The People

We are the Yolngu people of Ramingining, in the northern part of Central Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory.

Ramingining is a town of about 800 of our people. More of our people live on outstations different distances from town. Also about 50 Balanda live here.

The nearest other town is Maningrida, more than two hours drive away except in the rainy season, when we can only fly there.

In Ramingining we have a store, a clinic, a school, a new police station, an arts centre, a resource centre, houses and not much else.

But we have history and culture here, that our ancestors have been growing for more than forty thousand years.

They passed that culture on from generation to generation. Now it's our turn to pass it on, not just to the next generation, but to people everywhere, all over the world.

That's because our way of life is changing fast now, and what you can see on this website is for every generation to remember and keep our culture alive.



Taken from http://www.12canoes.com.au/

Friday, February 4, 2011

day one - the departure

4th February 2011 - 3:00pm

The journey begins.

Being the OCDC person I am (for those who don’t understand, that’s somewhere between obsessive compulsive disorder and ACDC – thanks Cathy Blizzard), I decided to set my alarm for 7:00am so we could leave by 8:00am, and arrive at the airport by 9:00am for a 10:00am departure. And everything went to plan.

On the way, I got to say goodbye to some of the places in Hobart that hold some incredible stories. My home in Blackmans Bay, my brother Andy and his partner Mandy, Mum’s pets Chino and Winnie (short for Winnie Blue 25s), BWS Kingston Town, Heart Attack Corner in Kingston, the Southern Outlet and it’s painful traffic jam at Cat’s Eye Corner, the Duke (home of Wednesday night trivia), the wharf, Menzies Research Institute and the Clinical School, Montgomery’s and its famous karaoke, the Hotel Grand Chancellor and it’s warmed red wine, the Tasman Bridge and my memories of Dad stopping every time we went over to make sure everything was ok at the radio tower, Eastlands Shopping Centre and its classy clientele, my little house in Mornington and Shiploads Cambridge Park.

I arrived at the airport with Mum and Hayley in tow, partly to say goodbye, and partly to help carry my large backpack with small one attached, my sports bag, my laptop, my handbag and my camera. The waiting was made a bit easier by Hayley’s excitement at the departing plane – first the stairs being taken away, then the ‘things turning around in circles’ and then the light coming on. And the highlight was that plane leaving at almost the same time my plane was arriving.

And until this point, apart from yesterday saying my goodbyes at work, I had managed to keep it together. Until I came back from the toilet to see the plane about to board, and Cathy and Stan had arrived to say goodbye. So then the ‘hayfever’ started. Knew I should’ve taken that anti-histamine. Had a bit of a teary at the airport, but I know it will all be fine, because Hayley said that she wont miss me, because she’ll be able to talk to me on the ‘puter’. Obviously my hayfever was still playing up a bit, because the air hostess asked if I was ok. Then I started reading the Marie Claire magazine my workmates gave me, and when I read about all of the issues everyone else in Australia seems to be having, I felt a hell of a lot better about things.

Dreading the eight hour wait in Melbourne Airport, I was excited to be greeted by Alice who had stayed in Melbourne Thursday night to hang out with me at the airport. Although we were just hoping there would be somewhere to sit in the airport for that long, luckily I had been talking to someone yesterday (I think it may have been Roger, although I thought it was John – yesterday is a bit of a blur) who suggested we hang out at the bar at the Hilton. Well, thankyou very much! A very enjoyable afternoon of bubbly starting at 11:50am (as the waitress said, it’s after 12pm somewhere in the world) and lunch, I think I’m just about prepared for my next flight to Darwin!
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