Millions of years ago in Queensland an ocean covered the vast regions of the Outback plains. The Great Barrier Reef was inland by about a 500 klm and now these ancient reefs and silt beds lay buried beneath a hardened volcanic cap of a later epoch.
In the last weeks I have had opportunity to consider the art of storytelling relative to culture and it has been something of a revelation. Storytelling is close to my heart and I am most comfortable in my skin when I describe myself as a storyteller. But just what is a storyteller and are there ever stories that are not yours to tell, even though they are those that you create?
As a child I grew up with the wonderful story of the Three Sisters, they are three statuesque rock formations, which are famed around Australia. As a child I would eagerly listen to the Australian Aboriginal tale of how they came to be within legend and I searched them in wonder when the opportunity arose, eagerly looking for familiar facial forms in the rocks. It is a romantic and dramatic tale of love, desire and quest and wrapped around the three pinnacles, which sit on the edge of the escarpment at Katoomba.
They say that you should never go back, but there are some things, some places from your childhood that draw you back towards them irresistibly. At the moment The Man and I are showing one of our precious Grandies the sights of Sydney, introducing her to the joy of adventure and the wonders of the greater of the Aus. cities.
We headed out towards the mountains west of Sydney to show her something special, the area otherwise known as the Blue Mountains. They are a misty eucalypt blue at a distance from Sydney and are charming backdrop to any metropolis. Continue reading
As an Author much of my life has been plumbing the depths in research. Having always had an interest in the paranormal and supernatural, seeing it as an 3rd and 4th dimension to our lives and our world, I have always had a drive to discover more. It is a world and history that science largely ignores but which philosophy often dabbles in.
As an Aussie I was delighted to discover as a child, the realm of the Australian Spirit Creatures and that of the Underworld, often identified as the Dreaming… an area within the realm of the Dreamtime. That Australia has an Underworld comes as a shock to many despite the fact that it is the most ancient of lands. Our continent is riddled with the caverns of the Dreamtime, places etched by water, wind and volcanism such as Jenolan Caves, Undara and the vast caverns of the Oondiri Plains to name just a few.
Jan Hawkins Author 