Monday, July 9, 2012

The coast where the sun goes down and the Lurujarri Dreaming Trail


From Minyirr to Minarriny



The Trail follows part of a traditional Aboriginal song cycle originated from Bugarregarre or the Dreaming. Dreamtime Beings set patterns or laws for all their creations to follow. These patterns are encoded in the song cycle and ceremoniously passed on from one generation to the next.

The Goolarabooloo people, who belong to this area, continue to sing these songs and maintain Law and Culture of the land.

The Goolarabooloo people established the Lurujarri Dreaming Trail to teach others about the song cycle and their culture.
This years trail, Woodside working off shore James Price Point

The same camping places are used as have been for millennia, the same reefs fished. The midden in the dunes are thick with shards of past feeds, spear heads, charcoal flints and grinding stones, and testify to how long this Law and Culture has been going on. 

The Lurrujarri Dreaming Trail follows a distance of about 82km from Minyirr to Minarriny. In 1987, Paddy Roe initiated the Lurujarri Heritage Trail as a trigger to encourage the members of the Goolarabooloo community to be walking the Country again, as had always been done; to conserve; renew and stay connected with their heritage and traditional skills and to keep the same alive for generations to come. He also sought to wake up non-Aboriginal people to a relationship with the land; to foster trust; friendship and empathy between the indigenous community and the wider Australian and International communities.


The Lurujarri Trail follows the land of the traditional Song Cycle. The same camping places are used as have been used for millennia, the same reefs fished. The middens in the dunes are thick with shards of past feed, spear heads, charcoal flint and grinding stones, and testify to how long the Law and Culture has been going on.

The dunes are laced with the bones of the old people who have lived here, fished, sung to the Country, and painted up in its ochres to dance. They have been buried where they passed on, and left to rest in the older camps, that are now left in peace out of respect.

For over 28 years we have been teaching people from all over the world on the Lurujarri Trail. This years Trail was no different with over 70 people participating in this annual nine days trail which concluded on Sunday.

For more beautiful photos on this year Trail go to:

9 comments:

  1. Congratulations to the walkers and whale watchers for their great efforts,and Richard for holding up these fools in court.After all when will they admit they have made a huge mistake selecting this site for their doomed plan.

    Every day there is more damning news for their outdated LNG dreams.

    NO WONDER COLEMAN WANTS TO LOOK OVERSEAS FOR GROWTH.THEY WILL NOT ADMIT IT BUT VOELTE HAS REALLY SCREWED THINGS UP - BIG TIME.

    Unable to even find gas for the Pluto expansion,and the cost of more trains through the roof,Coleman must be wondering what he did wrong to wind up at Woodside.


    "AS a rule of thumb, the probability of a deepwater oil and gas exploration well hitting a discovery in a frontier petroleum region is about 20 per cent.

    But offshore Tanzania and Mozambique in the past two years, there have been 24 discoveries from just 27 wells."

    "As with the threat of US gas exports, the East African projects will not threaten existing Australian projects, which have long-term supply contracts with oil-linked pricing, but they could threaten the profitability of expansions and greenfield projects such as the Browse LNG project planned for James Price Point."

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/east-africa-emerges-as-potential-competitor-for-australias-lng-exports/story-e6frg9ef-1226422932318

    And Colon Barnett,oh I don't even want to think how big the bill will be for his pigheaded dictatorship!
    Our Grandkids will still be paying this one off.


    "THERE were fresh warnings yesterday that Australia's once-in-a-generation terms of trade numbers produced by the mining boom have peaked and the nation needs to prepare for a long period of slow global economic growth, placing big pressure on the commonwealth budget.

    The alarm bells are sounded by former BHP chairman Don Argus writing exclusively today in The Australian and separately yesterday in a speech by senior Treasury official David Gruen at a time when data from China has underlined that Australia's economic luck could be about to turn."

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/boom-wasted-as-long-global-go-slow-looms/story-e6frg926-1226422929561

    So all the corruption and shonky deals haven't paid off,in fact things could get dire for Woodside and Barnett.Bring on the royal commission.

    Yep,bet they wish they were African dictators.

    "July 10 (LNGJ) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp. promoted Robert D. Lawler, formerly Vice President of Operations, to be Senior Vice President for International and Deepwater Operations. He will also join the Executive Committee of the company whose projects include a six-Train LNG venture in Mozambique."

    http://www.lngjournal.com/lng/

    ReplyDelete
  2. And oh I almost forgot,check this out!
    They've been drilling off here,NW Australia, for over 30 years,and since 2010 off East Africa,and this is eyecatching!

    MOZAMBIQUE OVERTAKES AUSTRALIA IN TERMS OF FEED GAS FOR LNG PROJECTS.

    "Mozambique has now overtaken Australia in terms of its offshore feed-gas reserves for LNG projects. Exploration in the Rovuma Basin has been led by companies like Anadarko Petroleum..."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Expect a lot more of this:

    Qld mums say CSG is making children sick


    QUEENSLAND Health Minister Lawrence Springborg has been accused of playing down health concerns linked to coal seam gas (CSG).

    Debbie Orr, a pregnant mother of five, says at least 19 families living in an estate near Tara, west of Brisbane, are suffering nose bleeds, sore eyes, nausea, vomiting, rashes and diarrhoea.

    There are five CSG wells inside the estate and some parents fear their children are suffering from gas exposure.
    .....
    Since moving to the estate last year, Ms Palmer said all of her children have been hit with symptoms she now believes are linked to gas exposure.

    In that time, they have made numerous visits to the local medical centre for rashes, headaches, nausea and vomiting, she said.

    But she said there were many more residents with similar symptoms who were reluctant to visit a GP

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/only-two-patients-claiming-csg-links-qld/story-fn3dxiwe-1226423209151


    Of course as far as our Minister for Tourism is concerned everything is a ok with CSG:

    Ferguson defends CSG

    The federal tourism minister has defended the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, saying putting gas wells on farms is no different to installing wind turbines.

    Martin Ferguson, who's also minister for resources and energy, has told a tourism industry breakfast the east coast of Australia is most at risk of running out of gas in the future.

    He made the comments during an address about how to balance the sometimes competing interests of the tourism and mining industries.

    Mr Ferguson said CSG companies had improved their practices and had learnt to work constructively with farmers.

    The industry understood farmers wanted a return and to be treated with respect, he said.

    "Putting a coal seam gas wellhead on a farm is no different to putting (in) a wind turbine," he told the Queensland Tourism Industry Council breakfast.

    "It represents a potential source of income and makes that farm more profitable over time."

    Mr Ferguson said Australia had some of the most stringent environment regulations in the world.

    http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Tourism-minister-defends-CSG-industry-W34MX?opendocument&src=rss

    And oh no don't say Woodscum have been cooking the books,

    East Timor has accused big international oil companies of failing to pay "possibly billions" in tax owing from their operations in waters jointly owned by the nation and Australia.

    Other companies that have current or previous assets in the zone are scrambling this afternoon to make sense of the comments, which may or may not affect the likes of Santos, Inpex, Eni, Woodside or Shell.

    Mr Pereira said an audit had found 28 instances of tax discrepancies from companies that operate in the zone, which is known as the Joint Petroleum Development Authority.

    http://www.smh.com.au/business/east-timor-seeks-billions-in-unpaid-oil-taxes-20120711-21vw4.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Shire of Exmouth is up in arms as a decission by them to ban a big oil and gas development has been overturned by the state minister.They descibed it as a slap in the face for shire councils all over Australia.The community didn't want it.The gov does."What's the point of having shire councils"they ask?

    It's never going to be over:

    New research by an Auburn University professor and other scientists suggests that the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could have significant impacts on microscopic life that might not become apparent for years.

    http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/news/state/story/Study-Gulf-oil-spill-might-have-lasting-impact/CkmCOGsP-UisjHMwCAhi1Q.cspx

    And poor old king coal is really in trouble,would not like to be trying to sell coal out of the Fitzroy valley in this climate.
    On top of gas and renewables overtaking coal in the US,now this:

    CHINA'S hunger for Australian coal is likely to wane as it moves to a more energy-efficient economy, the climate change and China expert Ross Garnaut says.

    Professor Garnaut, who led the government's review on climate change and served as an ambassador to China in the 1980s, told an economics conference in Melbourne yesterday that China's ''quite radical'' efforts to tackle climate change and an ageing workforce had shown early signs of success - leading to a potentially dramatic impact on Australia's second most important export earner, coal.

    ''Coal use [in China] has hardly increased at all despite the growth in the economy,'' Professor Garnaut said. ''That's contributing to a surplus of coal in China and internationally, and putting big downward pressure on prices with implications for Australia.''

    His comments came as a report revealed that not a single Chinese steel mill surveyed by Platts, an influential international energy and metal consultant, had a positive outlook for domestic demand and exports, potentially dampening demand for the fuel further.

    http://www.smh.com.au/business/china-coal-demand-set-to-drop-20120711-21wex.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Re the nose bleeds in the previous post:

    When ingested, arsenic attaches to human hair, skin and nails. In addition to nose bleeds, this poisonous metal causes damage to the kidneys, liver, lungs and skin. Arsenic causes cancer in humans, and very high concentrations can cause death.

    http://www.ehow.com/facts_6759529_arsenic-poisoning-nose-bleeds.html

    The fraccing post names arsenic as one of the poisons involved in fraccing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Some background to the Exmouth post:

    Exmouth Shire Council has refused to overturn a decision blocking a change of land-use at the former MG Kailis prawn processing factory south of Exmouth.

    Community consultation is due to start in the middle of next month but the proponent, MG Kailis, has used Section 76 of the Planning and Development Act 2005.

    The section allows Minister for Planning John Day to over-ride planning decisions made by local government.

    This is the first time Section 76 has been used in Western Australia since it was introduced in 2010.

    http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/regional/gascoyne/a/-/news/12995844/council-digs-in-on-change-of-land-use/

    The action by the minister was reported on the 0630 ABC Kimberley local radio news,but can't find a story of it yet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Western Australia's Planning Minister has ordered the Shire of Exmouth to begin assessing a proposed scheme amendment, which could pave the way for a marine supply base to be built.

    MG Kailis applied to the council to change the zoning of 27 hectares of land south of Exmouth to allow it to service the oil and gas sector.

    A workers' camp could also be built.

    The shire refused for a number of reasons and Kailis lodged an appeal with Planning Minister John Day.

    Mr Day has decided the proposed amendment is worthy of further consideration.

    The assessment process includes public consultation and environmental checks.

    Shire of Exmouth president Turk Shales has described the Minister's decision as a slap in the face for local government.

    He says the original decision was based on what the community wanted.

    "We can't just say we're not going to do it," he said.

    "It's a slap in the face of local government right across Australia as far as I am concerned because what's the point of having a shire council if the powers that be can go straight over the top of you and do whatever they want?

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-12/council-ordered-to-rethink-amendment-snub/4126362/?site=northwestwa&microsite=&section=news

    ReplyDelete
  8. The way things are going it would be fair to say a good many of the "dear leader's" mad plans are coming unstuck.
    The smelter in the Kimberley would have to be right up there.

    http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/world/14218663/bhp-ponders-sale-of-brazil-assets/

    Global miner BHP Billiton is reportedly investigating selling its aluminium assets in Brazil.

    Rio Tinto is in the process of offloading its aluminium assets.

    Don't like his chances of Oakajee,Point Torment,James Price Point.
    And several others likely to be delayed at least.

    Some he should be giving a priority too,like the extension of the Broome jetty,aren't getting any attention at all.

    Take the money from the JPP heavy haul road and use it for something useful.

    Idiots.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Get the sense there is a lot of power emanating from the Whale Watching Platform right now.
    All the whale maps,photos,Sea Shepard and the Eagle Rays rocking on a rock....to celebrate the Stones 50th must be.

    ReplyDelete