Old Balgo

Today Brother Lou, Brother Marty, Sister Alice and some local ladies Helen and Imelda took Alejandro and myself out to Old Balgo. Unfortunately Henry was sick and stayed home instead; karma for always picking on me I believe! It was a bumpy drive out and one I had done with Brother Michael a few weeks back, this time being easier as the tracks were dryer and passable. Old Balgo, or Old Balgo Mission was the second site for the Balgo Kukatja people to live on, the first being closer to Mulan and the third the current community we live in today. The community was run by the Nuns and it was during the years where the children were removed from their parents and families and placed in dormitories; however while the children slept in stone cottages their parents were never far away sleeping in tents. The buildings we viewed today were only part of the old community. Brother Marty was saying that the boys dorms and the places where the elders slept were about a kilometer away due to the strong belief in keeping boys and girls segregated at all times.

Around the early sixties, water around Old Balgo began to become less and less and the people became very sick, dying in large numbers. It was decided to relocate to another settlement about 30kms away where water was plentiful and the weather was not as harsh. The people therefore abandoned their homes and trekked to what they now refer to as Balgo Hills, so named because of the abundance of hills and plateaus around. I have here with me a beautiful Dreamtime story about Luurnpa, the Magical Kingfisher that saved the ancestors of the current Kukatja people and will share it with you because it really does explain a lot. I wish I could show you the pictures as well because the children illustrated the book and it’s really super cute!

Luurnpa, the Magical Kingfisher

A Dreaming Narrative belonging to Bai Bai Napangarti

In the Dreaming, Luurnpa, the magical kingfisher was living on his country in a high cave. The cave, or Pirnki was on the eastern side of a place called The Pound.

For a very long time a large group of Kukatja people had being living nearby.

They had plenty to eat and drink.

But then came a drought. The rock holes ran out of water. So did the soaks.

The people became very, very thirsty. Their mouths became dry. Their bodies became weak.

All around, the people were shaking with thirst. They cried, and sang out for Luurnpa, the magical kingfisher to come and save them.

They thought they were going to die. Poor things!!

Just as they were about to give up, Luurnpa flew down.

‘If you come with me, I’ll show you where to find the special water in my magic rock hole’.

Using his beak, Luurnpa picked up the dying people one by one and placed them carefully on his back.

Then he flew off with all the people on his back, to the special water in his magic rock hole and the people drank from it.

They drank big mouthfuls of water until they were no longer thirsty and they became strong.

The people stayed there on that land.

Those people were the first Kukatja people, our ancestors.

Today we are still here, on the same land.

And this is why Luurnpa, the magical kingfisher, will always be a special bird for us.

I absolutely love this story. The kids all know it and often when they see a bird, they’ll point and say to me, ‘Look, a Luurnpa bird!’ This is why the school is named Luurnpa Catholic School because of the significance of the Luurnpa bird to the people.

Old Balgo was absolutely fascinating! We saw the remains of the Church, the convent, the girls dorms, the bakery and part of the hospital. It is amazing to think how isolated these people were. Sure, people would say that those in Balgo today are isolated, but back in the Old Balgo times horses were used to get around, there was no air con or heating and running water was non-existent. It really was a different way of living, and for me it would be difficult but for the people, that’s what they enjoyed. They thrived off knowing they were using their land to survive and acknowledged the fact that when they had no more water, it was time to find a new home. For me, that’s a beautiful thing and I love how the people here love and care for their land.

The Bakery

Part of the old Church

The girls dorms and the Convent

The doorway of the girls dorms looking through to the school

The chapel of the Convent

The School

Part of the hospital

The dorms

Every time I go out on a bush trip, Cathy Lee tells me a new Dreaming story which I love. She told me that the hills around The Pound were formed because the Emu used to be teased by the other birds because it only laid a few eggs at a time. One day the Emu got really angry and stole all the birds’ eggs and hid them around The Pound. Over time they became a part of the land and formed into the large hills that dot the area. With that said though, I don’t like the fact that the majority of stories are about payback however I understand that this is important to the people; if one is wronged retribution must be sought.

So many people have asked me how I survive as a teenage girl in Balgo, without all the personal luxuries of home. It’s a question that has sort of made me wonder a bit as well and one I have discussed with some others to better understand. Myself and Lane, a lovely lady whose kids I look after in the afternoons after school, were talking about how we’re examples to the community. Lane told me that some people come here and don’t shower, get haircuts, shave, wax or use any form of toiletries to ‘fit in with the locals’. It’s both something we agreed kind of defeated the purpose of being here. The local people have been the target of countless programs to improve their personal hygiene and by having white people come in and accept the fact that not looking after one’s self is ok kind of defeats the point. Therefore, I always endeavor to make myself look clean and tidy because even though I live in the desert in the middle of no-where, I show others I respect them by making myself look respectful. It’s kind of hard to explain but it’s important to me to do that. I do take advantage of things like dinner at the Brothers and Mass to get out of my grungy clothes and into something a little bit more lady like. I also do things like straighten my hair and paint my nails every now and again, not to look good but to make myself feel a little bit like a woman again, which is hard when you’re living with two boys in Balgo. Here there is no need to be fashionable or wearing the latest clothes but for yourself, you’ll wear something nice every now and again just for a change. I hope that explains it all a bit!

School breaks up on Tuesday for two weeks. Woooo holidays J after Easter we’re hopefully going to go into Broome for a week with Brother Rick so I’m really looking forward to that. Everyone is sort of exhausted after such a long term; twelve weeks is FAR too long! We’re lucky because we skipped the first half of term so have only been here for six weeks which is good because we’re not feeling it like everyone else. But still, it will be good to catch up on the R’R for a few days.

Anthony left for a two week holiday in Melbourne on Friday and he lent the boys his playstation which has turned out to be the worst thing in the world! The boys did not get off the couch yesterday and I cleaned the house pretty much by myself because every time I’d ask them to do something, they’d say ‘Yeah, next round, promise!’ Yeah nah guys. It was quicker to just do it myself!! But it was good when they awoke from their FIFA induced coma to discover I’d washed their sheets, vacuumed, mopped, dusted, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen and rounded up all their balls and placed them in the ball pit. I won’t be cooking dinner for a while!

Oh, and I totally forgot to put this picture up!! Last week in Primary C computing we had to draw a picture on paint of our house. I drew my home back in High Wycombe!