Whitefellas in Wugularr: The Journey to Wugularr

The end of Week 3 in our new jobs and community.

Our Saturday morning yesterday (18/2/2012) was very much a well-practiced habit. Whose turn to create breakfast in bed? Local ABC Gardening talkback on the radio with lots of discussion about unwanted vines and a non-existent wet season. All that was missing was The Age newspaper and Axel whimpering for a morning walk. (Yes, The Age is online but the older eyesight struggles with the i-phone. i-pads arrive during the next week, so a subscription may be purchased! And Axel? We have a feeling he may be whimpering for a morning walk down south in Clifton Hill. )

Is the Age weekend quiz available on-line? The competitive side to Saturday mornings is missing.

Perhaps we should skype the kids for the family quiz. I would trust one of them not to be looking at the answers but I'm not sure about the one with the beard!

Our transport hasn't been delivered yet. (Our green credo has taken a dive with the purchase of the dimpled Paj - the turbo diesel 4WD machine. Dimpled? Three days after delivery we experienced the Christmas day hail storm at Eltham. It works for golf balls so we'll see what effect it has on our fuel economy.) Fortunately our other gear arrived during the week so the afternoon was spent putting our bikes together. We unpacked our other bits and pieces, and 15 Balander Street is starting to feel more like a home. A walk around town late morning was also a step in "feeling more at home" direction with many locals now knowing us. Any kid under 15 who we didn't know was asked if they were coming to school next week. The reply...."Maybe Monday"

Now Sunday. The bikes were given a workout this morning with a ride back towards the Barunga Community. Prue's running has certainly given her added bike fitness. Whereas her riding partner's lack of running or riding left him a bit slow on the hills. A quick dip in the Waterhouse River just near home was refreshing but cautious as saltwater crocs do venture this far up during the wet. The wet actually hasn't been very wet since we arrived - not a drop. Consequently the Waterhouse River is 30 cm deep with a clear sandy bottom. Ideal for two nervous, new whitefellas in Wugularr.

Our journey to the Northern territory was inspired by the many southerners we know who have led the way for work or adventures. My father’s black and white snaps of the area from WW2 had sown a seed of traveling up here but it has taken until now to actually venture higher than Alice Springs. Our time teaching in Leh, Ladakh in 2010 was the main catalyst for a change in our teaching back home. We have been fortunate that both our Wangaratta schools allowed us 12 months leave to make decisions about the length of our stay.

A chance encounter with Jess Brown – Alice’s mate from La Trobe Uni, Bendigo, led us to contact her father’s partner, Lynette English. Lynette’s role is Principal of the Katherine Group school – a cluster of 13 campuses stretching across a NT Schools region as big as Victoria. Her enthusiasm for teaching in remote NT was enough encouragement for us to gain Teacher Registration in NT and apply for our Ocha Card to work with children here. The process occurred late in the year and the final security of “Yes – you have a job” was finalised in mid January. Two weeks later we were flying north to a three day Orientation Program in Darwin and Katherine.

House packing had several deadlines. A part of the NT enticement is a free uplift and flight. The uplift is all your needs in a new home and a car. Prue did a wonderful job to haggle this deadline to be while we were still in Wangaratta. Our other deadline was to be out so Kate and Eddie could move in. Fortunately Kate and Eddie were very patient as we were washing floors as they moved in their belongings. Axel was packed up for a year in Clifton Hill – Riley’s chick magnet has returned. Our chooks have stayed put and Kate has sourced scraps from a new venue. No more Vegemite sandwich crusts from Wangaratta West Primary School lunchboxes – its upmarket left-overs from a Wangaratta restaurant. Eggtraspecial breakfasts from now on.

The Orientation Program was a great introduction to life and work in NT. Three days of information, advice and story-telling inter-mingled with Twitter and Facebook interactions. New friendships and a challenge to make our teaching the most innovative and productive the NT has seen. The leadership team(s) at DET are very, very professional and are setting high expectations for the all employees. (Yes – perhaps some are reading this blog!)

Meeting the team at Katherine Group school (KGS) office was interesting. “Wangaratta – yes I know Wang. “ was common. Those of you who had children at Chisholm Street Primary School may remember Colleen O’Brien who was Principal after David Cummings. Colleen is now a Vice Principal at KGS and David works in leadership for DET in Alice Springs.

Finally we arrived in Wuggularr (also known as Beswick). 120 kilometres south - east of Kathernine.

Our home reminds Prue of her childhood farm house Antara with its wood floors and a long passage.

We established a small vegie garden out the back very quickly, and if the growth of weeds in the upturned patch is any indication, the plants should be very productive. The house has asbestos signs every where so it is of THAT era. Definitely no crawling around in this roof space!

The community population is approximately 500, with over 100 enrolled at school. A “new sub” – new housing subdivision has been built on higher ground after some huge floods in the late 1990’s. A part of the new sub in the well designed and resourced Wulgularr School.

. Consequently the school which was situated in the heart of the old community is now up hill on the far side of town. The school bus (and its new bus driver!) picks up students at their door each morning on an early run – for those wanting a free breakfast before school; a just before school run for those who want to sleep a little longer ; and a later run for those who want to sleep a lot longer and not actually go to school. The last run is conducted by Stanley – our male Teacher Assistant for the Senior classes. School attendance is an issue and the community is taking steps to rectify the problem.

The township has a store which is like a mini Aldi – Fruit & Veg through to TVs, fridges, toys and fishing gear. The store has a bar / club out the back which is open for two hours on two nights a week for restricted alcohol consumption. Wugularr also supports an Age Care facility, a Roper Shire Works depot, Nursery, Health Clinic and Government Administration office.

A highlight of visiting town is the Ghuunmarn Cultural Centre ( www.djilpinarts.org.au ) Follow the links on the website to read about Frankie Tango Lane. Tango recently sold a very special mago (digeridoo) to two new whitefellas in town. One of them has thin lips and will have trouble playing it, the other, Tango tells us, will become pregnant if she even looks at it!

One of the other cultural highlights of the area is the famous Walking with Spirits festival

The Malkgulumbu (Beswick Falls) is a hidden treasure on the south-west corner of Arnhem Land. It is an ancient playground for the Jawoyn people, a sacred site only open to the public once a year for a special night of sharing stories, song, dance and music.

Traditional corroboree meets contemporary arts.

2012’s date is July 28^thVery limited tickets. Australian Shakespeare Company handles ticket sales so get on to their mailing list -f you are interested.

As each school day passes by we are making stronger relationships with students and their families. Prue is the Senior Girls teacher and I provide planning release time for the other 6 teaching staff. This time includes PE, Health, Integrated projects and general support to Literacy/Numeracy learning. The school has had a high turnover of staff from 2011 with 6 out of 8 new staff including a new Principal.

Last week we helped take the Senior Girls footy team into Katherine for Week 1 of a 6 week AFL program. We won a closely contested match against our Barunga neighbours. This week will see us back in Katherine again with all the Senior students for an overnight camp. The key focus will include a SLAM music event that we hope our 2011 rock band will play at. We will also facilitate some goal setting and career pathway planning.

As you can see Katherine isn’t too far away. Two weekends ago we traveled in for the Traveling Sydney Film Festival. Great films including Africa United and a second viewing of The Hunter. Additional shorts included a wonderfully whimsical The Missing Key from Melbourne’s RMIT .

We are fortunate to have re-acquainted ourselves with an old friend, Deb Wasley. Deb lived in the Wangaratta area in the late 70’s and 80’s, and has also made the shift to teach in the Katherine region this year. Deb’s unit in Katherine has been christened the Pink Palace (it has a very pink interior) and she has kindly provided us with accommodation on two occasions already.

Great to hear about the fantastic things happening at home. The fab five have returned from walking in New Zealand. The Huts without Cattle Team have started work on the Wallace's Hut restoration. And John Brown has grown a huge tomato (via The Chronicle online!)