In the past year since travel opened up for Australians Robert and I have taken several journeys at home and overseas. While I posted many photos of these adventures on Facebook I want to leave a more permanent record of some of our adventures. This challenge provides me with opportunities to share my photos and stories while recording some personal history.
I plan to share photos and stories from our travels between April 2022 and March 2023. My theme this year is In Anno Itinerantur.
I believe that my 3x Great-Grandmother, Biddy Sergeant, was a woman of the Kamilaroi nation. My heritage has fuelled my interest in First Nations people and history.
During the past year I was fortunate to visit several sites that provide insight into First Nations History.
At Willow Tree, a small town in Kamilaroi country in north western New South Wales there is a display devoted to the Kamilaroi. I had my camera in hand when we made a stop there. The display is set on the highway in a park near the railway station and pub. It has several interpretative signboards and a winding path with several sections showing aboriginal symbols.
On our Coral Expeditions cruise through the Kimberley region in remote North Western Australia we visited sites of significance to First Nations peoples. Of particular interest were the rock paintings we were able to view.
The first site visited was on Jar Island in Vansittart Bay where the Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) Aboriginal rock paintings are estimated to be up to 20,000 years old. We were pleased that we were in the company of a guide who could find and point out the images for us.
At the site on Bigge Island or Wuuyuru in the land of the Wunambal people we saw several clear paintings in caves. These included depictions of Wandjina figures and tales of first contact between Aboriginal society and other peoples.
