“WALTZING Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
you’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me.”
The tune from the show plays in my head long after the production ends and I subconsciously continue humming the delightful melody on the way up the escalator to lunch at Restaurant 1128.
Although I’ve watched this delightful Waradah Australian Centre production several years back, I couldn’t resist the temptation of watching it again after the friendly B&B owner in Leura told me about the recent improvements to its storyline.
Making the trip to this scenic part of the Blue Mountains and visiting The Lookout at Echo Point for the second time in four years has been a good decision as the show didn’t disappoint. Unlike the earlier version, this exciting new performance encompasses, for the first time, some of the stories from white Australian history.
Traditionally, the performances have concentrated only on the indigenous part of the Australian story. These new additions, unveiled in September last year, now give visitors a more comprehensive picture that incorporates both Aboriginal and white history.
Great southern land
Tucking into my slow braised Angus beef brisket, the story of Australia — the Great Southern Land slowly comes to life once again in my mind. Starting with the traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony, the show was a delightful combination of dancing, singing and live acting. Other key indigenous tales retained from the previous production included explanations involving the origins of the didgeridoo, Aboriginal dancing and the dreamtime legend of the Three Sisters.
This updated version then went on to relate important events that took place in Australia after Captain Cook’s historic voyage to the southeastern coast of Australia on April 19, 1770. Among the significant events retold in this segment were crossing the Mountains, the Gold Rush, Banjo Paterson’s writing of Waltzing Matilda, World War One, the Depression, building the Harbour Bridge and post-WWII migration.
The 30-minute live theatre-styled performance was accompanied by the latest multimedia software and hardware, which projected related images onto three strategically positioned screens. In addition, a selection of programmable languages enhanced the experience of foreign visitors who formed a sizeable proportion of the audience.
In the end, everyone present gave the 10 performers, all of whom Blue Mountain locals, a long standing ovation. It was a thoroughly enjoyable presentation made even more memorable with full period costume.
After finishing the last spoonful of my ice cream trio with macadamia shortbread dessert, I head back downstairs to the Waradah Australian Centre Art Gallery located directly opposite the theatre. There, I meet with marketing and gallery manager, Bonnie Dastyari.
Story of aboriginal art
The story of Aboriginal art and its relevance to parts of the performance I watched earlier slowly start to unravel as Dastyari walks me through the many colourful artistic work on display at the gallery. “Aboriginal culture dates back as far back as 80,000 years during the time when the first settlements were established here in Australia. Today, rock art dating back more than 20,000 years can still be seen in various parts of this country,” explains Dastyari while gesturing towards several images depicting early artwork.
Through Dastyari, I learn that the Aboriginal people used artistic symbols and icons in their artwork to convey their important cultural stories through the generations as they didn’t have any written language. Over time, this form of expression became a chronicle to convey knowledge of the land, stories of cultural significance and beliefs of the people.
The Aboriginal people realised the importance of passing on information to preserve their culture. The interpretations of the iconography, however, differ depending on the audience. When told to children, it takes on a simpler form that highlights the educational and behavioural aspects. The young ones are taught right from wrong and the consequences of good and bad behaviour.
The same stories, however would be interpreted on a very different and higher level form when teaching adults. “Interestingly, these same patterns and symbols can also mean different things to different Aboriginal groups from various regions of the country,” elaborates Dastyari as she shows me a map highlighting the divergent tribe locations in Australia.
At the heart of Aboriginal art and culture is the Creation Law which sets down the Dreaming, which provides the identity for these ancient people and their association or link to the land. Dreamtime is the translation of how the Aboriginal people understand the creation of time and it’s widely depicted in various art form.
Materials, especially colours, used for Aboriginal art were originally obtained from the local landscape. Ochre or iron clay pigments were used to produce colours such as white, yellow and red while charcoal yielded black.
When quizzed about the liberal use of dots in many paintings featured in the gallery, Dastyari explains that many people believe that speckled art came into existence after the arrival of the white men. Afraid that their sacred, private knowledge would become known to outsiders, Australian Aboriginals used the dots to obscure secret symbols and iconography underneath their creations.
First on modern media
Acknowledging that the Aboriginal people have been using ochres as body paint, and on tree bark and rocks for tens of thousands of years, Dastyari shares that it wasn’t until the 1930s that the first paintings on modern media were carried out.
These 20th century expressions were not done in ochre or dot art but in watercolour at the Hermannsburg Aboriginal Mission beside the Finke River near Alice Springs. The works primarily illustrated the desert landscapes of the Northern Territory. The first exhibition was held in Adelaide by one the most famous pioneering Aboriginal watercolour painters, Albert Namatjira in 1937.
Namatjira’s work received rave reviews and opened the eyes of the public to the richness of Aboriginal art. More importantly though, the show also brought about a revival of the Aboriginal culture in many ways as well as knocking down barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding on the part of non-Aboriginal Australians and westerners.
After the Second World War, an art and craft centre was founded at Ernabella mission, an establishment co-funded by the Presbyterian Church and the South Australian Government. Soon after, similar training institutions began to proliferate all over the country.
Despite Dastyari’s elaborate explanation regarding the popularity of watercolour among early Aboriginal painters, I’m left feeling rather perplexed as artwork featuring this specific type of artistic expression is far and few between in the gallery.
Art on canvas
When informed of this observation, Dastyari explains: “Up until the early 1970s, artists mainly used watercolours. The artwork on canvas and board we see around us today commenced merely 50 years ago.”
It all began in 1971 when school teacher Geoffrey Bardon noticed Aboriginal men in Papunya, near Alice Springs, drawing symbols in the sand while telling stories and singing songs. Bardon, who was working with Aboriginal children at that time, encouraged the men to paint their stories onto canvas and board.
“That was the start of the famous Aboriginal art movement. It was a major leap forward for the indigenous people as they began painting their stories onto western facades in a big way. Since then, Australian Aboriginal art has been identified as the most exciting contemporary art form of the 20th century!” quips Dastyari, her voice quivering with pride.
I continue listening in awe when Dastyari explains that despite having the necessary skills, Aboriginal artists weren’t allowed to paint stories that do not belong to them through family. The rights to these stories have to be inherited through generations within certain indigenous groups.
As a result, most contemporary art are community-specific. They distinctly differ in character and style depending on the origin and language spoken by the artist. At the same time, clues provided by different colour choices help to distinguish the style used by different communities living within the same geographical region.
“For example, the Papunya Tula artist cooperative, established in 1972 as part of the western desert art movement, uses mainly soft earth colours whilst many other communities within the same desert area opt for stronger primary colours,” elaborates Dastyari.
In spite of the many glaring differences, Dastyari notes a very popular style that transcends many Aboriginal groups throughout Australia. In this aerial view technique, indigenous artists imagine themselves hovering high in the sky, observing both the natural and metaphysical forms and markings of the landscape.
The natural ability to achieve these bird’s eye views isn’t surprising as the Australian Aboriginals have been hunter gatherers for tens of thousands of years. Their skills to read the topography closely for signs of life while tracking animals are second to none. Some artists even go as far as incorporating important knowledge like locations of water sources and hunting trails into their work.
Towards the end of the gallery, several colourful works of art prompts Dastyari to highlight the prominent participation of Aboriginal women artists in the 1980s, whose preference for a wider range of modern colours resulted in brighter, more attractive and higher priced paintings.
In May 2007, Emily Kame Kngwarreye stunned the art world when her work, Earth’s Creation, became the first piece of indigenous art sold for more than A$1 million (RM2.9 million). Two months later, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri’s acclaimed work Warlugulong changed hands at a stratospheric A$2.4 million price.
Other art forms
Before taking my leave, I decide to spend some time browsing through some interesting Aboriginal handicraft at the Waradah Australian Centre retail store. Some of the items catch my eyes, particularly the hand-painted emu eggs and intricately-decorated didgeridoo. The latter immediately calls to mind the instrument featured in the show earlier in the day that sounds very much like a ship’s foghorn albeit with milder notes.
Legend has it that a long, long time ago, so long ago it happened in dreamtime, a group of ancestors went on a hunting trip and during the night one of them noticed that a branch he was about to toss into the campfire was infested with termites.
The ancestor respected the ants and, instead of tossing them into the fire, pointed the stick towards the heavens and blew gently to remove the insects. The ants flew out of the stick and up into the heavens to become twinkling stars. At the same time, a most wonderful and unique noise was produced. It was the sound of the first didgeridoo!
Walking back to my car, I muse to myself that it is such stories of deep knowledge, spiritual and practical survival teachings that have made the Australian Aboriginal culture the most successful and certainly the longest surviving in human history.
Together with the rich art form witnessed today, it has helped to strengthen relationships between the people living in the continent and provided this amazing group of people with a place of respect, standing and greater confidence.
For details, contact the Waradah Australian Centre at www.waradah.com.au