A Tour of Balgo!

An expression the kids always use to describe pain that they are experiencing at any particular point is this; it’s paining! Well, it’s paining me to realize that I haven’t really had a blog post as of yet that would act as a photographic tour of Balgo.  I cannot believe that it has taken five months for me to finally bring one to you but today is your lucky day because one is finally here! I am so happy and proud to be a part of this little Kimberley community, even if it is just for the year and because it is so hard to describe how amazing everything is, a whole bunch of photos will show you what I see every day. Even though many of you are thousands of kilometers away, welcome to Balgo!

We’ll begin with our humble little home. I’ve given a video tour of the inside before, but never even shown you the outside! Here it is! We’re in Unit 13, the largest unit in the building with two smaller ones on the left hand side. Gerry lives towards the front and Sister Alice at the back. Even though the dividing wall feels paper thin, they have never complained about our late night Karaoke sessions or the constant barrage of music at any time during the day. Gerry has said that he can hear our shower water running through the taps and occasionally we’ll hear what sounds like Sister Alice moving furniture but that’s about it! It’s hard to imagine living in such close quarters to two other people and hearing very little of how they are living their lives at any given point in time. Our house is in the Top Camp of Balgo and faces West (I know that because the afternoon sun shines right in our kitchen window!), also facing the oval and basketball courts which is handy to see how much activity is happening at any given point in time. The gate is never locked; there is a padlock and chain but no-one has a key and we only really keep it closed to keep the dogs out, and the washing line is large enough for our massive weekly washing loads but was never a success during the wet season. Without an undercover string, there were a lot of undies hanging off chairs inside for a while! Luckily however with weather warming up exceptionally quick, one does not need to worry about the re-wetting of freshly washed clothes.

House 13

Our fire pit (made by Henry) and our washing line

Showing the whole building

We live next to Boystown, a La Sallian run organization that works to provide skills for young men around the community. It does a lot of building and work needed but in a manner that encourages those who aren’t in school or are unemployed to maintain a job while learning things that can be used in the workforce. Brother Lou does a lot of the hands on stuff in Boystown while Allan and Michael, assisted by Rhonda organize work, community events and things needed around the area. When we did our La Sallian star earlier in the year, Boystown beat us to it so we ended up having two La Sallian stars in Balgo which is quite a feat considering there is only about 450 people around! Angel the dog is kind of linked to Boystown (nobody really knows her story, she’s just around!) and the gates are painted the manner they are because the guy’s convinced Brother Lou Hawthorn colours were best. Personally, I just like the fluro yellow!

Boystown

The gate

Here we have the school; the place I spend the majority of my conscious time. I’ve already given you a tour inside as well but just a few fun facts. Word on the street is that the sign outside of the school, Luurnpa Kuurla doesn’t actually mean what it is said to mean. Henry told me once that there is no Kukutja word for school, so one was made up! The sign supposedly says Luurnpa School, but with a brand new and thought up word. Kind of cool really! Another thing I discovered recently is the meaning of the words on the school shirts. According to the ever so smart students of Primary C, Nintirrlkuwala Tjitjukurla means ‘A place of learning for children’. That’s quite lovely!

These are the Brother’s houses. Brother Marty and Michael live in one and Brother Lou, Brother Rick and for the time being Anthony live in the other. The boys find the best part of each house is the fact that the rugby is always on, thanks to a strong passion amongst most of the Brothers for the sport and Foxtel. On Friday night we all went over to Marty and Michael’s for our weekly dinner, which involved pre-dinner rugby viewing. The Brothers like Rugby League better and knowing that understanding rugby was my only way into the proceeding dinner conversation, sat and attempted to take things in. Brother Rick looked at me and said ‘Steph, you’re a delightful young lady for attempting to watch Rugby League. I responded with ‘Well, I thought I better try and understand it before the Rugby World Cup seeing as that’s all the guys will be watching’. Brother Rick just stared at me blankly and then laughed, telling me that it was a completely different game. Ah, rightio. So close, yet so far!

Those strange looking pole things? They are beacons for passing planes. Balgo is built under a flight path for planes going mainly from Perth, Melbourne and Sydney to Singapore and Malaysia. I can imagine that those on the planes passing above must look down expecting nothing to be there. Sure, they probably can’t even see Balgo but we’re down here!

This is the Balgo Police Station. Along with the tip, it’s a bit out of town but is the first thing you see when you come in to the community. I’ve heard a few people tell me that they’ve either been breathalyzed or had their cars searched for alcohol just outside so I suppose it’s in a convenient place. Just through the gate is the Balgo Cricket Ground, the place where the famous Balgo Test and 20/20 matches took place during the summer. There are usually two or three police people manning the station at any point in time, most of who are called Matt. We have one permanent Matt cop and two temps by the same name which is kind of strange. There is also Officer James who is also a regular.

The cool Troupie cop car, and what we call the BCG - Balgo Cricket Ground

This road is the Balgo turnoff and is 31kms long. The end takes one to the Tanami and they can turn left for Halls Creek, Broome, Kununurra or anything else in between and right for Alice Springs. The signs that dot the last kilometers before the sealed Balgo roads were painted by community artists.

A wise warning

The Balgo Tip. A wise woman by the name of Sophie once said that despite the piles of half burnt rubbish and scattered stuff everywhere, it was kind of beautiful. However this was said at sunset so I suppose the light may have given the area a nice, serene look. This is where all the rubbish of Balgo ends up. Rubbish runs occur on Tuesday and Thursdays and a big truck comes and gets all the bins on the roadways and takes them here. Alternatively when this system fails, the guys borrow the Parish ute and take the bins out themselves. They also enjoy bringing out baseball bats and smashing whatever they can find. Sounds therapeutic!

The little tip

The Tip road back to Balgo

The car didn't quite make it to the hole.

The Tip!

My lovely feetprints in the red dirt

Back in the centre of Balgo. Practically right in the middle are the oval and basketball courts. They have a lot of community events here, mainly sport related but also use the area as a kind of meeting place when the Law is spoken or gatherings are required. The kids love the courts and the keen basketballers they are spend hours playing, often until late at night or even very early in the morning. I was walking home yesterday and spied a kid actually sitting in the ring of the basketball hoop, just kind of chilling and watching everyone. I have NO idea how they got up there but it was quite a sight!

This mound of dirt is good for so many things. Sitting on and watching the stars or lightning, running up or as the kids have discovered, sliding down on a big table. I watched Benji and Cassius have a lot of fun today and wished I could join in, but knew I'd be going home with A LOT of gravel rash if I did.

Sliding down

It's not a tour of Balgo without a picture of Jellybean! I always thought she liked me so wasn't too worried about getting up close and personal to her. Turns out I'm not one of her besties and she came for me!! I was SO scared but luckily she just sort of ran past, gave me an evil glare and kept going. My heart was absolutley racing but now I know, humans and camels can not be friends!

She found some lovely green grass. Cute

I think I took a photo as she was coming at me. Smart move Steph, smart move!

This is the Trade Training Centre. It is brand new and is acting as a kind of TAFE for members of the community, offering various certificates and trade skills. Gerry, our neighbor is the manager and has dealt with one building problem after another with this complex. Fortunately, it’s very near completion and ready for an official opening sometime soon. This is the opening that we’re hoping Peter Garrett is a part of!

Here is the clinic. It looks small from the outside but is quite spacious inside and set out like an ED. My favourite part about the clinic is the troupie ambulance. It’s a troupe carrier that has been especially designed for use in the desert during times of medical emergencies. It has everything that’s needed inside and even flashing lights!! The clinic is located in Bottom Camp.

So we have troupie police cars and troupie ambulances!

Not too far from the clinic is the Wirrimanu Corporation office. This is where Centrelink is located, community mail gets sorted, the CEO and Youth Workers are based and children are entertained during the holidays thanks to a little room with a big TV. It’s quite staggering the effort that goes into running a community like Balgo. The few times I have been in the offices, a flurry of activity is always present and everyone looks like they are working at a million miles.

The shop is right next to the office. The big area around the entrance is where the discos used to take place until the lights to the basketball courts were fixed. There are a few rules to the shop. Firstly, no dogs or children are allowed inside. Secondly, the shop will not open until it receives a call from the Youth Worker who has received a call from the school stating that enough students are there. This is a good way of forcing people in the community to get the kids to school. The shop is run by a business called Outback Supermarkets or something along those lines and just changed hands. Barb and Pete worked there for 18 months and have been placed in another community in the Northern Territory south of Katherine. The new people, who I haven’t been properly introduced to yet, are very happy that they’re back in Balgo as they perceive this community to be their home.

Just down past the shop and towards the Yagga Yagga road is the Art Gallery. It is noticed all over Australia as an exceptional Aboriginal gallery and most tourists do not pass through Balgo without buying a painting, or two. The Balgo artists are noted also for the use of acrillic paint instead of the more traditional ochre used in other places like Kununurra and even Billilurna. Artists like Helicopter, Fatima Lulu and even Cathy’s parents are flown to places like Melbourne and Sydney to be present at displays of their work. I’d take you inside but cameras are not allowed and I’m not too keen on getting banned before I actually see a painting that really catches my eye. I have seen one already but it’s WAY out of my price range.

The art centre

The signs before the Yagga Yagga road

Such a lovely painting!

The Balgo water tower. I always thought it looked too small to hold all the water needed by the community and thought it was just there for show. After a rather embarrassing conversation with Brother Rick where I was made out to be an absolute idiot, I realised it actually does hold the water of Balgo! It’s quite a sight and one of the first things you can see when one drives in from the Tanami.

Did you know that a water tower holds water!!

This is where the evil dogs live. Those dogs that I cannot walk past without getting absolutely freaked out by, even with a stick and/or rock in my hands for defense. They almost came at me today! Great day with animals, really fantastic!

Here is the absolutely beautiful Balgo church. I just adore the stonework, the steeple and even the bells that get rung half an hour before mass begins. It’s just as lovely on the inside, decorated with all sorts of paintings of religious significance that are all locally created. On nice summer nights where the threat of rain is non-existent mass is sometimes held outside however on more than once occasion Jellybean has made an appearance and made a fool of herself. That’s awkward! The church makes me feel like I could be absolutely anywhere in Australia; it’s surrounded by life with green grass, flowers and two very large frangipani trees dotting the entrance. A photo of just the church would make one think they are anywhere except the desert! The abundance of life is maintained by a constantly running tap and a lot of sprinkler time. Too much water in the Kimberley, remember?

Just behind the church is the Parish house. This is where Father John lives along with Vin and Judy. It also has four rooms that it uses almost as hotel rooms and they get rented out to visitors or passing tourists. The best part about the Parish house is not the massive entertaining room or beautiful kitchen, but the drinking fountain with fresh rainwater. SO GOOD! 

Our house is right next to this place. It used to be an old convent however was found to have some serious amounts of asbestos in it. It’s been like that for quite some time now however we’ve been told the Brome diocese is paying to have all the asbestos removed from it safely and have it rebuilt. Not too sure how that will go but we’ll see. The kids believe that Featherfoot, or the devil lives in it but that hasn’t stopped them breaking in more than once, the worst time a few months ago when they started beating it up causing potentially dangerous fibers to fly everywhere. We were yelling at them while holding our breaths, quite a challenge I’ll say that much!

So that’s Balgo! I hope you have enjoyed this tour, but please come up and see for yourself just how awesome it really is!