iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Sorry for these silly pics. I was looking thru my digital photo album, reminiscing the old times when I came across a series of photos of a car...

I was driving along as one does with a car load of Yolngu passengers when I was told to stop and look to the left. I stopped and looked to my left and saw a car. It is just an ordinary car, nothing unusual about it except for where it is! I was a bit naughty at the time and couldn't help laughing about it, once I'd been assured by Yolngu that no-one was injured in the accident. The location is the courseway between the yacht club and Ski Beach in Gove.

Hi there

Well that was a nice jump !

GGW

OK, well here's a fun pic of me looking very young - 1980, with Wandjuk Marika - a big day for me...I felt honoured meeting him but even moreso when he handed me his yirdaki to have a play !! My enthusiasm waned a little when the stench of tobacco from the mouthpiece hit me.....

Hi there

Wow Great pick ! amazing, lots of contrast in this one .keep it coming ,alway love those hats .

GGW

Love the photos.
Funny also the story about the impressions of taking Wandjuk Marika's
yidaki in hand. What an honour, even with the interesting perfume. .

cheers, Martin

By all accounts, Wandjuk was an incredible man. I'm sure you remember that experience vividly, Peter!

Hah, the hat - yep, that was one my father wore as a sugar cane cutter in 1953 in Sarina in northern Queensland. This photo was taken in Sydney - out at Kurnell (where us balanda first invaded this beautiful country)- which is why Wandjuk is wearing all that gear. It's quite a bit cooler here than up North. He was Chairman of the Aboriginal Arts Board based here in Sydney at the time and was here with a group of yolngu down to do a performance. It was a great day with a huge crowd - yes, very fond memories. I had his recording 'Wandjuk Marika in Port Moresby' - just about wore it out playing it, so when I finally got to meet him it was big deal for me. The guy was a legend - and even more so amongst his own people as many of you are aware. Must be twenty years now since he died....

I look so young in that photo and I was so closetted in my mind - all I was interested in was this culture from beyond where I lived - the usual naivity that comes with youth (and no doubt some romantic ideals of trad life...). I still have a vivid sensation of when I raised that yirdaki to my lips - there was a warmth - a dankness from his breath still lingering there (because we had both just played a duet on our respective sticks - it was surreal) with an almost unbearable smell of stale tobacco and the surface of the mouthpiece was patinated from use - just raw wood of course and very dark...maybe some fine residue from wax that had been there at some stage. I couldn't believe how fortunate I was. Damn I've been lucky with such experiences !! Still puts a smile on my face as I type this. Well, there's my ego shot for the day : )

PL.

Classic pic Bita! Thanks for sharing!

Guan

This is pretty cinematic (especially like that of Andrei Tarkovksy)

Very nice to hear this..very nice..

cheers

This is pretty cinematic (e.g Andrei Tarkovksy)

Very nice to hear this..very nice..

cheers

These are golden moment's. I guess every one here has had such special meeting with wonderful people. But some are really lucky. Well luck is not the right word. You just deserved it, other wise this meeting would not have taken place. But that's just my opinion off live. Thanks for sharing your wonder moment PL.

Peter

A few more pics of Peter Perfect as promised to Daniel,

The first photo is one of the few of me in Ramingining. In this shot I'm chatting with my "Dad" - transcribing a part of a story that he'd told me earlier.

The other two shots were taken at the opening of the Sydney Film Festival at the State Theatre - the night they launched the film 'Ten Canoes'. What a great night !!

L-R are; stars Francis Djulibing & Richard Birrinbirrin and Belinda Scott of Bula'bula' Arts in Ramingining, http://www.bulabula-arts.com/ and moi in 'city mode'. The third shot has Rolf De Heer (Director), in it at far left.

Thankyou Peter.

That is a great hat!

You've done some pretty interesting stuff. Did you meet Rolf as well?

Dan

Daniel ! That's no hat - that's my bald patch !

I know, you mean my dad's hat - yeah, a bit hot in that clime I'd reckon. It's one of those leather ones- I prefer a lightweight felt one - which is a good way of reducing feral rabbits as well !

Nope, didn't really "meet" Rolf - I'm not in the habit of introducing myself to people - I've always felt very awkward about that. I'm nervous about speaking to people of note, much better when you don't know who they are. I could have though as I was hanging out with my friends from Ramo and at one stage we were all in the lift together in the hotel across the road from the Theatre. I felt he was looking sort of sideways at me, wondering who the heck I was I think, but none of us said anything - which is fine by me. He's quite tall you know...and seems like a pretty nice bloke. Certainly I like what he did with Ten Canoes. I haven't seen his latest as yet - Dr Plonk, but I will...

Heh, lots of people have done fascinating and interesting things and I'm sure most of the folk on this forum have really amazing lives. If you're lucky to live long enough you can have the chance to do all sorts of fun and interesting things - just don't start your run too late young man !!! Everyone has a story (or two) Dan.

Good advise Peter Thats why I wanted to study the course... I don't want so spend the next forty years working to no purpose!

Sitting here, reading and writing, I get the feeling that everyone knows everyone when it comes to Australia, which is why I asked about Rolf de Heer. While I know you're a biologist, you've also done Manikay.com and so on. You know Guan Lim, and I think you and I spoke on the phone once when I was in Oz last year! The older I get (31 now) I see things as more and more holistic. When I was a bit younger my dad chucked a Les Hiatt film my way. Nice thing is - Guan knows of him [Les], and though this site and serious sticks, I can say that I have chatted to Guan. Symmetry!

Proudly I am starting to rack up stories of my own, but my trouble is getting them on paper! I have tried lots of different ways of telling stories and none of them are easy. I am currently fiddling with a wiki site to see if that will get the juices flowing, but nothing beats hard graft in all honesty.

You're right though.

Ps. I am reading a very funny book at the moment called Happiness(TM) by a canadian author called I forget what, all about a guy who sells the world's best 'selfhelp' book and the outcomes. I am not sure why it sprung to mind quite - all the talk of holisticism perhaps and carpeing the diem, but it is a hoot.

Thanks again, Peter.

Dan