numerous small seeds that were ground into an edible paste. Whilst Martu did not consume sedge and grass seeds in contemporary times, their use was demonstrated to younger people and visitors. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Dianne and John Walsh. My mother cultivated my joy in plants and wildlife. She introduced me to my first bush foods (including kurarra, kogla, ‘honeysuckle’, bardi grubs) on Murchison lands inhabited by Yamatji people then my European pastoralist forbearers.1 My father shares bush skills, a love of learning and long stories. He provided his Toyota vehicle and field support to me on Martu country in 1988. The dedication is also to Martu yakurti (mothers) and mama (fathers) who returned to custodial lands to make safe homes for children and their grandparents and to hold their country for those past and future generations. Photo ii John, Dianne and Melissa Walsh (right to left) net for Gilgie (Freshwater crayfish) on Murrum in the Murchison.
    [Show full text]
  • [email protected] O
    51 Lawson Crescent Acton Peninsula, Acton ACT 2601 GPO Box 553, Canberra ACT 2601 ABN 62 020 533 641 www.aiatsis.gov.au Environment and Communications References Committee The Senate Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Via email: [email protected] o·ear Committee Members Senate Inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis AIATSIS Submission The Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission in support of the Senate Inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis. AIATSIS would recommend the focus of this senate inquiry includes: consultation with traditional owner groups; native title corporations administering native title settlements and agreements bodies; Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs); Native Title Service Providers (NTSPs) and Aboriginal Land Councils: all of whom exercise responsibility for the management of the Indigenous Estate and large tracts of the National Reserve System. This critical consultation and engagement is to ensure that traditional knowledge and management is acknowledged as being an essential element in threatened species recovery, management and conservation. AIATSIS submits that acknowledging the totality of the Indigenous Estate and its interconnection with the National Reserve System is essential in terms of addressing the faunal extinction crisis across the content. Caring for Country programs, Indigenous Land and Sea Management Programs (ILSMPs) and Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are achieving great success in terms of threatened species recovery and the eradication of feral pests and species. Please find attached the AIATSIS submission which is based upon 26 years of research and practice by AIATSIS in Indigenous cultural heritage and native title law.
    [Show full text]
  • Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 C
    K Kimberley Rock Art waterways and river systems, which once contin- ued onto the now-submerged Sahul Shelf, mean- Sam Harper, Peter Veth and Sven Ouzman ing the Kimberley was almost twice its current Centre for Rock Art Research + Management, size during the Last Glacial Maximum 26–19 University of Western Australia, Perth, thousand years ago. This large geographical area WA, Australia has been continuously occupied by people for over 50,000 years by multiple cultural and lin- guistic groups (Wood et al. 2016; Veth et al. Introduction 2019). The Kimberley is part of the non-Pama- Nyungan language bloc. These ancient and dis- This chapter summarizes the current state of rock tinctive languages cover the Kimberley, Arnhem art research in the Kimberley, Western Australia, Land, a small area of the Gulf of Carpentaria and which is a globally significant corpus of tens of Cape York, and Tasmania (McConvell 1996). thousands of rock art, archaeological, ethno- There are four major language groups across the graphic, and contemporary sites. We present a Kimberley with between two and nine dialects history of rock art research in the region, discuss (AIATSIS 2019): linguistic and cultural diversity, across the Kim- berley, and outline the development of rock art 1. Worrorran: Worara, Wunambal, Gamberre, stylistic sequences and spatial analysis. A new Miwa, Kwini, Ngarinyin, and Worla generation of scientific dating of the art and asso- 2. Jarragan: Yiiji, Kija, Kadjerrong, and ciated excavations is also harmonized. Aboriginal Miriwoong ontologies and recorded ethnography associated 3. Bunaban: Bunaba, and Gooniyandi with the rock art are highlighted. We also present 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Dec 2011
    KIMBERLEY LAND COUNCIL getting country back caring for country securing the future Newsletter No 3, 2011 PO BOX 2145 BROOME WA 6725 Ph: (08) 9194 0100 Fax: (08) 9193 6279 www.klc.org.au WARNAMIRNTI AGM bush meeting success The importance of land, language, law and culture was celebrated at the combined Annual General Meetings of the Kimberley’s three peak Indigenous organisations. More than 600 Aboriginal people, representing the 29 claim groups of the Kimberley, gathered at Ngumpan in the Fitzroy Valley to attend the event hosted by the Kimberley Land Council, the Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre and the Kimberley Language Resource Centre. The bush meeting is the largest and most important event for Kimberley Aboriginal people, Kimberley Land Council DECEMBER 2011 1 A touch of royalty KLC Co-Chairs Tom Birch and Frank Davey travelled with CEO Nolan Hunter to Perth to meet the Queen at a State Reception Garden Party. More than 1800 people attended the October 27 event as part of the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that was happening in Perth. Co-Chair Tom Birch said although he did not get to meet the Queen, it was an important event to attend. “Very few people get the experience to come so close to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, so it was a unique opportunity for the KLC to represent all Kimberley Aboriginal people,’’ he said. “Although I didn’t get to meet the Queen there were a number of politicians, celebrities and business leaders that we got to speak to and inform about the Kimberley and the work the KLC is doing.’’ The Queen was presented with and AFL football when she visited the Clontarf Aboriginal College and received a Message Stick when greeted by the Noongar people.
    [Show full text]
  • KRED Enterprises Newsletter July, August, September 2015
    KRED Enterprises newsletter July, August, September 2015 www.instagram.com/kredenterprises KRED ENTERPRISES • KRED LEGAL • EHSIS We have a right to economic development Written by Wayne Bergmann for The Australian 29/09/15 In his victory speech, new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced: “There has never been a more exciting time to be alive than today and there has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian. We will ensure that all Australians understand that their government recognises the opportunities of the future.” If federal, state and territory governments are to ensure that Aboriginal Australians are included in these “opportunities of the future”, it is obvious their first priority should be to support the economic initiatives of Aboriginal people. Remarkably, some governments do not understand this. Take the most recent Queensland state governments. On Cape York Peninsula near Aurukan, there’s $20 billion worth of bauxite waiting to be mined. The traditional owners of the area, the Wik and Wik Way people, eager to be part of the economic development of their region, formed a joint venture with an Australian mining company to create Aurukan Bauxite Developments and planned to mine the resource. As part of the joint venture, ABD was to give a 15 per cent share of the project to traditional owners, two Aboriginal directors would be appointed to a board of seven, and there were unambiguous commitments to indigenous employment and training. ABD chairman Nicholas Stump has 40 years’ experience in the mining industry and was formerly chief executive of Comalco and MIM Holdings. According to Cape York indigenous leader Noel Pearson: “He is leading a serious team that has the money, the capability and the capacity to do this.” Here was an opportunity for Aboriginal people to exercise their property rights under native title and control and benefit from development on their country, from operating mining equipment right up to a board level.
    [Show full text]
  • Martu Paint Country
    MARTU PAINT COUNTRY THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLOUR AND AESTHETICS IN WESTERN DESERT ROCK ART AND CONTEMPORARY ACRYLIC ART Samantha Higgs June 2016 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University Copyright by Samantha Higgs 2016 All Rights Reserved Martu Paint Country This PhD research was funded as part of an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project, the Canning Stock Route (Rock art and Jukurrpa) Project, which involved the ARC, the Australian National University (ANU), the Western Australian (WA) Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA), the Department of Environment and Climate Change WA (DEC), The Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA, now the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Population and Communities) the Kimberley Land Council (KLC), Landgate WA, the Central Desert Native Title Service (CDNTS) and Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd (JMcD CHM). Principal researchers on the project were Dr Jo McDonald and Dr Peter Veth. The rock art used in this study was recorded by a team of people as part of the Canning Stock Route project field trips in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The rock art recording team was led by Jo McDonald and her categories for recording were used. I certify that this thesis is my own original work. Samantha Higgs Image on title page from a painting by Mulyatingki Marney, Martumili Artists. Martu Paint Country Acknowledgements Thank you to the artists and staff at Martumili Artists for their amazing generosity and patience.
    [Show full text]
  • For the Ultimate Remote Touring Destination, You Can't Go Past The
    TRAVEL Gibson Desert, WA For the ultimate remote touring destination, you can’t go past the Gibson Desert QUENCHING A WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LINDA BLOFFWITCH DESERT38 THIRST 39 TRAVEL Gibson Desert, WA hen you mention to someone servicing and spares, but out here you need a lot ■ WHERE: that you’re planning a trip to more than what can just be purchased over the The Gibson Desert is located in remote THE ICONIC LEN BEADELL MADE the desert, you can pretty well counter. You’ll be amazed that little things like central Western Australia. Travelling Wguarantee the Simpson Desert spinifex seeds and not protecting your shockers the Great Central Road, access is via will generally come to mind. But in fact, the can cause such huge issues on a trip like this. Warburton (560km from Yulara and REMOTE TRAVEL POSSIBLE IN THIS Simpson couldn’t be any further from where Before heading off, we spent considerable 560km from Laverton). From Alice we were heading. This trip was going to be time calculating our food and water for our Springs, travel the Gary Junction Road absolutely epic, as it would take us smack bang remote six weeks adventure, building in several before turning onto the Gary Highway. PART OF THE COUNTRY to the middle of central Western Australia, to the days extra for any emergencies. Finalising the remote Gibson Desert. trip itinerary took ages, and fuel was always ■ INFORMATION: Travelling the Gibson would unquestionably going to be a concern when it’s a killer for Travelling to the Gibson Desert How’s this for a magnificent relic… you don’t get to see a Mk 5 Jaguar be one of the most remote regions in weight.
    [Show full text]
  • DESERT ADVENTURE Words and Images: Emma George
    desert AN EXTRAORDINARY DESERT ADVENTURE Words and images: Emma George here are road trips and then there are giving travellers distances to nearest towns and extraordinary experiences! Tackling roads. Some of these markers we found, many the West Australian desert with three others had been souvenired unfortunately. young kids may sound crazy, but The markers became our challenge so Texploring the Gary Junction Road and Karlamilyi we’d know exactly what to look for. One was (Rudall River) National Park is something we the milestone of the North Territory and Western were really excited about. Australian border – finally back in our home state We’d been on the road for months, of WA, but more remote than ever and not a car conquering Cape York, the Gulf and Arnhem to be seen all day. Land, but my husband, Ashley, and I, with We rolled out our map of Australia on the our three young boys in tow wanted one last red dirt in the middle of the road showing the adventure before heading home to Perth. kids exactly where we were, where we’d been Deserts are dangerous places, so months and where we were going. Our next stop was were spent planning this trip, making sure to refuel at Kiwirrkurra, a small Aboriginal town we had enough food and water for five days, and one of the most remote communities in permits, spares, and repair kits for the car and the world. camper as well as safety procedures, a satellite phone, EPIRB, accessible fire extinguisher, first aid and a nightly call-home regime.
    [Show full text]