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Just back from...

Fiji, singing at

community events.

Next up...

Perth, singing at

charity events.

Rather than places

unknown, the singer

and actor dreams of a

tropical homecoming.

Jessica

Mauboy

Travelling has always been about family.

Every Christmas the tradition was for all

of us – Mum, Dad and the five girls – to

travel to Dad’s hometown of Kupang in

West Timor. I was very young, but I have

the most vivid memories of getting on the

plane for the first time, eating fried

chicken from a little tray, using those wet

paper towels. And then the heat when we

landed, and the colours of the fish market

and the noise of the vegetable market.

Those memories are hard-wired.

I grew up in Darwin,and my family still

lives there. My first driving trip was from

Darwin to Alice Springs when I was

a kid. I was scrolling through my iPod

and I became obsessed with a song

by Yothu Yindi called “World Turning”.

I’ve been looking for you, Searching for

something new, You keep my feet on the

ground, As you make my world turn around...

It felt like those lyrics were a mirror of

my conversation with the land – they

seemed to resonate with the long drive,

the colours, the landscape. It made me

feel really alive and proud and almost

patriotic. It represented what I love

about this country. I was smiling the

whole trip! I was only young, but I knew

that moment would make me hear more

and travel more.

These days I mostly travel alone,and

for work. I do a lot of writing on the

road – I think it gives me the freedom

to think. I like to scribble, so I always

take a notebook and pen, and I store

ideas and voice recordings on a simple

digital recorder.

For long trips I make playlists.

I listen to a bit of everything, but I do

love my ’90s music. I also like the poetry

of rap. I’ve been listening to Kendrick

Lamar. He’s quite political. I like his

stories about where he grew up and

people’s struggles.

When I think of freedom,I think of playing

Billie Carter in [the television drama

series]The Secret Daughter. Developing

and playing a character so different from

me was a real getaway – she’s a part-time

country-pub singer, a bit wild, a bit rough

around the edges, rolling with whatever

life throws her. She’s great fun.

If I had the chance to escapeanywhere

in the world, I’d go back to Darwin. It’s

an entirely different kind of life. I’d go

fishing, find mud crabs, catch barramundi,

and then I’d put them on the table for the

family, have a good laugh and tell stories.

And I’d walk – I’d let my feet take me

through the tropical bush.●

Jessica Mauboy’s latest album,The Secret

Daughter Season Two (Songs From The

Original 7 Series), is out now on Sony.

TRAVELLING WITH

How I travel

GOURMET TRAVELLER 33

INTERVIEW HELEN ANDERSON. PHOTOGRAPHY PETER BREW-BEVAN