In the past week I've begun to enjoy being in Brisbane more; I feel more relaxed into the pace of things, while simultaneously making efforts to keep myself busy with fun and interesting activities. Our plans to travel north to Cairns and later to Darwin are coming together nicely, which is making me excited and lifting my spirits. It looks as though we have one more week in Brisbane before setting off for our next adventure, and it feels like just enough time to see everything I'd like to see.
Chris and I had a lovely weekend last week; we started our Saturday with a visit to a French bakery for coffee and fresh sandwiches, and then gleefully discovered the New Farm Confectionery chocolate shop over the road. In the afternoon we hired some kayaks with our friend Leo and spent a lovely hour and a half firstly cruising downstream and enjoying the fabulous waterfront city views, and then working hard to get back to base against the current, which took three times as long as the downward journey! On Sunday we took a bus to the D'Aguilar Range National Park, which is not far out of the city but is an incredibly peaceful place to spend a Sunday afternoon. We went for a lake-side walk through the woods and visited the park's small wildlife centre, where we saw their resident platypus as well as kangaroos, wombats and wallabies. No matter how long I spend in Australia I never get tired of admiring their fantastic wildlife!
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| Furry friends at the wildlife centre, D'Aguilar Ranges |
On Monday I spent another day volunteering for Conservation Volunteers Australia, and was admittedly quite disappointed to find we were appointed to the same exposed wasteland I had worked on the previous week, rather than some nice bushlands as I had hoped. Nonetheless it was good to see the progress of the plants we'd helped to install, which were battling against the poor soil and dry climate. It was a smaller team this time and we all chatted a bit more than last time. Most of the team are retiree-aged Aussies, and it was interesting to hear some of their perspectives, especially when they talked about their memories of the Vietnam War; all seemed to have a cousin or brother who had been called up, and those who didn't succeed in getting out of military service all came back as changed men, they said. Some believed themselves to have been contaminated by Agent Orange. I hadn't had much contact with Australians of this age group before and it was really interesting to hear their perspectives. They were all really friendly towards me and asked me about the UK and my experiences in Australia.
Another good experience this week has been a visit to an exhibition focused on the nuclear age, called 10 Minutes to Midnight and displayed at one of the Queensland University of Technology campuses in the suburbs. Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the exhibition explored the little-known nuclear testing conducted by British scientists on Australian soil between 1952 and 1967. Two powerful multimedia films presented in a 'surround projection arena' explored the nuclear testing and its impacts on the British workers involved and on the local Pitjantjatjara Anangu people, who suffered displacement, illness, premature death and degraded environments due to the bombings and their aftermaths. There was also a series covering the life and work of Avon Hudson, a whistle-blower who publicly revealed what had been taking place at the Maralinga and Emu Field sites in South Australia and went on to campaign against nuclear weapons. Finally, a piece by Japanese artist and third-generation atomic survivor Yukiyo Kawana was exhibited in the centre of the room. Named 'Little Boy' after the bomb dropped over Hiroshima in August 1945, the sculpture was a representation of the bomb made from kimono silk and sewn together with strands of the artist's hair, which carries DNA imprints of the atomic blast. As it swung gently in the darkened room under spotlights, the hairs reflected in the light and the sheets of silk billowed slightly, some imprinted with flower motifs, others with dark stains on. It was really powerful in the way the artist brought life into something so destructive, demonstrating the horrifying human impact of the bombing and its lasting intergenerational legacies. In the hour I spent at the exhibition I was the only person present; I left feeling that it was something that more people should see.
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| Little Boy by Yukiyo Kawana |
On Friday night Chris and I walked down to the Brisbane Powerhouse, a venue I'd visited a few times before in New Farm Park on the banks of the river. The former power station has been reclaimed as an arts and cultural hub, keeping much of the original infrastructure untouched (including the graffiti'd walls of a once-abandoned building). We went to see the opening night of the World Press Photo competition 2015; although we couldn't enjoy the free drinks and nibbles reserved for invitees only, we enjoyed the live music, the wonderful building and of course the fantastic exhibition. Many of the photos were greatly confronting- indeed, as the organisers stated during the formalities, this should always be the aim of photojournalism.
So it has been an interesting and educational week. I am looking forward to a nice weekend and another week of exploring Brisbane before we embark on an adventurous three-week trip that will conclude my time in Australia. Already nearly at the end!
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