2007 June | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Monthly Archives: June 2007

Photo Tour Of Sydney Harbour

Published June 2, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

As I walked to and from the Sydney Writer’s Festival yesterday I took lots of photos so I thought I’d just share a few:

The promenade along Sydney harbour is always full of people strolling, enjoying the ever-present sunshine and street performers (called 'buskers' here), festivals, and food

Old wharf building converted for performing arts, conventions, restaurants and retail use

North Sydney, as seen from the foot of the Harbour Bridge, with its waterfront amusement park

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Posted in Australia travel |

Tagged Around The World, Australia, buskers, Free Spirit, Harbour Bridge, Opera House, photos, Sydney, The Rocks, Travel, Writer's Festival |

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40 Years After The Referendum

Published June 2, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

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According to anthropologists, the Aborigines have inhabited Australia for between 40,000 and 60,000 years. Yet today it is common to hear white Australians refer to themselves as having descended from the “first settlers.” Unfortunately, the indigenous population of Australia has been abused, neglected, terrorized, and denied basic human rights since the days these “first settlers” arrived. It was only in a 1967 referendum, when 90% of the nation voted to make all Aborigines citizens of Australia and give them the right to vote, that this began to slowly change.

I learned all this at the Sydney Writer’s Festival where, on the 40th anniversary of the referendum, a panel of Aboriginal writers, statesmen, and community leaders reflected upon the things that have changed and the things that have not changed since the legislation was passed into law. One woman recalled the eve of the referendum as her family tried to grasp the fact that they were now full citizens of the country that their ancestors had inhabited for eons. They were awed and elated until the next morning, when her mother walked into the grocery store and, as usual, was followed around by clerks to ensure she stole nothing and made to exit through the rear door, as the front door was for whites only. Their night of elation quickly turned to sorrow as they realized that, although the law had changed, people’s attitudes hadn’t, and in reality nothing had really changed at all.

Others spoke of times when Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their homes, put into government schools, forced to learn English and punished for speaking their native language. To keep them from running away they were told that their parents were dead, or that their parents didn’t want them. Now, 40 years later, some things Continue reading →

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Tagged Aboriginal, Aborigines, Aden Ridgeway, Around The World, Australia, meaningful life, Sydney, Thoughts, Travel |

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Semi-Off The Tourist Track In Sydney, Australia

Published June 1, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

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No sooner had my feet hit the ground in Sydney on Friday morning than my friend, Jane Walker, whisked me off to the Sydney Writer’s Festival. This is the third largest Writer’s Festival in the world, after Wales and Edinborough. Jane was attending to hear her friend, Claire Scobie, give a presentation about her recently published book, “Last Seen in Lhasa: The True Story of an Extraordinary Friendship in Modern Tibet.” This book relates the story of Claire’s seven journeys to Pemako, Tibet, where the myth of Shangri-La was born. Initially she went in search of a rare red lily. She never found the lily but she met Ani, a Tibetan nun who is a member of a vanishing sect that conducts their religious practice as wandering nomads, living in bone-chilling caves with only the clothes on their backs and a few meager possessions. Over the years, Ani risked arrest and persecution to maintain this enduring friendship. Now Claire, having made the decision to go public with the book (and with Ani’s consent), knows she may never again be allowed back into Tibet to see this incredible woman, who has made such an impact in her life. Claire’s book is available through Amazon.com.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Full moon over Sydney Opera House

Jane knows that I am passionate about writing – especially travel writing – and knew I would want to attend as well. It was thrilling to be in the company of so many successful, published authors. Incredibly, following the afternoon session, Claire and her mate, Aden, invited Jane and I to tag along to a reception that Claire’s publisher was having for their authors. We walked from the Writer’s Festival to the reception, crossing under Sydney’s illuminated Harbour Bridge and rounding the corner for my first view of Sydney’s famous waterfront Opera House. Just beginning to peek over the white sails that comprise the roof of the Opera House was the most beautiful full moon I have ever seen. We passed through ‘The Rocks,’ the very oldest part of Sydney, where old brick Continue reading →