tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74637874405105942502024-03-15T00:33:36.379+10:00The Guurrbi BlogBehind the scenes of Willie's magical rock art toursMagical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-91578138467690612182013-05-28T15:16:00.001+10:002013-06-20T14:34:50.403+10:00It's been a wonderful journey<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For a Full Screen View, click the icon on the right of the Slide Show's control panel.</span></i><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">On 23 May 2013, Guurrbi celebrated our 10th birthday! Here's a look back over the past 10 years, the story of how it all started, and some of the highlights along the way. It's been a wonderful journey.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i></i></span>More Picture Galleries...</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2008/07/blog-post.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">About our tours</span></span></span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/its-great-tour-for-kids.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">It's a great tour for kids</span></span></span></a></span></span></span> </span></span><br />
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/bush-creatures.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Guurrbi's Bush Creatures</span></span></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/bush-foods-medicines-crafts.html" target="_blank">Bush foods, medicines, crafts</a></span> </span></span></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2008/08/images-of-cooktown.html" target="_blank">Welcome to Cooktown </a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a> </span></span></span></div>
<br />Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-25606632558921776852013-04-11T07:49:00.002+10:002013-04-11T07:49:53.105+10:00Voted Top Travel Blog!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yay! <i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">The
Guurrbi Blog </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">is
a winner of eCollegeFinder's 2013 Top Travel Blogs Award, and is now featured on their website as a recommended
travel and study abroad resource.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="https://www.ecollegefinder.org/travel-award.aspx" target="_blank">Click here</a></span> to see the full list of winners<span style="font-size: small;">. </span>We'r<span style="font-size: small;">e very proud to be amongst such<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>esteemed company. O</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ur congratulations to them all.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: small;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></span></a></span></div>
Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-6353216643274477402013-03-05T08:13:00.000+10:002013-04-17T16:23:45.874+10:00Guurrbi on 'dream vacation' bucket list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFckfH8BZ0uLaUtQXaeemAxKOACbYtAKqAT4LgLjM0uucCoXaYQZ2aAMwm3z-IbJNXLnP_keYjST5h7wRXGwg90cBR5TcDPjAJ1g8SYo44HTc32zh-9pMojBCkh0RMQFIxjAY1TAXVxztU/s1600/Fran+Golden+Miami+Herald+3-3-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFckfH8BZ0uLaUtQXaeemAxKOACbYtAKqAT4LgLjM0uucCoXaYQZ2aAMwm3z-IbJNXLnP_keYjST5h7wRXGwg90cBR5TcDPjAJ1g8SYo44HTc32zh-9pMojBCkh0RMQFIxjAY1TAXVxztU/s200/Fran+Golden+Miami+Herald+3-3-13.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A big 'thank you' to Fran Golden for her article 'Life Lessons' in <i><span style="font-size: small;">Th</span>e</i> <i>Miami Herald</i> - and for including us on her dream vacation bucket list!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here's a snippet...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Wilfred Gordon picks us up in an air-conditioned van at our hotel in
remote Cooktown, in far northeast Australia... A Nugal-warra elder and story-keeper, Gordon is taking my
companion and me out into the countryside to his clan’s private <span class="italic"><i>Guurrbi</i></span> — sacred place — to see cave art drawn by his ancestors.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A
walkabout in the bush with an Aborigine was high on my list of things
to do in Australia. But it’s immediately clear with Gordon we have not
signed up for some touristy indigenous offering. He informs us the
lessons of the day will be in what he calls “the two s’s,” spirituality
and survival...." <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/03/3261222/life-lessons.html" target="_blank">Read more...</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/10/filmed-by-imparja-tv-for-footprints.html" style="color: #b45f06;">About Willie & Guurrbi Tours (short video)</a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Guurrbi Picture Gallery</a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/10/quotes-of-week.html" style="color: #b45f06;">What our customers say</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/" style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">March 2013 </span></span></span></span></span></div>
Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-61680299117893491602012-09-10T15:29:00.001+10:002012-09-10T16:38:21.136+10:00Walkabout & Bush Lore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveBtQ6fKZUemrWjyGfhow6VhrVWMdv1YfjMWccBr32bmFBhzamZ7-1RLoSu95uBpprGu44Gf69dqEGRDS3XBnNJxhe1PevwEUIXhtSkYkgbRNga58y5ivk6Hqsi0VZ8OsT4JLsY2T7Udi/s1600/Jo+&+Willie+on+Elim+(Karen+Gordon)+crop4+(blog).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveBtQ6fKZUemrWjyGfhow6VhrVWMdv1YfjMWccBr32bmFBhzamZ7-1RLoSu95uBpprGu44Gf69dqEGRDS3XBnNJxhe1PevwEUIXhtSkYkgbRNga58y5ivk6Hqsi0VZ8OsT4JLsY2T7Udi/s320/Jo+&+Willie+on+Elim+(Karen+Gordon)+crop4+(blog).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">Collecting seaweed & crabs on Elim Beach, near Cooktown</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When people use the word 'walkabout' today, it conjures up an aimless wandering. But for Guugu Yimithirr people it was a survival strategy, strictly governed by local lore, and its direction determined by the location of food and resources. The land is fragile so the Bama of this region moved around with the seasons, always respecting the lores governing hunting and gathering in order to protect the environment which looked after them.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>Wunha </i>plums from the nonda tree</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">During the winter months we would move down to the coast, leaving the wallabies and kangaroos to have their young undisturbed. At the coast the fruits, nuts and berries were ready to eat earlier than those inland, so we would have a plentiful supply of <i>buthurr </i>from the zamia palm, <i>buthu </i>from the paperbarks, and <i>wunha </i>plums from the nonda tree. Whilst we were here we would also collect <i>gaarruul</i> (seaweed), <i>muthurr (</i>witchetty grubs), and dig up the yams and collect their seeds for replanting. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">Wattle flower</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We knew when it was time to go to the coast by the presence of certain birds and flowers; signs which we still use today. When the wattle is in flower we know to go and collect oysters and mussels, as this is the time they're hibernating and at their plumpest. And a special yellow flower tells us when the blue-tailed mullet is travelling to its spawning place and is at its fattest and most nutritious.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMefTit5MW-WRFnRJB2AvTuyxjCNHkSDn30Wqcs-e0Mua4ZMb0RVBv1pq3Qkw5KL2TIznnWLvrEYxs1ECwyVYH7Ue_A7TuqmYURz263koYz3HBhyphenhyphen7nDhFrXnfmQNBZ05_pbaXluPDzdEc/s1600/PRINT+-+Kapok+17-9-09+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMefTit5MW-WRFnRJB2AvTuyxjCNHkSDn30Wqcs-e0Mua4ZMb0RVBv1pq3Qkw5KL2TIznnWLvrEYxs1ECwyVYH7Ue_A7TuqmYURz263koYz3HBhyphenhyphen7nDhFrXnfmQNBZ05_pbaXluPDzdEc/s200/PRINT+-+Kapok+17-9-09+(4).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>Nanggaarr-buurra - </i>Kapok</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The beautiful red flower of <i>nanggaarr-buurra</i>, the kapok, signals that bush hens are beginning to lay their eggs, together with all the other egg-laying species. And the arrival of <i>wabul, </i>the Torres Strait pigeon, tells us that the migrating birds from Papua New Guinea are now nesting on the outer islands and coming in to feed, and that <span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/summer-in-coming-to-guurrbi-2.html" target="_blank"><i>mulun, </i>the quondong fruit</a></span>, will be ready to eat. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is also the time to catch stingrays and a small, yellow, black-finned shark, whose livers take on a pinkish hue to show that they're full of oil. The fish oil is really important for a healthy diet, and helped keep us physically fit. The <span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/mrs-watson-story-of-jiigurru-lizard.html" target="_blank">goanna</a></span> is another animal from which we extracted the oil. Their fat is thought to be particularly good for preventing arthritis, and is best extracted before they hibernate during the wet season.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All through the year nature signals to us, so we know when the barramundi are plump, when river prawns and freshwater catfish are at their best, or sea urchins and native honey ready to be collected.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Importantly, bush lore also dictates what we can <i>not</i> hunt, although sadly, today, this is often ignored.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNbMVvPJmfwjTWaOjBXbNUYXW67iqaNbJ0-1EoH69CWXES-lMSB_vMcZ3EYAr8sAp-poKGKqQE9M1_DxqrNeUImA2xiksfn_c98LVD8APgJSb3cc2919i6gfJMpa0EmxCnp7iFTb5NF81/s1600/Wabul+-+Torres+Strait+Pigeon+3B+-+14-11-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNbMVvPJmfwjTWaOjBXbNUYXW67iqaNbJ0-1EoH69CWXES-lMSB_vMcZ3EYAr8sAp-poKGKqQE9M1_DxqrNeUImA2xiksfn_c98LVD8APgJSb3cc2919i6gfJMpa0EmxCnp7iFTb5NF81/s320/Wabul+-+Torres+Strait+Pigeon+3B+-+14-11-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>Wabul - </i>Torres Strait Pigeon</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">More stories about the bush... </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/bush-wonders-fishing-tree-talking.html" target="_blank">Bush Messengers & Fishing Made Easy</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/return-of-burriwi-emu.html" target="_blank">The Return of Burriwi the Emu</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/bush-creatures.html" target="_blank">Picture Gallery: Guurrbi's Bush Creatures </a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" target="_blank">About our tours</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></span></a></div>
Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-18942936073350225922012-06-04T10:02:00.000+10:002012-07-30T10:44:42.953+10:00The Artist & The Story-keeper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBWvUNuGMnRjGSuPrml62BTYGAY7hyqZR3qxC0oa0YmGtE8jQLNFNhUJYDJZLyCKuVJzw-tYPVuZUHWO1yo3DVb5_vh4PcXFaOu5IwOvHjhCBVeSs4NScllx4ctuMfYtXvWGRPow38tE2/s1600/Simon+Crerar+%284%29+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBWvUNuGMnRjGSuPrml62BTYGAY7hyqZR3qxC0oa0YmGtE8jQLNFNhUJYDJZLyCKuVJzw-tYPVuZUHWO1yo3DVb5_vh4PcXFaOu5IwOvHjhCBVeSs4NScllx4ctuMfYtXvWGRPow38tE2/s320/Simon+Crerar+%284%29+blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/mala-specialists.html" target="_blank"><i style="color: #b45f06;">mala </i><span style="color: #b45f06;">(specialists)</span><i> </i></a>in Aboriginal society was the painter of rock art. He painted with ochre - a type of clay which comes in different shades (pictured above). The artists would work only in a certain location, and his pictures would reflect the surrounding environment - its plants and animals, stories and events. The only plants and animals he painted were those which had a practical use. He also painted mythical and spiritual beings, and art which explained a fable or spirituality.</div>
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The <i>milbi malin</i>, or story-teller, is the person selected to translate the paintings into stories. He may also be, like myself, the <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/my-family.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">story-keeper</a>, who is responsible for passing the stories on - an inherited position which was handed down to me by my father. The <i>milbi malin'</i>s responsibility is to explain the mythical and spiritual context of the art, and be able to detect minor details - shapes, size, and the different colours - in order to fully translate their meaning.</div>
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For example, if you look at the painting of the <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/jiliburu-law-enforcement-bogey-man.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank"><i>Jiliburu</i></a><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>here, you'll see that this mythical figure is painted with stripes, whilst the emu underneath is in solid colour. This shows us the difference between real and imaginary, practical and spiritual. Often the story-teller has to tread a fine line between truth and myth. It is his responsibility not to mislead his audience, and to make sure that they understand the difference. </div>
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When it was the time to paint, the story-keeper and the artist would get together, and would nominate a site which was relevant to the story. They would sit and discuss what images would be painted in the caves, and whether the painting was to be about an event, food, animals, plants or the portrayal of something spiritual or mythical, such as the Rainbow Serpent.</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Then the artist would paint with the appropriate colour of ochre. Red was the most extensively used; white was used when they were drawing something connected with sadness; yellow was often used when they wanted to represent light. They would never use black, because this was the colour of evil.</span><br />
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<b style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Maintaining the paintings</b><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The story-keeper and the artist were responsible for the maintenance of the paintings. When the artist died, then his replacement would create a new layer of paintings. You can see this clearly today at <a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/conservation/" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">Wangaar-Wuri</a>, and also see how the style of the painting varies between the layers. Style changes are particularly evident in the way hands and heads are painted. In the Food Cave (below) there are layers of figures, each painted in a different style.</span></div>
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Hand stencils are found in rock paintings throughout the world. In the Nugal caves you can see examples of the hand on its own, or with part of the arm as well. The hand stencils are mostly of <i>thagu, </i>the left hand, which is regarded as the signature of that person. The left hand was used because it is the peaceful hand, whereas <i>nganhthirr, </i>the right hand is generally the first used in anger. The stencils are often in white ochre, which was sprayed through a hollowed bone to create the spray effect.</div>
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Adding your 'signature' to a place can also signify belonging or acceptance. One of the hand stencil sites at Wangaar-Wuri was made as recently as the 1930s and has a wonderful <a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/reconciliation-or-acceptance-story.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">family story of reconciliation</a> attached to it.</div>
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More stories about the rock art...<br />
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/warra-journey-of-life.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">Warra and The Circle of Life</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/yirmbal-rainbow-serpent.html" target="_blank">Yirmbal the Rainbow Serpent</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/guurrbi-and-guurrbi-man.html" target="_blank">The meaning of Guurrbi & Ngamu the Guurrbi Man</a></div>
<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" target="_blank">About our tours...</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/" style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Photo of ochre: Simon Crerar</span></span> </div>
</div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-68951469548389341342012-06-01T14:35:00.000+10:002012-06-18T13:39:44.184+10:00The Guurrbi Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6a7dInS2g3d4-xO58w4-3EqukKjmEFlqQeyFLOk_WFHU2lfshtuknrrpZz2AXDPgtiOmw84_7wNA3J2Wg2uLOrIo6mBXVSpkH7b9-5qZyNfLXNaaPEgQR03sgUE6v5uXTGXDBhWE-fnW-/s1600/Two+books+png.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6a7dInS2g3d4-xO58w4-3EqukKjmEFlqQeyFLOk_WFHU2lfshtuknrrpZz2AXDPgtiOmw84_7wNA3J2Wg2uLOrIo6mBXVSpkH7b9-5qZyNfLXNaaPEgQR03sgUE6v5uXTGXDBhWE-fnW-/s320/Two+books+png.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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We've had such an amazing response to the stories we share in our blog, that we've now put them into print, in two 36-page booklets which are packed with information and photos.</div>
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<i><b style="color: #b45f06;">Guurrbi: My Special Place</b> </i>focuses on the special area of my country known as <i>Wangaar-Wuri, </i>where I take people on tour - its rock art and bush foods, and the two 'S's' central to the existence of the Nugal-warra people - Spirituality and Survival.</div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Guurrbi: My Family & Other Stories</span></b> </i>continues sharing the knowledge passed on to me by my father, and answers some of the questions I often get asked on tour, such as why we have so many aunties and uncles, how we choose the right marriage partner, and what are joking and taboo relationships and brother-in-law language? It also includes some wonderful traditional stories (sometimes called Dreamtime Stories) from the region, and cultural information which sheds light on two important historical events, including Australia's First Reconciliation between Europeans and Aboriginal people on the shores of <i>Wahalumbaal Birri</i>, the Endeavour River, nearly 250 years ago.</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The books can be purchased from various outlets around Cooktown, including Nature's Powerhouse, the James Cook Museum, Cooktown Post Office, the Croc Shop, and some accommodation and camping and caravan sites. They can also be ordered through the secure </span><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/contact" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" target="_blank">Contact Us</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> page of our website. Please tell us which book(s) you would like to purchase, and the address to send them to.The cost is A$12.95 each + postage.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></div>
<br />Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-34863880512860650942012-05-29T09:13:00.000+10:002012-06-02T16:07:58.974+10:00My Family<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guugu Yimithirr c. 1896</td></tr>
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I am a member of the Nugal clan, part of the Guugu Yimithirr tribe whose tribal area extends from the River Annan, south of Cooktown, to Princess Charlotte Bay. My grandfather on my father's side was the last of his brothers and sisters to survive the arrival of the gold miners and settlers, and to remain on his country. His name was Wunbuu, or Charlie, and he was born at the <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/warra-journey-of-life.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">Birth Site</a> on our clan lands at Nugal where I take people on tour.</div>
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Both he, and my grandmother, Minnie, worked for white people around Cooktown, but they weren't tied to any property or station. They were still controlled by the Police though, and every night would have to leave town after the curfew to join the 'fringe-dwellers' on the other side of Boundary Street, in an area now known as the Burrgirrku Reserve.<br />
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My Dad, Thulu (known as Tulo), was born around 1922. By this time
Charlie was working for the Lutheran Mission's cattle operation on an
outstation called Spring Hill, not far from where Cooktown Airport is
today.</div>
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Tulo's older brother and two sisters were already living permanently at the Mission's base at Cape Bedford, some 15 miles north of Cooktown, under the iron discipline of Pastor Schwarz (pictured). But my Dad was able to enjoy the relative freedom of outstation life for his early years, living in a bark hut at Spring Hill with his parents until he was 8 or 9 years old.<br />
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Here people hunted and fished, gathered seasonal foods, children played and swam in the creek and occasionally witnessed traditional dances. Away from the suffocating restrictions of the Mission, Charlie was able to share his stories and pass on his cultural knowledge to my Dad.</div>
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Then, in the late 1920s, my Dad was rounded up with some of his friends and taken to live in the Mission. Now he could only see his parents occasionally, and he was forbidden to practise or talk about his own culture. Only when Pastor Schwarz was put under house arrest in Brisbane during the Second World War, and the Guugu Yimithirr taken to an Aboriginal Reserve at Woorabinda near Rockhampton, were they able to maintain their culture again for a time.</div>
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After the war, the Guugu Yimithirr returned home and my Dad was amongst those who helped to build today's Hope Vale Community. The Church was strongly in control again (and remained so until 1986), but he did what he could to pass on the stories through his paintings, and also in the book <i>Milbi</i> he co-wrote with anthropologist and linguist, John Haviland.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And he started sharing his knowledge with me. I was born in 1957, and when I was old enough my Dad started taking me on hunting trips when we would visit the rock art sites, and he would tell me about my country and my culture, and share the stories in the paintings. This is how I became the <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/artist-story-teller.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">Nugal story-keeper</a>, and inherited the responsibility of sharing the knowledge to keep our culture alive.</span><br />
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/artist-story-teller.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">The Artist & The Story-keeper</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" target="_blank">The Aboriginal Family: Growing Up</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/reconciliation-or-acceptance-story.html" target="_blank">The Reconciliation or Acceptance Story</a></div>
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2008/07/blog-post.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Picture Gallery: On Tour with Willie</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-7284172587994603542012-05-05T11:37:00.000+10:002012-05-05T14:22:52.112+10:00A Journey of 6,000 Years<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_3HG6NHW6_1FQyZfk4Og6uoEc0xLwv2drgYlIx-y0fNSW3yvP3lup7G5z1pFHz88vdD52ry9jZt9QDRL096xNGpjXadErzK_Rm8JrfbstUVhUqIx1h0kmio3AUN_eXNemg9X8FotIEAb/s1600/delmirfamilyhopevalley+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_3HG6NHW6_1FQyZfk4Og6uoEc0xLwv2drgYlIx-y0fNSW3yvP3lup7G5z1pFHz88vdD52ry9jZt9QDRL096xNGpjXadErzK_Rm8JrfbstUVhUqIx1h0kmio3AUN_eXNemg9X8FotIEAb/s320/delmirfamilyhopevalley+-+Copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This photo of a Hope Valley man was probably taken in the early 1900s. The scars on his chest show he was man
of knowledge & understanding, a</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nd therefore a teacher</span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;">Many people who come on tour with me ask what I think the future
is for Aboriginal Australians. They ask about the problems in our communities,
what is going wrong, and how things could be changed for the better. Some think
Aboriginal people should “pull their socks up” and make more of an effort to
become part of the economic society.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;">Yes, Aboriginal people today do have a big challenge on their
hands. But I think we need to stop and look at the big picture. We need to remember
the journey we are on—and when it started. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;">In the developed world people slowly stopped being hunter-gatherers
when farming was first introduced, around 6,000 years ago. This means they have
had 6,000 years of gradual adaptation and change to reach where they are today.
Aboriginal people in Australia started
making this journey 220 years ago — a frighteningly short time span for us
to catch up with modern society. Here on Cape York we've had even less time: my grandfather was born in the bush at the <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/warra-journey-of-life.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">Birth Site</a> where I take people on tour; my father's home as a child was a bark shelter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;">When you consider the enormity of this journey, I think Aboriginal people have done astoundingly well.
We have people who are in Parliament, who are successful artists, sportspeople,
lawyers, doctors, academics. Families have children at University and we have
young people with PhDs. There are Mums and Dads who are employed, and work hard
all their lives taking care of their families. And we have people, like me,
with their own businesses. So whilst there is much that needs to be done
differently and which desperately saddens us, there is also much to celebrate
and be proud of. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Bulgan-warra Dr Damien Jacobsen with Dad, Bill. Charles Darwin University PhD ceremony 2010.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;">If we are to make this journey successfully, education is the
key. We have to learn the knowledge, skills and tools of modern society, and
embrace the modern ways of learning too. But in our rush to catch up, we still
need to maintain our cultural lores and values, and not allow them to be
misinterpreted or simply forgotten. We might have changed the way we live—just
as other societies develop and change—but we still need our cultural values and
lores to keep us strong, and maintain our sense of belonging. That is why I
share my knowledge and stories, in the hope that they will contribute to this end.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1776278783"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><br /></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/guurrbi-and-guurrbi-man.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">What Guurrbi means, and Ngamu the Guurrbi Man</a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/reconciliation-or-acceptance-story.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;"></span></a><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" target="_blank">The Aboriginal Family: Growing Up</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" target="_blank">About our tours</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photos: Courtesy Lutheran Church archives & the Jacobsen family. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-40348396897371770442012-04-18T15:49:00.000+10:002012-07-01T08:42:18.548+10:00Mrs Watson & the story of Jiigurru, Lizard Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWzgPytObz1pFL9CPAznm44ocfZvA163XfyvHSwXXxaELnioO332KzY9ZKxg067yDXfqCr8OnT_k0bxGU6yV8ZMWt9pAy_CJ-axehSXF8MP752NufUzMjwVGZOX74kiBVTe4mnuMyBZYe/s1600/Blog+-+Mari+Carmen+Pineda+4-10-11+%281%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWzgPytObz1pFL9CPAznm44ocfZvA163XfyvHSwXXxaELnioO332KzY9ZKxg067yDXfqCr8OnT_k0bxGU6yV8ZMWt9pAy_CJ-axehSXF8MP752NufUzMjwVGZOX74kiBVTe4mnuMyBZYe/s200/Blog+-+Mari+Carmen+Pineda+4-10-11+%281%29.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Every year, starting from late September to February, Aboriginal people spear stingrays, and a small, yellow, black-finned shark. At this particular time, these animals have their livers full of oil. We know this because of the colour of the liver which takes on a pinkish hue. When we cook the liver, the oils all run out, and we mix this with the meat which has been cooked separately. The fish oil is really important for a healthy diet, and helps keep us physically fit. The goanna is another animal from which we extract the oil. Their fat is thought to be particularly good for preventing arthritis, and is best extracted before they hibernate during the wet season. </span><br />
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These animals can be found at Jiigurru (Lizard Island), including <i>manuya,</i> <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/summer-in-coming-to-guurrbi-2.html" style="color: #b45f06;">the sand goanna</a> (pictured) whose presence has always been a bit of a mystery. How did it get there? This is the explanation as told to me by my Dad, Tulo Gordon, and Fred Deeral.</div>
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<b>The story of Jiigurru, Lizard Island</b></div>
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The shark and the stingray were living in the island's lagoon. They were talking one day and decided that, because the goannas shared the same beneficial oils, they would invite them to come to their island and live with them. This way the goannas could look after the land, whilst they would look after the lagoon. The stingray offered to go and fetch them, and use his broad back to bring them to the island. So off he went to Yuuru (now known as Cape Flattery) where the silica sands are, and there he found <i>manuya, </i>the sand goannas, and invited them to come to the island. He told them to get on his back so he could take them across the sea to the island.</div>
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So he took some of the goannas over to Jiigurru, then returned to the mainland to see if there were more. But when he got back to Yuuru he was spotted by the Dingaal hunters who started throwing spears at him. Badly wounded he went to shelter on the south side of Yuuru. You can still see the place where he died, marked by a big boulder lying just off the shore. And from the air you can see an imprint in the lagoon in the shape of a stingray. As for the goanna, they now live on the island as they had no way of leaving once the stingray had died.</div>
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<b>The tragic tale of Mrs Watson</b></div>
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With the goanna living on Jiigurru, this made the island a sacred place, and every year, come September, Aboriginal people crossed from the mainland in their canoes to collect the precious oils they needed. One day when they went over there, they found somebody staying on the island. This was a white lady called Mary Watson, who was living there with her son and two Chinese servants. Her husband, a<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">bêche de mer fisherman, had built a stone structure next to a fresh water creek for his household to live in whilst he was away fishing. You can still see the remains of the cottage today.</span></span></div>
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The conflict that followed was because nobody - not even Aboriginal people - would stay here as it was the home of the goanna. The island was like a pharmacy. You don't live in a pharmacy, you just visit when you need medicines. Jiigurru was like this. Nobody lived there as they didn't want to disturb the goanna, but they visited during a set time every year to collect the medicine. </div>
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One of the Watson's Chinese servants was killed on Jiigurru. Mrs. Watson and the rest of her party managed to escape in an iron tank, only to later die of thirst on the waterless Number 5
island of the Howick group. You can see the monument to her memory in the centre of Cooktown, and a replica of the iron tank is in the James Cook Museum.<br />
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This tragic event took place in September 1881, and is usually explained by
saying Mrs Watson and her party had unwittingly stumbled upon an Aboriginal
ceremonial ground. But it is most likely it was because they were in the home of <i>manuya, </i>the sand goanna.</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">More stories from in & around Cooktown... </span></div>
<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/my-family.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My Family</span></a><br />
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/how-scrub-python-got-his-flat-head.html" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Endeavour River story</a><br />
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/story-of-ngurrayin-barretts-lagoon.html" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The story of Barratt's Lagoon </a><br />
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/cooktown-small-town-whose-history.html" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The small town whose history changed the world</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/" style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.lizardisland.com.au/" style="color: #444444;">Lizard Island Resort</a> (Lizard Island)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Mari Carmen Pineda (Sand goanna)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.sailblogs.com/member/leucat/?xjMsgID=230208" style="color: #666666;" target="_blank">David Leu, S/V Leu Cat</a> (Mary Watson's cottage)</span></span></div>
<br />Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-71903496099099236142012-03-30T09:05:00.000+10:002012-05-30T18:00:21.736+10:00Warra & The Circle of Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_WOKSHhKsFsH7pJHedTP6hYmol13Muu6HsaOB0nhFgKL3iP3CUdL-uP0vIds-EwxLTEPm-RUf8jePf-iCK67b8eKfR4x2k3hB1zrDFOHuZAV5nGsq16I1yaiQHmx2rhTHNKwO3P2ZDya/s1600/B-Birth+pic+JOhn+Felan+adj2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_WOKSHhKsFsH7pJHedTP6hYmol13Muu6HsaOB0nhFgKL3iP3CUdL-uP0vIds-EwxLTEPm-RUf8jePf-iCK67b8eKfR4x2k3hB1zrDFOHuZAV5nGsq16I1yaiQHmx2rhTHNKwO3P2ZDya/s400/B-Birth+pic+JOhn+Felan+adj2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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On our <a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;">Rainbow Serpent Tour</a><span style="font-size: small;"> you will see both my family's Birth Site and a painting of <i>dubal</i> which was used when someone passed away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">In traditional Aboriginal society the Birth Place was a very important site as it marks the beginning of the Circle of Life and gives us our <i>warra</i> or spiritual identity. To give you an example, I describe myself as <i>Nugal-warra, </i>meaning 'I am Nugal, I belong to Nugal lands', just as you might describe yourself as Australian or English or German. We all need <i>warra</i> as it provides us with the strength we need for our journey through life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In this region, when life ended in the practical sense, <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" style="color: #b45f06;">the family</a> would first bury the body in the ground so that it could decay and give food to the living plants. After several weeks they would return to collect the bones, washing them carefully, embalming them with ochre, then wrapping them with bark. This wrapping is called </span><i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">dubal</i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> and you can see one drawn over the hand stencil below. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The </span><i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">dubal</i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> was placed in a cave adjacent to the deceased's birthplace. This showed the Great Creator where the deceased came from, so that when the Circle of Life was completed his spirit would remain in the most wonderful place he knew: the place where his journey started and which gave him his spiritual identity.</span></span><br />
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During the time that the body was in the ground, close family of the deceased would put white ochre on their bodies to show they were in mourning. People seeing this would avoid mentioning the name of the deceased as a mark of respect, but they could use an alternative name if it was really necessary. The length of mourning depended upon the individual, but would not continue beyond the time the bones were removed from the ground, approximately twelve months later. This also ensured that any disease associated with the death was not spread to other members of the clan.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">How it is today... </span></b><br />
Nowadays, despite the Lutheran Church banning these cultural practices, some remain in a different form. Today bodies are buried in the Hope Vale cemetery with a funeral service which marks the start of the body's return to the earth. We celebrate the passing of the body into its spiritual form a year later with a tombstone unveiling ceremony. In many places it is still considered a lack of respect to mention the name of the deceased until this ceremony has taken place.<br />
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For many years it was also custom to close up the house of the deceased, and the family would move back in only after the tombstone ceremony had taken place and the house had been smoked. This custom had to stop because of the housing shortage, which is a shame as the smoking ceremony was a joyous event, marking the end of the long period of sadness and introducing happiness and joy back into the house again.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/my-family.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">My Family</a><br />
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html">The Aboriginal Family: Growing Up </a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/yirmbal-rainbow-serpent.html">Yirmbal - the Rainbow Serpent</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/galin-galin-and-other-totems.html">Galin-Galin & Other Totems</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;"></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com </span></span></a></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-89561615021957493802012-03-28T08:43:00.000+10:002012-03-31T09:55:06.314+10:00It's a great tour for kids!<div id="__ss_10316507" style="width: 425px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you have kids, don't think they'll be left out! Willie loves having them on tour, and there's lots of hands-on things for them to do - especially on the </span><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Rainbow Serpent Tour</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">. Here's a scrapbook of photos very kindly sent to us by some of our lovely customers.</span></span></div>
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More about kids </div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/07/lets-hear-it-from-kids.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Let's hear it from the kids!</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-play-didgeon-walking-stick.html" style="color: #b45f06;">How to play the didgeridoo on a walking stick (short video)</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" style="color: #b45f06;">The Aboriginal family: Growing up </a><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">More Picture Galleries</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html" style="color: #b45f06;">On tour with Willie</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2009/01/bush-creatures.html">Guurrbi's Bush Creatures</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/11/bush-foods-medicines-crafts.html" target="_blank">Guurrbi's Bush Foods & Medicines</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html"><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"></span><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=ms&at=un&id=3386706919831728313&map=F" target="_blank"></a></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-72145083420343600032012-01-28T18:39:00.000+10:002012-06-20T11:27:25.093+10:00The Reconciliation or Acceptance Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByfUutUL2YBf0Kndiwhv14xzDSvQeWE2lhxGnUsv1YrY1MjTROj1qkbBHVI48LIQg6YpwEuXUpXDqFI9nr1uARfeai9yAqkQ3ZgGYVJC971FNw2IiumzpxSZRA45EBJrSzk-aaSuDwd7-/s1600/14-handprints(BD).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByfUutUL2YBf0Kndiwhv14xzDSvQeWE2lhxGnUsv1YrY1MjTROj1qkbBHVI48LIQg6YpwEuXUpXDqFI9nr1uARfeai9yAqkQ3ZgGYVJC971FNw2IiumzpxSZRA45EBJrSzk-aaSuDwd7-/s320/14-handprints(BD).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the 1930s there was a decision made by my clan to accept a little girl, my Auntie Ruby, into their midst, even though she had a lighter coloured skin. We called this event the Reconciliation or Acceptance Story. </div>
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First of all my Auntie Ruby, when she was old enough to understand, was asked to put her handprint in a cave to symbolise her acceptance into the clan. A hand stencil was made to give the hand's true shadow and to record that she was there. (Aunt Ruby's hand is the first on the left.) The stencil was made by blowing ochre through a hollowed bone to create the spray effect. <i>Thagu, </i>the left hand, was used as this is generally regarded as a person's signature, and because it is the peaceful hand; whereas <i>nganhthirr, </i>the right hand, is generally the first used in anger.<br />
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Then <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/artist-story-teller.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">the artist and the story-teller</a> sat down to document the event. They had to find a symbol they could paint to represent the story. So in a cave close to the handprint cave, they painted a big fish to symbolise the good decision made. </div>
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The reason they painted a fish is because when fish are swimming they sometimes turn and reflect the light. This is called <i>gandal. </i>Light has always been the symbol of spirituality, where good spirits are found. Darkness is where the bad spirits linger. So the reflection of the fish reminds us of how we should be accepting of all people, regardless of skin colour or culture.<br />
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You can see the big fish and the handprints, and hear more about the Reconciliation Story, on our <a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">Rainbow Serpent Tour</a><span style="color: #b45f06;">. </span></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/11/first-reconciliation.html" target="_blank">Cooktown & The First Reconciliation</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/artist-story-teller.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">The Artist & The Story-keeper </a><br />
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/09/aboriginal-family-marriage-taboos.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">The Aboriginal Family: Moieties & Marriage</a> </div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/04/yirmbal-creation-story.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">Yirmbal, the Creation Story</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com1Cooktown McIvor River Rd, Cooktown QLD 4895, Australia-15.337167131558688 145.07171630859375-15.582216131558688 144.75585930859376 -15.092118131558689 145.38757330859374tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-68096129203891632562011-11-30T12:02:00.000+10:002013-04-30T09:00:16.662+10:00Cooktown & The First Reconciliation<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqa_fQSUMSkHOjPt1rOF6jByDQ1CpOwSTXov0E4DEF5_9DT_4pCxWkHnbKoJj0GJdyuklhocFT3bQh2PGuQ-Ol8VkzBA6GSNqkh8x8pb116S_6At0CZd1xaYX6WY63yDwXbs7GIRKgbIM/s1600/endeavour_sailing_603x320+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqa_fQSUMSkHOjPt1rOF6jByDQ1CpOwSTXov0E4DEF5_9DT_4pCxWkHnbKoJj0GJdyuklhocFT3bQh2PGuQ-Ol8VkzBA6GSNqkh8x8pb116S_6At0CZd1xaYX6WY63yDwXbs7GIRKgbIM/s200/endeavour_sailing_603x320+crop.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">HMB Endeavour replica (Photo: ANMM</span></b><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">)</span></span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Did you know that the First Reconciliation between Aboriginal Australians and Europeans took place here in Cooktown nearly 250 years ago?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lt James Cook's meeting with members of my tribe, the Guugu Yimithirr, at Gungardie where Cooktown now stands, is now recognised as the first recorded reconciliation between Indigenous Australians and Europeans. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have told this story from our own perspective in <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/cooktown-small-town-whose-history.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">'Cooktown - a small town whose history changed the world</a><span style="color: #b45f06;">'</span>. Now here's the story from the viewpoint of Lt James Cook and Sydney Parkinson - and from Emeritus Professor of History at ANU, John Molony. </span></span><br />
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<tr style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">HMB Endeavour careened (Tim Johnson)</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In June 1770, Cook careened his damaged ship, HMB Endeavour, on the banks of Wahalumbaal Birri (now called Endeavour River) after it was holed on the Reef. He and his crew spent nearly 7 weeks here carrying out repairs, meeting the local Guugu Yimithirr on many occasions. This was the first time Cook had ever met Aboriginal people. Although he had seen Aborigines during his week's stay In Botany Bay, they had not been interested in making contact and seemed terrified of the whites, suggesting Cook was not the first white person they had encountered and that previous experiences had been violent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In contrast, Cook's encounter with the Guugu Yimithirr at Gungardie was open and based on trust - the amicable relationship marred only by the refusal of Cook and his men to share the many turtle they caught. The story of the resulting hostilities, and the reconciliation which followed, is told in the in the Journals of Lt James Cook and Sydney Parkinson. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cook's Journal, 19 July 1770</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignJ7c9wWUwjg_kKyghisiHwQAt7acUleWxF5OXIycHWqbbkIEhBA50vD2DhpbFTTfU21nwO9_Sfe7sCoKxJUSA6esyv0BRJvdlSKpxVb8vaN9PaxIXmfGwufj6NG9sMUM0p3srCmaznNB/s1600/James+Cook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignJ7c9wWUwjg_kKyghisiHwQAt7acUleWxF5OXIycHWqbbkIEhBA50vD2DhpbFTTfU21nwO9_Sfe7sCoKxJUSA6esyv0BRJvdlSKpxVb8vaN9PaxIXmfGwufj6NG9sMUM0p3srCmaznNB/s200/James+Cook.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">James Cook</span></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%;">“In the AM we were visited by 10 or 11 of the
natives the most of them came from the other side of the River where we saw six
or seven more; the most of them were women and like the men were quite naked;
those that came on board were very desirous of having some of our turtle and
took the liberty to haul two to the gangway to put over the side; being
disappointed in this they grew a little troublesome, and were for throwing
everything over board they could lay their hands upon; as we had no victuals
dress’d at the time I offer’d them some bread to eat, which they rejected with
scorn as I believe they would have done anything else excepting turtle – soon
after this they all went ashore Mr Banks and myself and five or six of our
people being a shore at the same time.
Emmediately upon their landing one of them took a handful of dry grass
and lighted it at a fire we had a shore and before we well know’d what he was
going about he made a large circuit round about us and set fire to the grass in
his way and in an instant the whole place was in flames, luckily at this time
we had hardly any thing ashore besides the forge and a sow with a litter of
young pigs one of which was scorched to death in the fire – </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%;">as soon as they had done this they all went
to a place where some of our people were washing and where all our nets and a
good deal of linen were laid out to dry; here with the greatest of obstinacy
they again set fire to the grass which I and some others present could not
prevail until I was oblig’d to fire a musquet load with small shot at one of
the ring leaders which sent them off; as we were apprised of this last attempt
of theirs we got the fire out before it got a head; but the first spread like
wild fire in the woods and grass.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYVz0u0hB16RTemUD4VXZQgbb88KICGcNRsW8hpguefyyznQInwmSJo_AYefdbJM_CGkfb8GQTqAS4HlfQtPtNd2gZKVRIHQXnN_-ocRwe1LkzdwEbNGmflWAlBu4jcBKbNKoS07NXEml/s1600/P1080718+crop+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYVz0u0hB16RTemUD4VXZQgbb88KICGcNRsW8hpguefyyznQInwmSJo_AYefdbJM_CGkfb8GQTqAS4HlfQtPtNd2gZKVRIHQXnN_-ocRwe1LkzdwEbNGmflWAlBu4jcBKbNKoS07NXEml/s200/P1080718+crop+blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Reconciliation Rocks, Cooktown</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%;">Notwithstanding my firing which must have
been a little hurt because we saw a few drops of </span></span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%;">blood on some linen he had
gone over; they did not go far from us for we soon heard their voices in the
woods upon which Mr Banks and I and 3 or 4 more went to look for them and very
soon met them comeing towards us as they had each 4 or 5 darts a piece and not
knowing their intention we seized upon six or seven of the first darts we met
with; this alarm’d them o much that they all made off and we followed them for
near half a mile and then set down and call’d to them and they stopped also;
after some little unintelligible conversation had passed they lay down their
darts and came to us in a very friendly manner; we now returned the darts we
had taken from them which reconcil’d every thing.” </span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Parkinson's Journal, 19 July 1770</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0JJuTo4uYI0dKtwkGb301txSPfZiemIaSZfeD3tO9lvaGeGsp6Il3ROoqH_cSA94vJwNsnYqb2I5jNVtg05Ka3kt6Rv7fGWSGSAflzfNDupHbZ9dm_LWsT1QhldAiYg7E8ibNACSGr2e/s1600/sydney-parkinson-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0JJuTo4uYI0dKtwkGb301txSPfZiemIaSZfeD3tO9lvaGeGsp6Il3ROoqH_cSA94vJwNsnYqb2I5jNVtg05Ka3kt6Rv7fGWSGSAflzfNDupHbZ9dm_LWsT1QhldAiYg7E8ibNACSGr2e/s200/sydney-parkinson-02.jpg" width="168" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sydney Parkinson</span></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%;">“And a little before we left the land; they
set fire to the grass around the spot where we had pitched our tent; but
luckily for us, most of our things were on-board; or they would, in all
probability, have been consumed as the fire burnt very fiercely; and had like
to have destroyed a litter of pigs; and some other thing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%;">We shot one of them who ran up a hill with a
fore brand, and wounded him. Several of
them came to us afterwards, and made peace with us.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">During his stay, Parkinson recorded 130 words of the Guugu Yimithirr language in his journal. It is likely that this was the first written record of any Aboriginal language in this country. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">With thanks to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the Cooktown Re-enactment Association.</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">More about historic Cooktown...</span></div>
<div style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/cooktown-small-town-whose-history.html" target="_blank">Cooktown, the small town whose history changed the world</a></span></div>
<div style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/06/51st-re-enactment-of-cooks-landing.html" target="_blank">The 51st Re-enactment of Cook's Landing </a></span></div>
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: small;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/08/images-of-cooktown.html" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" target="_blank">Picture Gallery: Welcome to Cooktown!</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></span></a></div>
Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0Cooktown QLD 4895, Australia-15.411319377980981 145.2392578125-23.324099877980981 135.13183581250001 -7.49853887798098 155.34667981249999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-63869904230683877042011-11-13T11:11:00.007+10:002011-12-01T09:45:33.555+10:00Memories which last forever<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rhett Lego, CEO of the Conjoint Marketing Group in Germany, helped make a remarkable <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/05/on-tour-with-willie.html" style="color: #b45f06;" target="_blank">short video</a><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>of Guurrbi Tours about five years ago. Recently he wrote his memories of that afternoon with Willie for German tour operator, Art of Travel, and sent us a copy. Here it is.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">- - -</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Willie Gordon</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"I have a belief that there will be about five memories in my life that I will take with me to my grave. One of mine will be of my time with Willie Gordon in his homelands north of Cooktown in Far North Queensland.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHyGGEvaTlL4vLnFfYY4Pzsu0-PY75DQKoQrtoE6Qor2r0DSLjodSRb1ophGhEnz9bum6KJM5K9jwxlJqRQtzezyWXFVTMcYpfNSxlvCfHfbiEqI-0VAGCDXafb3Kcq302w9n2MTLki8D/s1600/Willie+Gordon+KT3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHyGGEvaTlL4vLnFfYY4Pzsu0-PY75DQKoQrtoE6Qor2r0DSLjodSRb1ophGhEnz9bum6KJM5K9jwxlJqRQtzezyWXFVTMcYpfNSxlvCfHfbiEqI-0VAGCDXafb3Kcq302w9n2MTLki8D/s320/Willie+Gordon+KT3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">"In my role of promoting Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef region across Europe and the UK, I have the pleasure of promoting some of the world’s greatest and most unique places, let alone the people in this remarkable corner of the planet.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"On the morning I first met Willie in his country on his rock art tour, I was accompanying a group of five backpackers who we had recruited to be part of a film promotion we were shooting for Cairns. We had backpackers from Ireland, England, Antigua, Australia and Switzerland. We had had a rather large night in Cape Tribulation the night before and I remember telling them that I didn’t care what time they went to bed, but when they got up to meet Willie the next day, they had to remember the word: Respect.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"We drove up the Bloomfield track from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown and from there about and hour and a half further north of Cooktown to where Willie lives in his country.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"As we waited in the car park, Willie arrived in his understated casual way and introduced himself to the group. We all began an immersion into his country as he described the dreaming stories of his land as we walked along our path across an escarpment to the top of an open, rocky area that afforded us a remarkable vista over the country.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNhLhCA_gqVMxf7BdLTk0kn0UalXnmPr6FGp20Xxr27VfyCI7YL5COt04masfc34n_qLsHU7Rb-9kEfFI6Is8ayG8r26ErSjUNPH0EFwd2gba4chkvyHR1DpRDoO7X-Smyfa3fzeADJbA/s1600/Dramatic+scenery+-+TA3-+%2528Rainbow+Serpent+Tour+only%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNhLhCA_gqVMxf7BdLTk0kn0UalXnmPr6FGp20Xxr27VfyCI7YL5COt04masfc34n_qLsHU7Rb-9kEfFI6Is8ayG8r26ErSjUNPH0EFwd2gba4chkvyHR1DpRDoO7X-Smyfa3fzeADJbA/s320/Dramatic+scenery+-+TA3-+%2528Rainbow+Serpent+Tour+only%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"As we walk, Willie quietly tells his stories and finds out more about our group of young and somewhat hung- over backpackers, who by this time were intently listening to every word he was telling us all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"As we walked down a track toward the cave where the rock art is which is tens of thousands of years old, we come across a snake sunning itself on the track. Willie encourages us to walk quietly past where the snake had slid off into the undercover, leaving me in no doubt that he was silently telling the snake that we were OK and wouldn’t be any cause for concern for Mr. Snake. I hate snakes by the way, but somehow with Willie’s presence I sort of felt safe.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"We arrived at the rock art site where Willie allowed us to sit and gather our thoughts and bath in the splendor of the magic of this place. The backpackers were feeling the humidity and the impact of their late night. Owen the mad Irishman was sitting quietly on his own when Willie just sat next to him and spoke to him, telling Owen about parts of his life that he should not have known given that they had just met. Owen was a hard drinking, heavily tattooed loveable mad-man. But after a few minutes Owen was in tears responding to Willie's questions telling him about his early years of his life, which Willie somehow seemed to know all about.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdMZ4IcFODeHQ2458-uII4JfQEJ8YsoHJgCWE1eWppXNYAzEjQSb7Cvp2mG24Vqf7dwcklJgr1IAiuSFbiH2AVmayoMWRUJ1IWVswwGOrw_P1LtVbwbKXYyL83LOq6awUbTuzOUC5SkIZ/s1600/Rainbow+Serpent+Cave+TA1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdMZ4IcFODeHQ2458-uII4JfQEJ8YsoHJgCWE1eWppXNYAzEjQSb7Cvp2mG24Vqf7dwcklJgr1IAiuSFbiH2AVmayoMWRUJ1IWVswwGOrw_P1LtVbwbKXYyL83LOq6awUbTuzOUC5SkIZ/s320/Rainbow+Serpent+Cave+TA1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Meanwhile the young woman from Antigua was sitting quietly and Willie commented that he knew her mother was no longer with her but that she would see her again and that she was OK. The girl was both visibly shocked and at the same time remarkably calm as she and Willie proceeded to discuss how she had lost her mother early in her life, but that in their next life they would be together.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Remarkable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Willie recounted his stories of his lands; of the cave art; of his ancestors and of course of his lessons in life which, whilst steeped in thousands of years of wisdom, are as relevant today and they have been over time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I sat in awe – not only at the remarkable spirituality of Willie the man, but at his incredible human insight and calmness. His tour was incredible; his passion for what he does and how he does it unrivalled; his ability to connect to people uncanny, and his warmth as an individual one of the most engaging I have encountered in my 50 plus years on this planet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I love one of the quotes on the Gurrubi Tours website which captures his spirituality brilliantly - <i>“This is not just about Aboriginal rock art. It is about the present and the future and how we live.”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The five hour journey back to Cairns was a quiet and reflective time for us all, with each of us knowing that we had just had an incredible experience. Owen the mad Irish man was quiet and reserved that night. He had been touched by Willie, as indeed had we all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"As I write of these experiences, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in memory of my time with this incredible human being. This is truly a man and a tour that you need to do – it will be an experience you will remember for life."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thanks so much for sharing this, Rhett, and for the great short video which came out of the visit. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like to <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/05/on-tour-with-willie.html" style="color: #b45f06;">see the video</a><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>- and to meet Owen, the Irishman! - click the link. And here's the shorter version of the <a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/102891574/DER-H%C3%9CTER-DER-REGENBOGENSCHLANGE" style="color: #b45f06;">article in German</a> which resulted.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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</div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-27712458287611541632011-10-25T11:48:00.002+10:002013-05-08T07:20:32.472+10:00How Scrub Python got his flat head & the Endeavour River story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a story about Mungurru the Amethyst Python, also known as Scrub Python. In Guugu Yimithirr mythology, he's responsible for the creation of Wahalumbaal Birri the Endeavour River, and Dyiirrii, the rock we now call Nobby Point. Here's the story as told and illustrated by my Dad, Tulo, in <i>Milbi, Aboriginal Tales from Queensland's Endeavour River</i>.</div>
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There was a blackbird, called Dyirimadhi, who wanted to marry the daughter of old Mungurru, the Scrub Python. But that old Mungurru wouldn't wouldn't give his daughter to Blackbird. He didn't want them to get married. So Blackbird got cross with that old Scrub Python.</div>
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One day Scrub Python went out to sun himself. He lay down and stretched himself out in the heat of the day. Soon he fell asleep. </div>
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Dyirimadhi, the blackbird, had been out hunting. He was just on his way back to camp when he heard some little birds laughing at something. 'What are these little birds laughing at,' he said. 'Let me just go have a look.' He went over quietly and saw that old Python sunning himself. The little birds were laughing at him, asleep in the sun. 'Ohh,' said Dyirimadhi, 'that's my old father-in-law. That's the fellow who didn't give me his daughter.'</div>
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So he went off quietly again, and he looked all around. He looked and he looked and he looked until he found a big, heavy stone. He took that big stone, and he flew way up high into the clouds with it. He flew around and then he looked down to see where that old Mungurru was lying. When he was right above him, he let go of the big stone.</div>
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The big stone went down, down, and landed right where old Python's head was. When that big rock landed on his head, that old Mungurru started to thrash about. He rolled this way, then he rolled over that way. He didn't know what to do with all the pain. Then the thought of the sea came into his mind. He headed off to the East, running towards the sea. He went straight down and came upon the sea right at <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/cooktown-small-town-whose-history.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Gun-gaar</a>, where Cooktown is today. He left deep tracks behind him, and that's where the Endeavour River is now. Before that old Scrub Python travelled down to the sea there was no river there.</div>
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When he reached the sea, old Mungurru went right out into the deep water. There he stayed for three nights and three days. But the sea was very cold. That old Python began to feel cold right through, so he said to himself, 'I'll go back West again.' He began to swim. He came to the shallow water, and then right up on the shore. Then he coiled himself up in the sand and went to sleep.</div>
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Soon the early morning sun came up, and he was still asleep. The sun rose and went higher and higher in the sky. Soon it was straight overhead, and still that old Mungurru slept. The sun became very very hot. It began to turn that Scrub Python hard. Finally the sun just turned him into a rock. </div>
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Old Mungurru is still there, all coiled up, a big rock just beside the sea. The old people call that rock Dyiirii. In English it's called Nobby Point. And whenever you see a Scrub Python nowadays, you can see his flat head from when that big rock hit him.</div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-bunyjul-lizard-got-its-frill.html" style="color: #b45f06;">How the lizard got its frill</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/cooktown-small-town-whose-history.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Cooktown - the small town whose history changed the world</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Aboriginal family: Growing up</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours"><span style="color: #b45f06;">About our tours </span></a></span><br />
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Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-12003800807328140252011-10-03T16:43:00.003+10:002012-05-29T07:50:35.465+10:00The Aboriginal Family: Respect & Taboos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444;">When I was a child my Dad explained to me who everyone was in my family, and my <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" style="color: #b45f06;"><i>Mukai</i></a> taught me how to behave with them all. Knowing where you 'fit' is really important, as it tells you what your responsibilities are,</span> <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/09/aboriginal-family-marriage-taboos.html" style="color: #b45f06;">who you can marry</a><span style="color: #b45f06;">,</span> <span style="color: #444444;">and how you should talk with each other. Some relations I can't have a direct conversation with at all. These laws were designed to avoid conflict and keep peace and harmony in the clan. </span></div>
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This is why, when we meet someone for the first time, we first work out our relatedness. The Guugu Yimithirr greeting <i>Wanhtharra wanthaalngan nyundu? </i>asks where a person's homelands are, and this kicks off the discussion. When we understand how we're connected, the information is passed on to others by way of introduction. </div>
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<i>"He is a cousin through my mother's side that comes from the north, and she had four cousin sisters, one of whom is the mother of this man's father." </i></div>
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This way each person knows what language to use, or whether they need to stop the conversation immediately because it's <i>thabul </i>(taboo) to talk with one another.</div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Some family members, like my </span><i><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Guman-ga</a>, </i><span style="color: #444444;">I have a </span><b style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Joking Relationship</span> </b><span style="color: #444444;">with. This means I can talk about anything at all, joke, tease, and generally not have to watch my tongue. I can also have a Joking Relationship with a stranger if, after we've worked out our kin connections, he falls into the same category as my father's father. Then there is </span><i style="color: #444444;">guugu dhabul, </i><span style="color: #444444;">or </span><b style="color: #b45f06;">Brother-in-law language</b><span style="color: #444444;">, which is soft and slow and very respectful. It isn't a totally different language, but has special words - like euphemisms - which have to be used instead of 'straight out' words. This language is used when talking with my brothers-in-law and other people who fall into that category in my extended family. </span></div>
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It is <i>thabul </i>to talk with my parents-in-law. I can't hand food directly to them, I can't look at them directly, and if I need to ask them something I have to do it through my wife. I certainly wouldn't dream of sitting down and watching the footy with them, and once, when I had to tell my father-in-law something important, I sent him a letter even though he lived next-door! I mustn't even say their name in conversation with somebody else - I use <i>ngathiina (</i>father-in-law) and <i>biwul </i>(mother-in-law) instead. These laws of respect are called <i>than-gun.</i></div>
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Today these respect relationships still exist, despite some of the younger generation thinking they are old-fashioned. My daughter thinks they are 'hooey', but if I visit her house, her partner will leave the room or sit with his back to us while he watches television. Non-Indigenous people could interpret this behaviour as being rude, but in fact he's honouring the laws of <i>than-gun. </i>And if I need my daughter to do something for me and want to avoid a debate, I won't ask her. Instead I'll ask her partner, as out of respect for me he'll make sure it gets done!</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">More stories about Willie's family:</span><br />
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html">The Aboriginal Family: Growing Up</a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/09/aboriginal-family-marriage-taboos.html">The Aboriginal Family: Moieties & Marriage</a></div>
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/11/mala-specialists.html"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mala - The Specialists</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Photo courtesy of Kathi Gibson</span></span></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-182821358603375612011-09-29T12:53:00.340+10:002012-05-29T07:47:02.297+10:00The Aboriginal Family: Moieties & Marriage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On <a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;">my tours</a> I explain how Aboriginal culture and society ensured the survival of the clan, and central to this was keeping our bloodline strong. So when I was growing up<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>and starting to look at girls, I had to learn who I could and couldn't marry. Although the final choice was mine, I needed guidance from my <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html" style="color: #b45f06;"><i>Guman-ga </i></a>who would tell me who was <i>balgan-gu - </i>an appropriate match. <br />
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<b style="color: #b45f06;">Choosing the right marriage partner </b><br />
Guugu Yimithirr society is divided into two groups, or moieties<i>, </i>and it was <i>thabul (</i>taboo) to marry someone from the 'same side'. As children take the moiety of their birth father, I had to choose a marriage partner from my mother's side of the family - but not 'too close' and preferably from a distant geographic area. </div>
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To help us know which moiety people belong to, we have many, many different names for our extended family members, which immediately tell us whether they are 'same side' or 'other side'. As you can see in the picture above, my Dad would call his (same side) children <i>yumurr </i>regardless of sex<i>, </i>but for my Mum we were <i>dyuway (</i>other side son<i>) </i>or <i>nguudhurr </i>(other side daughter). All the way through the family tree there are different names for 'same side' and 'other side' relatives.<br />
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I also have a bloodline name, <i>Ngamu Bungangu, </i>which is<i> </i>like a surname passed on from a father to a chosen son to give him a position of responsibility within the family.This helps us map our relatedness to the different strands of our extended family. I share <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/galin-galin-and-other-totems.html" style="color: #b45f06;">my Dad's totem</a> too. <i> </i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">The Marriage Ceremony</span></b></div>
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In traditional times, once an appropriate partner had been chosen, preparations culminated in the families gathering to witness the girl's mother hitting her future son-in-law on the head with the sharp side of a <i>milbirr</i><i> (</i>throwing-stick) to draw blood. Once blood was drawn the couple was considered married. Today this sounds barbaric, but there was a reason for it. Girls married very young, so this ceremony was to ensure no sexual attraction developed between the young man and his mother-in-law who were of similar age. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The ceremony was forbidden after the arrival of the Mission, and around 1898 the first Guugu Yimithirr couples were married in church (photo below). Marriage partners were still chosen in old way, but slowly over the years this has changed, and now partners are usually chosen willy-nilly, much to the despair of the older generations who still honour and value the rules of <i>thabul.</i></span></div>
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More stories about my family...<br />
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/06/aboriginal-family-growing-up.html">The Aboriginal Family: Growing Up</a></div>
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/10/aboriginal-family-respect-taboos.html" style="color: #b45f06;">The Aboriginal Family: Respect & Taboos </a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/galin-galin-and-other-totems.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Galin-Galin & Other Totems </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;">About our tours</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-39758777750453819922011-08-03T16:22:00.008+10:002011-08-04T19:44:47.523+10:00Willie's tours get world-wide recognition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody">We are immensely proud to have been picked as one of the major contributors to Indigenous Tourism (world-wide!!) to be featured by <i>The Travel Word</i>, in celebration of Indigenous People's Week 8-12 August 2011. Here's the feature, written by American Aussie Specialist, Karolyn Wrightson. Thank you so much to everyone involved. What an honour! </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Ancient Teachings in a Modern World:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Willie Gordon's Guurrbi Tours in Australia</span> </b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3svg8t5oiTX-ClNayEXbl6sLjfaAvcHZM5-V3xkrXY0C7XN7sE-MbDg6Xycdn50NWt6UEVWn4O2N8U_dblF8nS3sSJxAkdJkXngHGdMGSDaf21UkFL6abK3gAtsqF-noZtE4_4HcuVOi/s1600/Willie+Gordon+of+Guurrbi+Tours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3svg8t5oiTX-ClNayEXbl6sLjfaAvcHZM5-V3xkrXY0C7XN7sE-MbDg6Xycdn50NWt6UEVWn4O2N8U_dblF8nS3sSJxAkdJkXngHGdMGSDaf21UkFL6abK3gAtsqF-noZtE4_4HcuVOi/s320/Willie+Gordon+of+Guurrbi+Tours.jpg" width="197" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Willie Gordon is likely simply to ask a traveller on one of his Guurrbi Tours "When was the Beginning for you?" I've yet to hear someone able to answer him. It is quite humbling to be in the presence of someone who is still in touch with his Beginning. I've seen rock paintings of animals that have been extinct for thousands of years, but in far too many magnificent rock art sites, the full story has been lost. Willie, however, learned what he knows directly from elders and grandparents.</span> </span><a href="http://www.thetravelword.com/2011/08/01/willie-gordon%E2%80%99s-guurrbi-tours-in-australia/"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Read more...</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/10/filmed-by-imparja-tv-for-footprints.html" style="color: #b45f06;">About Willie & Guurrbi Tours (short video)</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Guurrbi Picture Gallery</a> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/10/quotes-of-week.html" style="color: #b45f06;">What our customers say</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">www.guurrbitours.com </span></span></a><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2 August 2011</span></span></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-64805613121997011552011-07-30T09:54:00.021+10:002012-04-12T17:10:27.650+10:00Let's hear it from the kids!<div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
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Willie loves having kids on tour with him. Here's some feedback (and stories) from some of those families - and the kids themselves. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyDprS9TTPAsZmG-MURRvMp16wPcp_oE27-meDULB9ZL9FzjwQ8KFV8IpeEAgMVgnbvIVpU2BmfouDYjDiKU9ODe_Kx4Oe5HRumnw58eRPLd1Vem7tn1Wk-n9qObJWC6xD4w32y0vBahs/s1600/Thesinger+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyDprS9TTPAsZmG-MURRvMp16wPcp_oE27-meDULB9ZL9FzjwQ8KFV8IpeEAgMVgnbvIVpU2BmfouDYjDiKU9ODe_Kx4Oe5HRumnw58eRPLd1Vem7tn1Wk-n9qObJWC6xD4w32y0vBahs/s200/Thesinger+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">"<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span>I</span>t was a very moving experience for all of us, in particular my sons, Dain (12) and Noah (7). They were captivated by the beauty of your land and have wanted to share their story many times since returning home. My daughter Maya (6) work the next day and her first words were, "I love Willie. Can we go see him again?" </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Karen Thesinger, Jun 2009, by email</span></div>
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"willie rocks he is funny cool and smart i love him" </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Enrique Featherstone, 8 yrs. Feb 2009, Qeensland Must-Do website</span></div>
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"What our children learnt from Willie Gordon was worth more than we could ever teach them. His tour was the best educational experience we have ever had as a family. We'd go back tomorrow if we could!" </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jill Shaw, Jan 2009, Queensland Must-Do website</span></div>
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"We went on this trip as recommended by a friend, but were anxious as we have a hyperactive child, and a couple of teenagers, the oldest of whom is at that "lukewarm to do family outings" age. Fantastically they all really loved it, from the very beginning, with each one getting something different from the experience, but all still talking about it 6 months later, and using it as a reference. Our busy youngest, who can get bored, was engrossed, and truly felt Willie talked to him. Thank-you so much, it is our favourite trip we have ever done in Australia" </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hewdon, Apr 2010, TripAdvisor</span></div>
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"Dear Willie, My name is Finn and I went on your tour last year. I thought it was great!!! I'm doing a school project on a 'notable Indigenous Australian' and I thought that's what you are. So I want to ask you some questions. Do you have an email address? This is my Mum's facebook account. I'd love to hear back from you. Thanks, Finn"</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">May 2010, Facebook</span></div>
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"They LOVED Willie. The 22-year old with them said that the best thing about the WHOLE trip to Australia, was Willie."</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">US travel agent, Jul 2011, by email</span></div>
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"What we, as high school students, learnt from Willie was absolutely invaluable. His way of teaching us about his world is unique and unforgettable. We will remember his tour and its positive message for the rest of our lives." </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Anna Shaw, Jan 2009, Queensland Must-Do website</span></div>
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"Our little grandson will never forget the cave tour and often talks about the Children's Python he saw and Uncle Willie. We have promised to bring him up again..." </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Bev Hall, Jan 2009, Queensland Must-Do website</span><br />
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"<b>Once-upon-a-time</b>...<br />
...my two children did Willie's tour (with Grandma Sue). Every cave with paintings in it, girl child asked, "Mr Willie, did people sleep in here?" Eventually, Mr Willie....said "Girl child, do people sleep in your library?" lol...we have been telling that story for years now - LOVE it" </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Megan Bayliss, Jun 2011, Facebook </span></div>
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"I thought it was great!! I could go on the walk 100 times more!!! I didn't even get tired!! Willy rocks!!!! It was so interesting!!! Guurrbi tours rock!!" </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Enrique 8 yrs old, Nov 2008, Queensland Must-Do website.</span></div>
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"The tour is an inspiration...Our children continue to comment even after nearly six months has passed." </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">William Shaw, Nov 2008, Queensland Must-Do website</span></div>
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"[Willie's] knowledge of the bush and Aboriginal history and culture enthralled the six adults on our tour and the small boy (4 years) was treated in a very special way"</div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Elizabeth Haverkamp, Jan 2009, Queensland Must-Do website.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Naya0-_WS0JBXl407PHyMlUtdH4IAPoc0BMTq_akRKSXZYBigX2r5uUXCRF51RKa70Xn099YqWBPm_2glILXnyeiRi0LhJ1ESN9ob8MOTxLCgm_EWIa75QuZr5t3R-D912uRFVLrX-ZZ/s1600/Willie+%2526+Harvey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Naya0-_WS0JBXl407PHyMlUtdH4IAPoc0BMTq_akRKSXZYBigX2r5uUXCRF51RKa70Xn099YqWBPm_2glILXnyeiRi0LhJ1ESN9ob8MOTxLCgm_EWIa75QuZr5t3R-D912uRFVLrX-ZZ/s200/Willie+%2526+Harvey.jpg" width="133" /></a>"Hi Grandma and Grandpa, Thank you you for having me and dad at Cook Town it was very good fun and I liked it a lot. My favourite part was Willie Gordon's tour. It was cool how I saw a green snake and two spiders..." (aged 8)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">October 2010, via his grandparents by email</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.150mustdos.com.au/must_dos/guurrbi_tours,_cooktown" style="color: #b45f06;">Queensland Must-Do website</a><br />
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-great-tour-for-kids.html">It's a great tour for kids (Picture Gallery)</a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666;">Main photo: Dan Baker </span></span></span></div>
</div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-89649846362697820332011-07-22T20:10:00.005+10:002011-07-22T20:21:56.659+10:00The return of Burriwi, the Emu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5jaynKOSFiU438hK9nQZI_ft35S2ubt1P3ImLT_kFKxb569BLPNusRA7Bkv20R7o7vhUWmzCuXf6ILlJPq15xBpEtTAmcrH6ZYHdtHk7k3tltlwQXCTlRwGbmIjy0KXPepFB73INN2d9/s1600/emu+adj+crop2+m-r+%2528blog%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5jaynKOSFiU438hK9nQZI_ft35S2ubt1P3ImLT_kFKxb569BLPNusRA7Bkv20R7o7vhUWmzCuXf6ILlJPq15xBpEtTAmcrH6ZYHdtHk7k3tltlwQXCTlRwGbmIjy0KXPepFB73INN2d9/s320/emu+adj+crop2+m-r+%2528blog%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When my Dad was little, Burriwi, the emu, was common all around this area, and an important food source for Bama. Its meat was highly valued for its oils, so it was always given to the Elders first before being shared amongst the clan. The eggs were also eaten, and the oil used to rub on the skin and ease muscular aches and pains. You didn't go out to hunt emu - you had to wait until you stumbled upon one. Then you had to know the tricks to lure him towards you until he was close enough to catch with spears, clubs and boomerangs.</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When we got guns, hunting Burriwi became much easier. I was born into a house with guns. In our ignorance, we used to shoot at anything and everything - especially birds and animals. If they weren't around, then we'd shoot at trees. It was a 'game' that everyone played, until we gave our guns back under the Buy-Back Scheme, initiated by the government in 1996 in response to the horrific Port Arthur massacre. I gave back six guns, and most people in Hope Vale handed back all theirs too. </span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But for Burriwi it was too late. He had already disappeared from our landscape. The last time I saw him was at Coloured Sands, way in the distance, about 20 years ago. We still had the cave painting of him to remind us how important he'd been to our culture. We still danced the Emu Dance at Corroborees, and a few people had precious emu feathers they'd kept for decoration. But Burriwi, himself, had gone.</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgsYjF92MjhULCqs-FUcJf7bKjPJjmZYbRUY6mEfTF60PJlFn16wP5EfEgpeLdvT4KLIh1td7Bt0FzoJa2EilKXyaqT4P_E8x1JqAYE92iVWW6KE0gU2kWkW6gJ9PZ9LUmqsExsrs5sA1/s1600/save+Laura+Dance+Festival+2009+%2528433%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgsYjF92MjhULCqs-FUcJf7bKjPJjmZYbRUY6mEfTF60PJlFn16wP5EfEgpeLdvT4KLIh1td7Bt0FzoJa2EilKXyaqT4P_E8x1JqAYE92iVWW6KE0gU2kWkW6gJ9PZ9LUmqsExsrs5sA1/s320/save+Laura+Dance+Festival+2009+%2528433%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then, last year, I couldn't believe my eyes: at Elim Beach I found Burriwi tracks. And about a month later I spotted three birds in the same area. We were so excited, but a year went by and there were no more sightings. </span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until last weekend. Not far from my home, there they were, two of them, standing tall and proud in the long grasses. We stood looking at each other for some time, and I was able to take the photo below. The children were in awe - they'd never seen anything like it before. It was a wonderful moment.</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, hopefully Burriwi is coming back. And hopefully, now, we will all treat them with the respect they deserve, so that this time they'll come back to stay.</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/galin-galin-and-other-totems.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Galin-Galin and other totems</a></span><br />
<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/08/warra-journey-of-life.html"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">How we all gain strength from the land</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;">About our tours </a></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">22 July 2011 </span></span></div></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-31640417230072074122011-07-18T08:15:00.006+10:002011-08-04T22:31:15.385+10:00The mating dance of the taipan?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/y93u0McyIM0" width="425"></iframe><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;">Willie's tours are full of surprises! Customers on Saturday's</span> <a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;">Great Emu Tour</a> <span style="color: #666666;">had a rare opportunity to witness what we thought were two young taipan (biigaarr) in their ritual mating dance. Willie spotted them at the side of the track and stopped the bus so everyone could watch. Taipan are normally both aggressive and dangerous, but these two were oblivious to their audience, so engrossed were they in what they were doing. Now we're not so sure that they are taipan, and it's been suggested that they might be two male Slatey Greys fighting. If you can help us identify them, we'd love to hear from you.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/07/yirmbal-rainbow-serpent.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Yirmbal, the Rainbow Serpent</a></span></span></div><div style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/07/yangga-amazing-green-ant.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Yangga, the amazing green ant</a></span></div><div style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2008/10/filmed-by-imparja-tv-for-footprints.html" style="color: #b45f06;">About Willie & Guurrbi Tours (short video)</a></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"> <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/07/yirmbal-rainbow-serpent.html" style="color: #b45f06;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">18 July 2011 </span></span></span></div></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-12830397130934148652011-06-28T16:22:00.020+10:002012-05-29T16:54:05.222+10:00The Aboriginal family: Growing up.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On our <a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/tours" style="color: #b45f06;">Rainbow Serpent Tour</a> we visit my clan's ancestral <a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/08/warra-journey-of-life.html" style="color: #b45f06;">Birth Site</a> - a very special place which reminds us of the importance of family - and I'm sometimes asked why Aboriginal children have so many 'uncles' and 'aunties'. One of the reasons is that there just aren't the words in English to explain our extended family and the responsibilities of each person within that group. So I thought I'd share this knowledge with you, starting with the people who were very important for me when I was growing up. </div>
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<b style="color: #e69138;">Bipa (D1) and Ngamu (M1) </b></div>
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These are my birth parents. My Dad's responsibility was to be hunter and provider for his children. My Mum's responsibility was as gatherer of bush foods, and to look after us when we were tiny. When I grew older, then I went to live with a second mum and dad, also called Bipa and Ngamu, who were chosen by the family.</div>
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<b>Bipa (D2) and Ngamu (M2)</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When my voice changed it was a sign that I'd reached puberty, and I went to live with my second Mum and Dad. They looked after my worldly needs, making sure I had food and clothes, and that I stayed healthy and safe. If I wanted anything in material terms, then I had to ask them - I wasn't allowed to trouble my birth parents. Once I was with my second Mum and Dad, I could no longer converse closely with any of my sisters. If I really wanted to talk to them, then I could do, but only from a distance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My Gami are my same side grandparents - this means my mother's mother, or my father's father. They shared in the responsibility for bringing me up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Guman-ga</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My Guman-ga were chosen by myself. I had to choose one male and one female from my grandparents' brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, on either my father's or mother's side. The choice was very important, as I could speak to them in absolute confidence about any matter at all.<b> </b>I could ask them about taboo subjects, like sex, and who I could and couldn't mingle with. They would suggest possible marriage partners for me too. These weren't subjects that I could bring up with my birth parents, as it would be extremely disrespectful.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mukai, Yaba and Gaanhaal</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">I had two Mukai who were my birth parents' eldest brother or sister, and they were responsible for maintaining discipline and respect. They were like mentors who would nurture and guide me so I chose to do the right thing. They would tell me about special places, such as birthing and burial sites, and bora, and explain why I had to respect these places. And they would tell me who I could and couldn't mingle with. They were helped by</span> <b><span style="color: #e69138;">Yaba</span><span style="color: #444444;">,</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"> my eldest brother, who would keep a watchful eye on me so I didn't misbehave, and</span> <b style="color: #e69138;">Gaanhaal</b><span style="color: #444444;">, my big sister, who was "She Who Must Be Obeyed!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="color: #e69138;">How it is today... </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When the Mission came, this extended family support group was broken down, and the responsibilities of each family member undermined. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">You still hear old people say "Where has the respect gone?" and that's because respect is not always built into today's family structure. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Suddenly birth mothers and fathers were expected to take on all the responsibilities themselves, and it was too much for them. Alcohol and drugs also did irreparable damage, as you can't respect your Mukai, Yaba and Gaanhaal if they're sitting next to you in the drinking circle, so in some families discipline was no longer maintained. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But even though we live in nuclear family units now, the kinship structure hasn't been totally lost. I still recognise the members of my extended family by their kinship name; I still talk with my Guman-ga when I have a problem I want to talk through, and my grandchildren still have to watch out for their Mukai, Yaba and "She Who Must Be Obeyed!" </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1522601259"><br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/my-family.html" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" target="_blank">My Family</a><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/09/aboriginal-family-marriage-taboos.html" style="color: #b45f06;">The Aboriginal Family: Moieties & Marriage</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/10/aboriginal-family-respect-taboos.html" style="color: #b45f06;">The Aboriginal Family: Respect & Taboos </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-great-tour-for-kids.html" style="color: #b45f06;">It's a great tour for kids! (Picture Gallery)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></span></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-50262441191319552942011-05-05T12:16:00.026+10:002011-10-05T12:39:24.815+10:00How the lizard got its frill<div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeM7R7BfEkzKcHpvce6JI5s0ue0SRwyIYL7WI5BbNOu5AMy8tAGfrTNQ5mE8WzOsM-6KjjoUkgJTsJ7k68q_f1_zgL1TUBIQgGSho0_3Vla4VPX_dJF90K7QIeGIJJBcDLZZBJ7qGOj-4/s1600/IMG_0164+low-res+%2528cr-small%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeM7R7BfEkzKcHpvce6JI5s0ue0SRwyIYL7WI5BbNOu5AMy8tAGfrTNQ5mE8WzOsM-6KjjoUkgJTsJ7k68q_f1_zgL1TUBIQgGSho0_3Vla4VPX_dJF90K7QIeGIJJBcDLZZBJ7qGOj-4/s200/IMG_0164+low-res+%2528cr-small%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>This is the time of year that the baby <i>Bunyjul</i>, frill-necked lizard, is hatching and finding his feet, so we thought you would enjoy this traditional story which explains how he got his frill.<br />
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The story is also about the importance of sharing - even something we love very much, like honey!<br />
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This is how my Dad, Tulo, tells the story in <i>Milbi: Aboriginal Tales from Queensland's Endeavour River. A</i>nd the illustrations are his too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Frill Lizard had two sisters, two blackbirds. One day he decided to go out hunting, and he called his sisters to come along with him. They set out and walked and walked. Frill Lizard happened to look up in a tree, as they were walking. There he spied a bees' nest.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
He said to his sisters, 'Did you see, up in the tree, where that honey is? You two wait down here, and I'll climb up and get it.'<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2d51pmBF1spqnbUa5iCxL4ol3o26SRw0ayQqL70E9D3mC49q9hxHw-hLsGRcoKneoYgl4PaZSmR-OoCYU3-PvxNACCflfaICEgNTkYLOila3Ns_EeHoNxJzkB5oJtA8xsT0riBAm9c2cx/s1600/frill+lizard+story+%2528hunting%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2d51pmBF1spqnbUa5iCxL4ol3o26SRw0ayQqL70E9D3mC49q9hxHw-hLsGRcoKneoYgl4PaZSmR-OoCYU3-PvxNACCflfaICEgNTkYLOila3Ns_EeHoNxJzkB5oJtA8xsT0riBAm9c2cx/s320/frill+lizard+story+%2528hunting%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
Frill Lizard got his stone axe, and he started to climb. He used the axe to chop notches in the tree, and he climbed up and up until he reached the branch where the honey was. Then he began to chop at the branch. Soon he had chopped an opening in the wood just big enough for him to get his hand in.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">He reached in through the hole and took a handful of honey. He pulled it out and ate that first lot all by himself. He put his hand in a second time, and he was about to eat it when those two sisters sang out from down below: 'Hey, you, throw some of that honey down to us. Throw some to us!'<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEPu7auMLJegGaOsFHwYyLS2Gce95MCmEctbxAS42vPN8pxNKQhcN0L-KIYX7I8Tg_AR46WAtWVezRV3kvCRUIP7YulJsGIu2BUdmz-Ts9URte52rpa269PBlIoX-bvsCxfuUSlML0XdI/s1600/Frill+lizard+story+%2528tree%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEPu7auMLJegGaOsFHwYyLS2Gce95MCmEctbxAS42vPN8pxNKQhcN0L-KIYX7I8Tg_AR46WAtWVezRV3kvCRUIP7YulJsGIu2BUdmz-Ts9URte52rpa269PBlIoX-bvsCxfuUSlML0XdI/s320/Frill+lizard+story+%2528tree%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Frill Lizard called back, 'Wait a bit, wait a bit!' Then he put his hand in the hole and brought out another handful of honey. 'Here, here, I'll throw it down to you,' he cried.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Those two sisters stretched out their hands to catch that honey as it came down. But just at the last minute, instead of throwing the honey down, Frill Lizard went Whooomp! and threw the honey right up into his own mouth. He ate it himself.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">'Well,' Frill Lizard sang out, 'I can't throw the honey down just like that. You two have to go look around for some <i>baaydjin</i> grass. I'll make a sponge and dip it in the honey. Then I can throw that down for you to suck the honey from.'</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So the two sisters went to have a look around. They searched and they searched, but they couldn't find any <i>baaydjin</i> grass. They came back and called up to their brother, 'No <i>baaydjin</i> grass around here!'</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Frill Lizard said, 'Never mind. One of you take off that little skirt you're wearing and throw that up. I'll dip that in the honey.' So one of the blackbird sisters untied the little <i>yirrbi</i> she had around her waist, and she threw it high up to her brother in the tree.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnHDuSqeMzZVrw2GJYe0db-3ZH23nW4jNylz6wVL5x07deABn4NRoaYbcr1-PWMIWL6ORHdr2BgTYLY9NMS78CgQcQjNmCnq63dXHRsw3XsKiOaltr7MX98V0u5lr3Kq-jw58cusue2ID/s1600/Frill+Lizard+%2526+honey+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnHDuSqeMzZVrw2GJYe0db-3ZH23nW4jNylz6wVL5x07deABn4NRoaYbcr1-PWMIWL6ORHdr2BgTYLY9NMS78CgQcQjNmCnq63dXHRsw3XsKiOaltr7MX98V0u5lr3Kq-jw58cusue2ID/s400/Frill+Lizard+%2526+honey+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Frill Lizard took that </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">yirrbi </i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">and stuck it in the opening. He dipped in the honey and sopped it up until it was full. Then he pulled it out. But instead of throwing the skirt, soaked with honey, down to his sisters, Frill Lizard sucked that honey out himself. And he was so greedy that he swallowed the whole thing, skirt and all. </span><br />
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Well, his sister's skirt got stuck in the Frill Lizard's throat. And from that time on, when Frill Lizard gets excited he grows a lump on his throat. Well, that lump is his sister's <i>yirrbi</i>, which he wasn't even supposed to touch, and which he sucked honey from.<br />
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2009/11/summer-is-coming-to-guurrbi-3.html" style="color: #b45f06;"><i>Bunyjul</i> the bush weather forecaster</a><br />
<div style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/01/fierce-dragons-spiders-worthy-of.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Hissing dragons & scary spiders</span> </a></div><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2011/03/story-of-ngurrayin-barretts-lagoon.html" style="color: #b45f06;">The story of Barrett's Lagoon</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-62755797522778516112011-03-22T13:42:00.007+10:002012-05-29T08:02:12.691+10:00The story of Barratt's Lagoon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtD8y-fPh4fIRlKVEjawA1TrRf5cqy1ozZXnpsz3vX09I-XEPnzD0hdtxHbRBPNble_VWDSEXZo1f5kT-Ow96d4fuC8xj13T5USW2H2XMxx9RZALhtTAWPSF8k4zxgGhl21vIQ9IYhMUe/s1600/Barrett%2527s+Lagoon+Nov+10+%25282%2529+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtD8y-fPh4fIRlKVEjawA1TrRf5cqy1ozZXnpsz3vX09I-XEPnzD0hdtxHbRBPNble_VWDSEXZo1f5kT-Ow96d4fuC8xj13T5USW2H2XMxx9RZALhtTAWPSF8k4zxgGhl21vIQ9IYhMUe/s400/Barrett%2527s+Lagoon+Nov+10+%25282%2529+crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In the past, when Aboriginal people wanted to explain something, they would start by telling a story about it. This could be a mythical story using your imagination, like a fairy tale, and was often linked to a place.</div>
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Just outside Cooktown, on the way to the rock art sites, we pass a story place we call <i>Ngurrayin</i> or Barratt's Lagoon. The story belonging to this place explains how Aboriginal people came to speak different languages, and it's the story depicted in the picture below which was painted by my Dad, Tulo. This is how he told the story in <i>Milbi: Aboriginal Tales from Queensland's Endeavour River</i>.</div>
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Long ago all men had a single language, which everyone could understand.</div>
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Then, one time, word went out to all the different tribes of people that there would be a big dance. People came together from the East, from the West, from the North and from the South. They all gathered together at <i>Ngurrayin, </i>to have their corroboree.<br />
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They used to go out hunting of a daytime. Some would spear game for meat. Others might go after bush tucker, look for yams and other things. Still others would chop down trees and get the honey in them. In the evening they would come back to that big lagoon. They used to cook the meat and yams, and then everybody would have a big feed. They would sit down and eat and eat and eat. When everyone was full, they would get up, and start the dance. This went on night after night, for some time. </div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Now this place, </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ngurrayin, </i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">is a big lagoon. In the summertime, no matter how hot it is, that water never dries up. It is fresh water, but the old people say that sea water comes underground from the ocean and holds the water in that lagoon up. That's why it never dries up, you see, because it is connected to the sea underground.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62K7SWseO0V2yAQddsOHWzN3D46aF_gCMBn_t-mQn_GxNf5IMUiCSkzGoQ-y2-Nh2QxoM9XLrmD3I12mZqslPbT5zja9w_VDq88pwngEgnAnXbJXPa6DpSoaRSHPw1OHoPxq02CrM5v3f/s1600/Tulo+-+Barrett%2527s+Lagoon+Story+%2528mr%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62K7SWseO0V2yAQddsOHWzN3D46aF_gCMBn_t-mQn_GxNf5IMUiCSkzGoQ-y2-Nh2QxoM9XLrmD3I12mZqslPbT5zja9w_VDq88pwngEgnAnXbJXPa6DpSoaRSHPw1OHoPxq02CrM5v3f/s320/Tulo+-+Barrett%2527s+Lagoon+Story+%2528mr%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well, there was a giant fish, a <i>nhinhinhi</i> or groper, that came up from the sea, from the East. It came along underground towards the lagoon where all those different tribes were having their dance. When it got there it opened up its gigantic mouth, and it rose up out of the water, and swallowed the whole jolly lot of them. Then that giant fish turned around and headed East again, travelling underground until it reached the sea. </div>
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For two months that groper stayed in the sea, with all the people inside of him. Then he came again from the East, just the same way, travelling underground. When he got to the lagoon he opened up his mouth and vomited all the people out again.</div>
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The people jumped down onto the ground and they began walking all about. But when they tried to speak to one another, they found that they were all speaking different languages. One man would talk one way, and another man would talk another way. And the first one couldn't understand the second one.<br />
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Well that's why Aboriginal people talk different languages until today.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/site/conservation"><span style="color: #b45f06;">A place called <i>Wangaar-Wuri</i></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/12/bush-soap-antiseptics-cure-for.html">Toothache? Here's a bush cure! </a></div>
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<a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/cooktown-small-town-whose-history.html" style="color: #b45f06;">The small town whose history changed the world</a><i></i><br />
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<br /></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463787440510594250.post-73780586387537264082011-01-23T09:26:00.005+10:002011-01-23T09:39:15.159+10:00Jiliburu - Law Enforcement & the Bogey Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKkvf9oonln6ftU7F4dsBL0-TVc_gagdI8AFRLImWcqkBaMuohZV7H8hIrC3qup3nvPesWxCHISVW1ex4Nk0LEpEyRPFSaig6a-mBfPUteuxUgzYMt5XIM6uUsUQxvae1hxM7PrHl5Pt0/s1600/Jiliburu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKkvf9oonln6ftU7F4dsBL0-TVc_gagdI8AFRLImWcqkBaMuohZV7H8hIrC3qup3nvPesWxCHISVW1ex4Nk0LEpEyRPFSaig6a-mBfPUteuxUgzYMt5XIM6uUsUQxvae1hxM7PrHl5Pt0/s320/Jiliburu.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Laws were made by man to enforce the lores, and were necessary to ensure the survival of the clan. But laws are of little use unless they can be enforced.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">This is the <i>Jiliburu</i>, one of three mythical characters used by us to enforce the law. The <i>Jiliburu </i>stops people even thinking about breaking the law. He's like the bogey man who scares children into being good and doing what their parents tell them. It stops them from going where they might be in danger, and helps to keep them safe.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i>Manu Galga-thirr, </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">the second mythical character, warns of what will happen to people who do break the law. He's a terrifying and vengeful creature who torments the law-breaker</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kTO-kNBhBe964r-SogN5NoupYur279Da-WutEVj5FP9XA-m6LDpwqnbsSwhIL-K-GVJ0eZG2KMlK84j3cRupADxWNcR95UxPpX_92t3pWqY7faJQ3h35DvOJRApGoNtm8Wu89NT0AB72/s1600/Wabuga+etc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kTO-kNBhBe964r-SogN5NoupYur279Da-WutEVj5FP9XA-m6LDpwqnbsSwhIL-K-GVJ0eZG2KMlK84j3cRupADxWNcR95UxPpX_92t3pWqY7faJQ3h35DvOJRApGoNtm8Wu89NT0AB72/s320/Wabuga+etc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Our third mythical character, </span></span><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Wabuga, </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">exists to remind children of the many ways they can be tempted to break the law. </span></span><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Wabuga</span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"> is a trickster, a red-eyed spirit or ghost which appears in many disguises. He climbs from tree to tree, calling temptingly and encouraging children to follow him away from the safety of their family. </span></span><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Wabuga </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">reminds us that if you continue to break the law, it doesn't just affect your family, it will weaken the strength of the whole tribe. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">More rock art stories...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/11/mala-specialists.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Mala, the Specialists </span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/10/galin-galin-and-other-totems.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Galin-Galin & Other Totems </span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://guurrbitours.blogspot.com/2010/07/yirmbal-rainbow-serpent.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Yirmbal, the Rainbow Serpent</span></a><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #b45f06;">About our tours... </span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guurrbitours.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">www.guurrbitours.com</span></a></span></div>Magical, award-winning Aboriginal rock art tours with Nugal-warra Elder, Willie Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01162672320351952897noreply@blogger.com0