Being from Canada,
we feel right at home in Oz. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again.
Everywhere we turn, we see more and more similarities
between Australia
and Canada, and
are amazed that two countries so far apart geographically can share so many
commonalities.
One such common bond, and one neither country is
particularly proud of, is the struggle with our respective countries’
aboriginal people, history, and culture. In settling both countries, our
aboriginal people were ill-treated, not respected, and their history was largely erased
instead of preserved.
The tragedy persists as now aboriginal people are left
fighting for land, rights, and respect. Relations are strained at best, and although
apologies have been issued by governments for historical blunders, there is a
lot of ground to cover before everything is really okay again. Who knows –
maybe things will never be okay again.
Before our journey into the outback, we were warned by some
people of towns along the way that they considered unsafe to even stop at, much
less chat with the locals (who were predominantly aboriginal). We were told not
to make eye contact. We were warned of road-side ambushes, and told our fair
share of horror stories – some possibly true, and others obviously not.
But knowing our own aboriginal issues back in Canada,
we’ve always
maintained that there are two sides to a story. So in many of the
towns we have passed through, we’ve made a point of visiting the local
aboriginal cultural centre in search of that balance. Some centres were
informative, and others were not.
Which is why we were absolutely elated when we rolled into
the Brambuk Cultural Centre in the heart of Grampians
National Park. Free to all, and run
in conjunction with Parks Victoria, this museum-cum-souvenir shop-cum-café is a
place you could easily wile away a good chunk of the day.
So naturally, visiting Brambuk on the day of our departure
from the Grampian mountains and spending the whole rainy
morning there was heaven.
While walking through well put-together displays with
nature’s sounds and landscape as the greatest backdrop of all, we took in a
wealth of information about the history of the local aboriginal culture,
tribes, hierarchy, and ways of living. And you know what? They knew what they
were doing! They were well-organized, civilized, extremely knowledgeable of
their land and animals, and very clean. In fact, we could stand to learn more
than a few things from their historical ways!
We meandered through the displays, admired the local crafts
and art for sale, pawed the books, and smelled the fragrant natural soaps. We
chatted with the aboriginal employees at the centre, sipped some of the best
hot chocolate we had ever tasted, and resisted the café’s menu of delightful
bush-treats like natural herbal teas, crocodile, bush-tuk chutneys, and of
course, kangaroo.
We were intrigued with Australia’s aboriginal culture prior to visiting the Brambuk
Cultural Centre. But now our interests are only further piqued, as we search
for a truth to the aboriginal history and people that lies somewhere between
road ambushes and the nomadic tribal life of days gone by.
