Tuesday, April 29, 2025

It’s chilly in these mountains. I had to wrap up this morning when I went out. By the time it got to about 11am it was sunny and warm, verging on hot. Then soon after the sun went down it was back to three layers.

I have to complement the staff at the information centre here for their keenness. The bloke I was talking to spent so long telling me about the bus tour round town that by the time he came to put my name down, a phone call had booked all the remaining places! Still, it was for the best.

Armidale is very proud of its trees. So much so that they have a list of some of the special ones. I went for a walk to see some of them, and to enjoy the autumn colours. I think I had just missed the peak of the colours, but it was still a lovely walk.

I spent the morning at the Aboriginal Cultural Centre. It is not a museum, since a museum implies things that are old and need to be preserved. Because the First Nation culture is alive and thriving, it is called the Keeping Place (which I think is a great name!) The bus tour (see above) only allowed about half an hour there. I was there for much longer than that. The staff and trustees are all First Nation, and (so far, I have never found this in a museum here) they make examples of Aboriginal objects which you can pick up and examine. One of the staff members gave a performance on the yidaki (didgeridoo). Yidaki means voice, and he demonstrated how a yidaki player can mimic a dingo or a kookaburra. Apparently, the reason it is called a didgeridoo is because that is one of the traditional rhythms that is used in playing, the settlers picked up on it and the name has stuck. Personally, mine will be a yidaki.

The Keeping Place also had displays by First Nation artists. In my travels, I have seen a lot of what I call “tourist art” – bright colours designed to catch the eye and sell the product. The art in the Keeping Place was much more restrained – it used muted tones, many of them from earth colours (possibly to echo the ochres used?) There was one wall with three pieces on that really got to me. If I could have got them home, I would have splurged on them. They spoke to me of themes that are common throughout so much art – wind, fire and water. I got quite e motional talking about them to the staff. Afterwards I had to go and sit in the park to recover.

After recovering, I went to the library to look for books on First Nation culture. Then back to the Welder’s Dog for a chance to try a middy or two of the lunatic soup. Then to sit in the sun and read, then sit in the guest lounge and read, before returning to the Whitebull for another steak.