I’m currently in Byron Bay (Australia), sitting in a cafe and writing my article for my tour blog. This city, which is known as an artist and musician city, is located on the east coast of Australia. You can see musicians here and there on the street or bands playing in the bars, so I would have expected a bit more life. But I think it’s still nice here and therefore I can not complain. This is my third time in Australia, but for the first time I am traveling along the Gold Coast.
In this blog I would like to incorporate a strange story, which I experienced in this country some years ago during my music tour 2013/14.
Some facts first
Australia, a continent that began to break away from the supercontinent Pangea about 200-230 million years ago. The Australian continent now moves at a speed of 73 mm per year to the northeast. In relation to millions of years of geological history, the western population discovered Australia only a short time ago. Spanish sailors reached the shores in the 16th and 17th centuries and went ashore. In 1770, Captain James Cook reached the east coast of Australia and formally took possession of the land as New South Wales for the British crown. The British government was looking for ways to set up colonies for their prisoners. On January 26, 1788, therefore, met the first eleven ships of the First Fleet with about 1,000 women and men, including a good three quarters prisoners. In total, about 162,000 convicts were brought to Australia. With the convicts came also diseases, 1789 died more than 50% of the Darug (tribe of the Aborigines) from a smallpox epidemic. The spread of settlers on the continent has led to increased conflict with Aboriginal people for access to land and food sources. Henry Reynolds estimates that 3,000 settlers and 20,000 Aboriginal people died in violent clashes and massacres.
In Australia, there was a debate about the evaluation and influence that European colonization had on Aboriginal people, it is known as History Wars. The original inhabitants of the Australian continent, the dark-skinned Aborigines, were therefore completely ousted by the immigrants. Today they represent a minority, their population share is only about 2.5 percent. (Source: www.wikipedia.org)
With the emergence of nearly all known rocks, Australia has a unique flora and fauna and particularly well-adapted indigenous people who are able to survive in the most inhospitable conditions. The Aboriginal people know how to survive in extremely hot temperatures and barren vegetation. The holiest place of the Aborigines is the Uluru / colonial name Ayers Rock. (Source: www.skr.de)
The real flag of Australia is the flag of the Aborigines, in which three special symbols are combined in the flag: the starry sky (black), the sun (yellow) and the red earth, maybe the Uluru or the blood (red). (Source: www.steinaura.at) The symbols of the Aboriginal flag show that these aborigines have a special spiritual connection to nature and the cosmos.
My first strange contact with the natives
What I noticed during this stay in Australia was that I have not seen any Aborigines so far. For example, a few years ago, I was in Darwin (Northern Territory), where I also played on the streets, and I immediately met some Aboriginal people. My contact with the indigenous peoples of Australia was very exciting for me then, as I did not know that some of these aborigines still live so simply and unadaptedly to the western civilization. For me, it was particularly exciting that the Aborigines were totally attracted by the music. They were always around me and sometimes they sang along.
The strange thing, and I was rather shocked, was that many Aborigines were completely drunk and behaving like crazy. It was not like Westerners were drunk. The behavior of the noisy Aborigines was almost alarming. I do not want to make a bad joke here, but the animal behavior of the drunken aborigines in the context of the city name Darwin, made me think.
Social disadvantages
What was even more shocking for me this evening, was an experience that has remained in my head until today. As I said, I played with the guitar in the street and around me some funny Aborigines. Then the police came with a very strange vehicle. A vehicle with a large cargo area where a steel cage was installed. The police have locked the Aborigines like animals in the cage in front of my eyes and drove away with them. I was confused. It was very strange and I thought that could not be true. Later, I talked to someone about this incident and was told that it was normal. The Aborigines are regularly transported from the city of Darwin and delivered in the desert. No idea if that’s true, but this explanation seemed plausible to me. Apparently, the Aborigines came (or come) regularly after a few days back to the city, get drunk again and the circle starts again.
At the time, I heard a story by an Australian with whom I talked about the social disadvantages of the Aborigines. He said that some time ago all Aborigines would have gotten a home and a monthly salary. According to his stories, the Aborigines had their houses lit and the money they spent mainly for alcohol and cigarettes. The social problem is not easy to understand and in my opinion very difficult to solve. I have found parallels with the North American Indians, these have now become a minority and failed due to alcohol or to the Western culture and their diseases. I would like to end this social-demographic dilemma with it, but it is my concern to briefly record my experiences here.
Surfers Paradise
To the music: Well, I actually play in public places every day. So nothing new. People ask every five minutes if I can play a certain song. Nothing new. Then I play the song and the people are happy. I’ve visited Brisbane, Byron Bay, Southport and Surfers Paradise so far. I liked the city Surfers Paradise the most. The flair, the cool people with their surfboards, inspired me a lot. What I noticed especially positively was the police. So far I have not even been asked for a license and not even warned, although I often play early in the morning (when the bars lock up). But I had no problems in Hong Kong as well.
On the street you always meet special people. In such resorts as Surfers Paradise, there are of course very rich people and at the same time you meet very poor people on the street. Recently I met a girl, she was only in her twenties, lived on the street and had no home. She told me that she grew up in a youth home and was always alone. Her parents were involved in the drug business when she was born. She told me that her father is dead and her mother is probably in jail. She sang some songs and I was touched by her voice and her emotional expression. She impressed me a lot because she looked very positively into the future. She has told of her past, what she has seen and experienced, but I do not want to describe these personal experiences here. But I think if you had to endure such bad things in your childhood then you have to you stay positive, otherwise you will die. I believe in some justice in life and I am very sure that this girl will have a better future. Her will for a better life was felt strongly. It will not be easy for her, but she did not have it easy. Still, I think she has already learned a lot in her short life and she may be more viable than other young people. Her time will come and I wish her the best for her future.
From injustice to fate, but that’s the world we live in. We have to keep a positive view of our existence! I’ll be on the Greyhound bus to Sydney soon … „have to rock the show“…