The Opening – part 1

It was kind of a special day in this area yesterday…

October 23 marked the opening of a new ‘learning’ centre in a local town, in a spanking new building named for a legend of the Australian bush. You may have heard of him? RM Williams.  RM was an amazing character who really LIVED life, was passionate about horses, and ADORED the bush.   He also lived in this area for part of his eventful life.

If you haven’t heard of Reginal Murray Williams, then check this link out.   I met him once.   I was 22 and a student of journalism trying to photograph and interview him* for a uni project – he was pretty cheeky (at 80-something) but had the ‘stillness’ about him that so many successful, well-lived people have.  An assuredness, an ease, a quiet confidence, that we all aspire to.  (*Oh, how I wish I knew where those negatives were!).

His legacy is way more than fabulous riding boots and glossy magazines and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. It’s also to do with an outlook and attitude towards the Australian bush, and to those who love her so. And our little town seeks to keep part of his legacy alive, through this new building and the skills and knowledge (both ‘white bush’ and indigenous) they plan to teach here.

Yesterday was a very warm day.

We endured lengthy speeches as we sweated under an yellow plastic tent  (note to ‘dignitaries’: less is more, especially when your audience is sweltering in the hot Aussie sun).

This guy’s hat was not actually on fire (with the yellow tent tinting everything underneath) but it might have been a close call!

Luckily we were rewarded for our patience with some Aboriginal dancing during the ‘blessing’.

It was quite spell-binding.**

There was an array of bush skills on display – like barking a tree trunk with an axe.  Painstaking.

This guy is an ex-bullocky and knows his bush stuff – the result was smooth and perfect…

There was whip plaiting…

And whip-cracking…

After some time, having filled up on steak burgers, dampers and fruit salad, the ‘general public’ were allowed in to check out the displays inside.

To be honest, I did get into trouble for taking photos inside the building. (Naughty,  naughty!) But then the girl who initially chastised me came back to give me the go-ahead as every second person in there flashed away like they were at a U2 concert.  It was a little crowded with pretty low light, but you get the idea…

Well-known photographer Melissa McCord had an exhibition of her work on display. She does lovely portraits and is a local girl – probably the one person who influenced me into chasing my photography dreams as a young girl. I spent a couple of days at her parents’ place when I was just 17, following her around as she shot some local identities. I still remember her some of her advice:  the equipment doesn’t matter nearly so much as the person using it.

How true.

(And yet there is that evil voice inside me: ‘But how much fun is new equipment?’ Heh.)

Violet found some interactive screens…

Great fun! Plus it momentarily stopped her leaving fingerprints on everything else...

Just before escaping the crowds, I discovered a bust of RM surveying those who were gazing upon images of him.

And I can’t help but wonder what he would have thought of all the fanfare?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-

**I have a whole series of shots this dance to be posted up shortly. I know some indigenous elders will check out my photos – please feel free to share the name of this dance and the meaning!  I will stand corrected on my terminology here –