Blue Mountains Aboriginal Scar Tree

A recent trip down the Batman Track in the Blue Mountains saw us camp for two nights next to what I highly suspect is an old Aboriginal Scar Tree.

 Strangely I did not notice it when I arrived and it was only after pitching my tent and sitting by a fire did it suddenly catch my view. What the purpose of this particular tree was I don't know. The removed bark can be for sheilds, woomeras, if large enough, canoes and other useful items needed in Indigenous culture.

 The scars can also indicate a place of significance and even burial. This was a thought that came back to me when I soaked in the beauty of the camping spot, a place called Martins Pond where lyrebirds forage in great numbers protected by their pristine and secluded environment.

 It was indeed a special place but a trek I am unlikely to ever repeat. The 2-1/2 hour walk out, though beautiful, was too challenging for me but for those a bit fitter I highly recommend the adventure.

Tidbinbilla Bandicoot

A visit to the Sanctuary at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve last week. No sooner had I entered the imposing steel double gate and walked 20 meters before I heard a rustle at my feet and before me was a very photogenic Bandicoot. He or she allowed me to follow for a while leaving the best footage till last.. So much to explore there..

 

Gibraltar Creek Lyrebirds ACT

Earlier in the year I set a camera trap and an audio recorder down an abandoned fire trail on Gibraltar Creek in the Australian Capital Territory. I managed to capture several ten second bursts of video showing a troop of Lyrebirds going about their business. The soundtrack to the video is the birds calls around the same time as the video was captured.. I suspect I have discovered a display ground. A revisit is planned at the height of the mating season mid winter.

 

250 Australian Aboriginal Nations call for a Treaty

Hello. The last time I published on this blog was on the 1st August 2015. I started davesact.com in 2010 and generated 700 posts of mostly a Canberra flavoured historical and natural heritage based flavour but decided after 5 years to take a break from blogging which I needed. The blog had recieved at that time 700k views and had a regular readership but as when something becomes a repetitive, expected task the inspiration and motivation eventually dries up.

 Not so today. Today, after decades of watching fruitless and expensive campaigns to recognise Aboriginal Sovereignty, something happened that should be noted as a historical event that I hope is taken very seriously by the Australian political machine. Today saw the agreement of representatives of over 250 Indigenous Nations gathered at Uluru in Central Australia about what Aboriginal People want in regards to an issue that has been very much dictated to by European Society.

 How they as a People will be recognised by a now multicultural society that in decades past stridently predicted the extinction of the Aboriginal Race  Interestingly, and the options have recently centred around inclusion in the preamble to Australia’s Constitution, the delegates decided that they require a Treaty. No 'minimalist recognition' in the constitution.. A treaty.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/indigenous-summit-rejects-recognition-pushes-for-treaty-and-voice-in-constitution-20170526-gwe389.html

 I am reminded of other Nation's handling of Indigenous Affairs.. The Maori in New Zealand, The North American Indian, and perhaps now the First Peoples of Australia. Now is a time to see how the Government reacts. I'm not sure what that will be.

 As for this blog, for health reasons, I plan on doing a bit of walking around Canberra's wide array of Nature Reserves. Tidbinbilla is also a place I have an annual pass for. So anything is possible really.