BIG WATER - The legend of Lake Eyre

[Neville Briggs]

You've got to have " eyes to see " Ross.

One of the artists in that expedition gave up because all he could find was dreary flat landscape and featureless water.

Tim Storrier did what Glenny has urged us to do with our poetry. he dreamed, he imagined.

I guess Maureen is trying to do the same ( although I must admit I am not much interested in aboriginal legends )

What do you think Maureen ?

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[croc]

The lake was named in honour of Edward John Eyre, who was the first European to view it in 1840.... so...Lake Eyre is not an Australian name... at all... and Eddie Eyre was probably a bloody pom. The pioneer poms shagged this country well and truly, not one of them knew what they were doing, and they did what they did with gay abandon. The NT still to this day suffers for their inherent stupidity, and I for one would like to see all pommy names changed to Aboriginal names, cut the Union Jack out of the corner of the flag and put the Aboriginal flag in there... sack the Queen, stick a bloody good president in Canberra... Tony Abbot might be ok, do away with all the bloody state rules and regs and make Australia for the Australians. And... Ayers Rock was named after a pom as well

...croc

[william williams]

In reply to Croc and with no disrespect to some others

The aboriginal culture was great for this country that was until white man came and stuffed it up and I mean both physically and mentally with their greed and stupidity.

Instead they never worked with the land nor headed it's warnings but charged on Willy Nilly regardless of the cost.

Even today regardless of cost they charge in regardless of what is best for this country,("idiots they are and still chasing thier ego's")

Changing name does not change a thing only their ego ("swollen head imbeciles they are").

We ruined a way of life and exploited it, and now we try to buy those people's lives.

Ross knows those people for what they once were, until our way of life destroyed theirs, but no we will never learn.

Their dreamtime stories are far more realistic and may have more truth in them than our distorted stories.


BILL WILLIAMS The Old Battler

[r.magnay]

Struth croc, bit grumpy this morning mate?... well I s'pose that if Lake Eyre is not Australian, and Ayers Rock is not Australian....then Australia is not Australian either!... ...or I'm not Australian nor was my Dad, his Dad and his Dad......so what does that make us? Aboriginal?...good, as an Australian aborigine I vote we leave the bloody names as they are!...just as an aside, the people renaming these places aren't Aboriginal either!....hey croc, have a good...whatever break mate!...

PS Yeah Neville that is the one in the airport in Alice!

[Neville Briggs]

PS Yeah Neville that is the one in the airport in Alice!

Beatiful isn't it Ross. very desert spiritual. I think Maureen was aiming for the same feeling.

There's a challenge for you Ross, to do a poem after that painting, on the spirit of the desert landscape.

[r.magnay]

We are currently trying to get the house ready for sale, get the contracts cleared away and getting things packed up to move....(the shed has been a bit less daunting than I thought,) after all that I will have a look at that Neville!...

[Bob Pacey]

If you can not find beauty in nature then why make something so artificial ????


Not my cup of tea I'm afraid Nev.


Croc History is history so we should just leave it at that, we cannot go back and change it and I'm quite happy to see some of our significant structures have two names.

Bob

[Neville Briggs]

Aren't poems artificial Bob ? Art is the first three letters of artificial.

[Maureen K Clifford]

Didn't mind that painting Nev but tend to agree with Bob's thoughts. When we have so much beauty in this country to paint this seemed a little spurious, but we are all different and see through different eyes and what appeals to one will never appeal to another, I can appreciate it for what it is - love the colours captured and the sky. It doesn't look out of place but doesn't quite fit the mould either.

I just love the Aboriginal legends - there really is a frog that stores water then buries itself in the mud for years until the drought breaks when it reappears again, so to weave a story around a fact as a way of teaching the children seems perfectly acceptable to me, and I have been passing these stories onto my own great nieces and nephew as they are old enough now to enjoy hearing a story. After all European children have grown up over the generations hearing Grimm's Fairy Tales - surely our own legends are equally meritorious.

[Maureen K Clifford]

Thank you croc We are in sync

Cheers

Maureen