The Greatest Journey -- Adelaide the Indigenous

The day before, in a local brochure, Isabella discovered that there was a free tour offered by the city that focussed on Adelaide's aboriginal heritage. The Adelaide area, prior to European settlement, had been the home of the Kaurna people for thousands of years. It seems that Adelaide City Council, in an effort to boost the profile of this history, that has been ignored for so long, offers free tours to whoever is interested run by a local aboriginal guide. As we hadn't had much exposure to aboriginal culture in our trip around Australia and because it sounded interesting, Isabella and I agreed to take part in the tour.

We left our hostel and made our way to Victoria Square, a large urban park in the center of Adelaide's downtown. In Victoria Square there are always 2 large flags flying, that of Australia and that of Australian aboriginals. There is also a fountain that represents the 3 rivers of Adelaide: the Torrens, the Murray and the Onkaparinga. The fountain is my favourite place in Adelaide. Its design is quite imaginative and it's such a welcome sight on a hot day. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it this time, though I have posted pictures before. At any rate, it was in Victoria Square that we met our guide.

There were actually quite a lot of us, some from Germany, Britain and Australia, as I recall. The tour guide said that this was the largest group he'd ever guided and I think there were maybe a dozen of us, maybe closer to 1.5 dozen. He explained the significance of Victoria Square and its aboriginal name. Most landmarks in Adelaide, especially civic points, have aboriginal names associated with them. It was in Victoria Square that the Australian aboriginal flag first flew.

From Victoria Square we hopped on a tram for a quick ride to Parliament and Festival Square. South Australia is known as the Festival State because of the many music festivals Adelaide hosts. Behind Parliament was built the Festival Arts Centre and Festival Square. Around Festival Square there were many works of art that represented aboriginal myths about the land. Our guide even explained how the roots of a tree were used to make boomerangs. As we all walked on we saw a large mural depicting various aboriginal themes and when asked if we could find the widgetty grub, I found it first. From there we walked to a weir on the Torrens River and our guide explained the large gatherings that used to take place on its banks many centuries ago.

While there aren't many photos and the description might not be long, this whole walk took over 2 hours. It was very interesting and informative. I must commend the City Council for coming up with the idea and funding it.

At this point Isabella and I made our way back to the car where I found I had been given a parking ticket for overstaying the time limit. I later tried to get it expunged but the people at the City Council office refused, so I paid the $22. That's right, $22. That's very cheap for a fine in the center of a major city.

We drove to the south of the city where we met our host, a very pleasant man, somewhat older than I, who worked for the government. He and I got along great especially when we both put on very thick, very stereotypical Australian accents talking about beer and the barbie. And, as it was my birthday, Isabella bought a nice chocolate cake and some steaks as well. We brought them to our host who marinaded and cooked them quite well. A small birthday party, but a great one.

The next day, I resolved to show Isabella some wildlife, suitably caged of course, and giver her a taste of that which has made the area most famous.