Canberra, the Bush Capitol

Canberra CBD from Lake Burley Griffin

As part of the orientation for this program, we were given a lengthy tour of Canberra, Australia's capitol city.  The tour was led by Ralph, an American ex-pat and local naturalist (and whose research in floodplain ecology found him working with Tim Fletcher, one of my collaborators at University of Melbourne), and Dave, an aboriginal and indigenous archaeologist.  We were also accompanied by Matilda House, an aboriginal activist and head elder in the ACT region (Australian Capital Territory, akin to DC) with roots to the tribal groups that originally settled the surrounding areas.  Our first stop on the tour was the top of Mt. Ainsley which forms a backdrop for Canberra and the view from atop gives a great overview of the area.  Matilda offered us an official welcome to the lands of her peoples and informed us that despite the naming of places and settlement by white people, these lands were meant for all to share and respect and subsequent city planners had done much to muck them up!

Canberra from atop Mt. Ainsley

That point really set the stage for the day as we quickly learned that the relationship of indigenous peoples and white settlers is very much not fully reconciled and remains a source of ongoing evolution to this day.  Recognition of native peoples took far too long in this country (1967), and before then they had been considered in terms of governance as part of the flora and fauna.  While we have our own civil rights' issues back home and I would never purport myself to understand things in a foreign land with full comprehension, this struck me as a very tenuous subject that neither those of the government nor those of the peoples felt was where it needed to be.  It is difficult to rectify ownership, belonging, and the clash between commercialism and ecology when you have two groups of differing interests and ties to culture and the land.  I hope to learn more about this topic while I am here.

Close up of yellow ochre source, of which I have a piece to bring home!

Our next stop was Red Hill (or Gubur Dhaura as known to indigenous peoples), an ancient source for ochre that is still used today for traditional ceremonies.  Ochre is a natural pigment source, akin to rusted rock, that ranges from deep red to yellow to white even.  It is a very important source for body paint used in aboriginal ceremonies and cultural traditions, and this site was used many thousands of years ago for just this purpose.  It has been preserved as a park with signage and paths in the midst of a dense suburb, and Dave and Matilda had actually been out just recently to harvest some ochre for use in a ceremony that they held.  The fact that this ancient site is still in use today amidst the modernity surrounding it kind of blew me away, as did the fact that Dave allowed me to take a small rock-sized piece of ochre home with me.  To hold it in your hand and think that ancient peoples came here to harvest that exact same rock for use in their ceremonial traditions is pretty impressive!

A depiction of different ochres spanning Australia and related to different tribal groups' interpretations of the past and their relationship to their surrounding that they refer to as their "dreaming". 

From there we traveled south of the city, crossing the Murrumbidgee River (the second longest in Australia and draining to the Murray River, the longest) to the Tinbidbilla Nature Reserve.  This beautiful place reminded me of Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains but with kangaroos and emus!  It really was beautiful and we were able to see MANY kangaroo (which actually become background after a bit there were so many!) as well as swamp wallabies, emus, and koalas (though in an enclosure area enjoying the presence of a heat lamp!).

Kangaroos from the bus. We encountered some at much closer range but I didn't want to swarm them with the rest of the group as I am sure I will encounter more during my trip in more peaceful settings.

Koala huddle under a heat lamp (it's winter here); the upper left one is holding a baby!

Swamp wallaby, distant relative of the kangaroo.

We also took a short hike to a site called Hanging Rock, a large hill-top granite rock used by aboriginal peoples as shelters in bad weather.  Dave explained to us that each tribe had associated traditional sources for water, food, shelter, etc. and part of the teaching for each member of the tribe was to know these and respect them.  In this area, one of the main food sources was the annual presence of a large local moth that would congregate on the underside of these rock shelters in great numbers during the summer months.  Local peoples had a big harvest and would grind these fatty moths into a paste that he has been told was nutty and sweet.  Different tribes in the area would come together for this moth paste harvest and at the end everyone left with distended bellies and a golden glow due to the high oil content!  I honestly wish I could try it!

Hanging Rock, ancient shelter site and moth gathering spot

The end of this day concluded at the Shine Dome, one of the Australian Academy of Sciences' buildings (known locally as the Martian Embassy), where we heard a lecture from a member of last years' cohort who extended his research again this year through an Australian-sourced scholarship, as well as a local researcher who has sequenced the DNA of several of Australia's most well-known animals to try to fill in the evolutionary gap between genetic ancestors worldwide.  Australia became genetically isolated from the evolution of other global species due to tectonic drift after the breaking up of the Pangea super-continent, and thus holds very interesting information in genetic history.  This long day ended with traditional Australian barbecue, which is not as we know it but merely the use of a grill, and steaks and sausages ended it just right!

Shine on, you crazy Dome