Bright blue skies without a cloud to be seen today, and a top of 27
degrees! Now we feel like we’re
north! I spent a little bit of time
watching the dog show after scratching Kitty from proceedings this morning, and
then we headed out to have a bit of a look around Tennant Creek. Being “Show Day” all the stores closed at
12.00pm – well - with the exception of the two hotels and the bottle
shops. Everything was locked up tight
behind bars and roller doors so the entire town looked deserted. Hordes of locals made their way on foot to
the show.
Police were stationed at each of the hotels and the bottle shops. Given today’s holiday, evidently even more
restrictions are put on the purchase of alcohol and on Saturdays the local
Aboriginal clientele can purchase spirits but only one bottle of wine per
person (apparently the preferred option for most). The police at the door took the names of
every person entering the store and monitored the purchases. It seems the visitors to town (as well as I
suspect the white locals) don’t have to live by the same rules.
We’ve talked at length at night about the perceptions we had of what we’ve
heard about the Aboriginal population, and even before we traveled north,
having watched Imparja TV and seeing the advertisements directed at the
Aboriginal community – including Alcohol and Family Violence education, “Wash
Your Hands”, “Blow Your Nose”, “Send Your Kids To School” and “Don’t Sleep On
The Road” adverts (yes every one of those are on tv regularly) and at the time
we questioned why there was a need for such advertising. It’s not until you see first-hand that you
can comprehend what the local community sees on a day to day basis. I have also said to Shane often since we
ventured north of Port Augusta that I can’t comprehend the lack of self-regulation
or self-control of so many individuals that leads to such desperate measures to
keep everyone safe. A person who hasn’t
seen how things are may deem it all to be quite racist, but I have a much
better sense of understanding of the overall picture and a deep sense of
sadness that there is absolutely no quick fix.
We headed out north to Lake Mary Ann which was a quite surprising oasis
and then did a bit of a tour of some of the back streets of town before heading
back to camp and taking a wander around the show ourselves. A very cheeky young showbag sales girl won a sale from us for her excellent sales approach! And who can't resist Fairy Floss at the show.... I will say though it's the first time I have ever seen a van selling Chinese Food at a show. I have a hard time agreeing to buy anything out of a bain marie at the best of times - but Chinese food in 27 degree heat from a dodgey show vendor was never going to be an option for this little chook.
Again, I was struck by the absolute lack of
care with rubbish strewn everywhere you looked and even within a few metres of
a large skip bin – it seemed very few could be bothered taking a few steps to
drop their rubbish in a bin and just dropped or left it on the ground. As we walked back to camp, I noticed a
government truck with a crew of workers who were waiting – I’m guessing the
cleanup crew as the show apparently finishes at 5.00pm every year – that in
itself is a statement given most P&A shows run into the night with
fireworks displays and night entertainment.
Evidently not in Tennant Creek.
Got to love the novelty toys in a showbag!
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