Nexus - 0108 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Renewing The Dreaming Guboo Ted Thomas, Aboriginal Elder of the Yuin tribe, based at Wallaga Lake in southern New South Wales - has helped hall! logging of some of his tribal lands at Mumbula Mountain and regularly takes people into the bush to get a feel for the place - often dissolving their ‘civilised’ separation from the land. NEXUS found Guboo on his eightieth birthday (Guboo means good friend) at one of his recent Dreaming Camps near Pidgeon House Mountain, inland from Ulladulla. NEXUS: How did you grow up as a child? Dolphin Dreaming time they’d throw the spear in there'd be a Guboo: Well, when I was a boy I went to silvercurl on theend and they'd pull afish up school. I only went to firstclass. AllI learned and throw it out. So that’s how we got the was how to knit, sew, crochet, cook tarts and When we’d be walking up and down fish. look after the garden. That's all theeducation the beach he'd say “Sonny, we’re gonna get And grandfather crooked his arm out T ever had from the white man. a lot of fish. Look out there!" He'd say, and the big dolphin came in and put his head It was wonderful because I learned from “We're gonna get a lot directly.” And I there and just lay there. His tail would goover my old people. They brought me up - school looked at him and I said “Oh yes.” In my and around as grandfather was talking tohim wasn’t the right place to go because I learned mind I said to myself, ‘how could he get fish, in the language. And grandfather was saying, nothing. My father was a tribal Elder from because he hasn't gotanet?’ But! daren’tsay “Chi, chi, chi, chi...”. Grandfather was talk- the Monaro tribe based in Canberra and my that to him or else he'd hit me with a stick! I ing the language and I was just standing mother is a Chinese woman. I was born in a couldn't answer him back that way. So I'd watching him. And he put his hand out and place near Braidwood. just have to keep quiet and say “Oh yes” - walked around steadily and then the dolphin Now, sometime this yearthere’s goingto | ° that’s all I'ddo. did a cartwheel on a little breaker coming in be a big meeting. A lot of the old people are So grandfather got up and starting sing- and then a somersault over it. Then he going to come back and talk in my home ing - and he was looking out to sea and out at splashed the water and said goodbye and the town. thesand dunes and walking up and down and old fella thanked him for all the fish and sang I wasn't born in a hospital; I wasn’t bom he sat down, and my dad got up - he walked a lament to the beach. in a house. I was bor in the bush with the up and down and he said, “Come on now So that was the dolphin and that’s what! miners. That’s where I was reared, with the sonny, dolphins are coming, they’re coming had to learn and how I learned what I know. old people. They took me away from other now. What stuck to me more than anything wasn’t kids. “Be way out there, You can't see them education, it was common sense. It stuck to I used to play out there with the kids, in yet but they're coming. Come on,” he said me through my life. the moming or in the afternoon, or late at “We'll go down the beach. And he’d giveme My people walked about naked all the evening. Just before the sun started to go along stick and he said “Sonny, you use that time. I loved that, I find that’s wonderful for down the old fella would come out with the now. And he gave me the stick. They had the people. We wear these clothes and we’re boomerang - what you'd call a whistler boo- spears, you know! And I looked at my stick not getting used to it, It’s like hiding our merang, and he’d throw it - TH WHSSSSSSS and I thought, ‘How can I spear with this beauty. For forty thousand years we did that - and when we heard that coming over our stick?’ ButI dared not say that or he'd hit me in the bush and we roamed about and it was heads we'd run straight inside. It was a sig- with the stick. So I said “Oh yeah?” a wonderful life. The kids would have the nal. We were in bed when the sun went down. We went down and grandfather bounced mother’s breast, and if she couldn't give it Nobody would sit there and say “Idon’t want along the surf. “Right,” he said, “Let’s stop then her sister took over. Up around seven or to go inside!” No, none of that. here”, So we did. I watched and I saw one eight they’re still on the breast. That’s why So when we were in bed he’d tell me a wave, and two waves, and three waves they’re different; and then when white man story. The old fella used to tell me a story coming in. Grandfather went and hit the came. They brought the bottle and they be- about Noah’s Ark. Now at Mount Drome- water andmade anoise; I didn’t see anything, came bottle babies and had clothes on. dary we have an Ark there on top of the rock. and then a big breaker came in and wentright Aboriginal people grew up naked and in We have everything there to show you. up the beach, and I heard this slapping noise the tribe with all those people there was no There’s the life of a people. Everything’s hitting my leg just below my knees, and it rape. And now in the days when the white there. That's our Bible, we've got it there - was fish. When the breaker went out there people are here you go a little bit naked and Noah's Ark and everything. So those places were twenty fish high and dry on the beach you can be raped. And that’s because they and those rocks are our education. It’s our and grandfather said, “Sonny use your became bottle-fed babies in the first place. learning place. It’s how the old people teach stick!” So I started whacking them with the That’s really what happens with the Aborigi- us; how they’dteachmehow tousemy mind. | stick. Twenty fish died that day. And every nes because we look at sex as a great thing if Continues Over ht + Auturmes 2939 Renewing GUBOO etrernng Guboo Ted Thomas, Aboriginal Elder of the Yuin tribe, based at Wallaga Lake in southern New South Wales - has helped hall! logging of some of his tribal lands at Mumbula Mountain and regularly takes people into the bush to get a feel for the place - often dissolving their ‘civilised’ separation from the land. NEXUS found Guboo on his eightieth birthday (Guboo means good friend) at one of his recent Dreaming Camps near Pidgeon House Mountain, inland from Ulladulla. NEXUS: How did you grow up as a child? Dolphin Dreaming time they’d throw the spear in there'd be a Guboo: Well, when I was a boy I went to silvercurl on theend and they'd pull afish up school. I only went to firstclass. AllI learned and throw it out. So that’s how we got the was how to knit, sew, crochet, cook tarts and When we’d be walking up and down fish. look after the garden. That's all theeducation the beach he'd say “Sonny, we’re gonna get And grandfather crooked his arm out T ever had from the white man. a lot of fish. Look out there!" He'd say, and the big dolphin came in and put his head It was wonderful because I learned from “We're gonna get a lot directly.” And I there and just lay there. His tail would goover my old people. They brought me up - school looked at him and I said “Oh yes.” In my and around as grandfather was talking tohim wasn’t the right place to go because I learned mind I said to myself, ‘how could he get fish, in the language. And grandfather was saying, nothing. My father was a tribal Elder from because he hasn't got anet?’ But! daren’tsay “Chi, chi, chi, chi...”. Grandfather was talk- the Monaro tribe based in Canberra and my that to him or else he'd hit me with a stick! I ing the language and I was just standing mother is a Chinese woman. I was born in a couldn't answer him back that way. So I'd watching him. And he put his hand out and place near Braidwood. just have to keep quiet and say “Oh yes” - walked around steadily and then the dolphin Now, sometime this yearthere’s goingto | ° that’s all I'ddo. did a cartwheel on a little breaker coming in be a big meeting. A lot of the old people are So grandfather got up and starting sing- and then a somersault over it. Then he going to come back and talk in my home ing - and he was looking out to sea and out at splashed the water and said goodbye and the town. thesand dunes and walking up and down and old fella thanked him for all the fish and sang I wasn’t born in a hospital; I wasn't born he sat down, and my dad got up - he walked a lament to the beach. in a house. I was bor in the bush with the up and down and he said, “Come on now So that was the dolphin and that’s what! miners. That’s where I was reared, with the sonny, dolphins are coming, they’re coming had to learn and how I learned what I know. old people. They took me away from other now. What stuck to me more than anything wasn’t kids. “Be way out there, You can't see them education, it was common sense. It stuck to I used to play out there with the kids, in yet but they're coming. Come on,” he said me through my life. the moming or in the afternoon, or late at “We'll go down the beach. And he’d giveme My people walked about naked all the evening. Just before the sun started to go along stick and he said “Sonny, you use that time. I loved that, I find that’s wonderful for down the old fella would come out with the now. And he gave me the stick. They had the people. We wear these clothes and we’re boomerang - what you'd call a whistler boo- spears, you know! And I looked at my stick not getting used to it, It’s like hiding our merang, and he’d throw it - TH WHSSSSSSS and I thought, ‘How can I spear with this beauty. For forty thousand years we did that - and when we heard that coming over our stick?’ ButI dared notsay thatorhe'd hitme in the bush and we roamcd about and it was heads we'd run straight inside. It was a sig- with the stick. So I said “Oh yeah?” a wonderful life. The kids would have the nal. We were in bed when the sun went down. We went down and grandfather bounced mother’s breast, and if she couldn't give it Nobody would sit there and say “Idon’t want along the surf. “Right,” he said, “Let’s stop then her sister took over. Up around seven or to go inside!” No, none of that. here”, So we did. I watched and I saw one eight they’re still on the breast. That’s why So when we were in bed he’d tell me a wave, and two waves, and three waves they’re different; and then when white man story. The old fella used to tell me a story coming in. Grandfather went and hit the came. They brought the bottle and they be- about Noah’s Ark. Now at Mount Drome- water andmade anoise; I didn’t see anything, came bottle babies and had clothes on. dary we have an Ark there on top of the rock. and then a big breaker came in and wentright Aboriginal people grew up naked and in We have everything there to show you. up the beach, and I heard this slapping noise the tribe with all those people there was no There’s the life of a people. Everything’s hitting my leg just below my knees, and it rape. And now in the days when the white there. That's our Bible, we've got it there - was fish. When the breaker went out there people are here you go a little bit naked and Noah's Ark and everything. So those places were twenty fish high and dry on the beach you can be raped. And that’s because they and those rocks are our education. It’s our and grandfather said, “Sonny use your became bottle-fed babies in the first place. learning place. It’s how the old people teach stick!” So I started whacking them with the That’s really what happens with the Aborigi- us; how they’dteachmehow tousemy mind. | stick. Twenty fish died that day. And every nes because we look at sex as a great thing if Continues Over Renewing The