Now and Then ….
The strings that the two sisters hold, are commonly carried by older women who manipulate them with their fingers into complex designs such as wildlife and lightning. Young children join in these games in discovery and fun.
A Mimi Spirit with a a spear thrower and a dilly bag, at the main gallery Ubirr. The ‘Mimi’ are tall, thin beings, living in the rocky escarpments and are generally considered harmless. It is also believed that the paintings themselves were painted by Mimi Spirits.
Of all the paints, haematite (an iron-rich rock) lasts longest. This paint soaks into the rock and as a result, the majority of old paintings that you see today are completely red.
European as viewed by the First Australians
The Thylacine (a carnivorous marsupial) once lived in the open forests here, feeding on kangeroos and wallabies. It is believed to have become extinct here 4000 years ago following the arrival of the Dingo. This painting is over 4000years old!The Dingo never reached Tasmania (separated from the mainland some 8000 years ago) hence the Thylacine or ‘Tasmanian Tiger’ survived in Tasmania until the arrival of Europeans settlers.
Strange creatures believed to be very old.
Overlooking the Nadab Plains
Wattle blooming in Kakadu (Acacia gracilenta)?
Then: the following photos were taken in 1969 on film with my Zenit Camera (bought in the USSR in 1965) at Ubirr – Kakadu Then we travelled in a combi-van on a dirt road leading from Darwin to Arnhem Land.
Mimi spirit
The main gallery and me at Ubirr in 1969 – The paintings were much sharper then however our slides taken at the time have aged like us.
The dug out canoe - Arthur (leading paddle) and Alan on the East Alligator River in 1969!
We later lashed two canoes forming a timber platform so that the four of us Arthur, Liz, Alan and myself could paddle down the river and fish for barramundi.
