Wedidn’thavethatmanyfamilyholidays
becausewewereprettybroke.Butbecause
welivedinoneofthemostbeautifulareas
ofthecountry(innorthernNSW),we’d
havetheseincredibleholidayseveryweek.
Christmastimewasa bigtimeforfamily.
I alwaysrememberwe’dheaduptoFingal,
oneofourmissionsonthenorthcoast.
Thatwaswhere,in1963,myfatherhad
gonetothelocalshirecouncil,alongwith
AuntyGladys,andfoughttogetFingal
handedbackas freeholdtitle.Sotheydid
a deal– 200poundsa yearuntilthe’70s- andit waspaidoff.They got their land
back – freehold title.
I travelallthetimeforwork.I liveat home
at JackyBulbinFlatinnorthernNSWand
it’sverydifficultforanyonetogetworkin
thatregion.I’mveryfortunatethatwith
theworkI do,andallmyfreelancework,
I tendtodoquitea bitoftravel to various
places around the world.I havepackingdownpat.I madea choice
whenI was 18 thatI wouldonlyeverwear
black.I’vegota coupleofwhiteshirtsand
maybegreybutmainlyblack.Soeverything
goeswitheverything.If I’montheroad
forsixweeksandI’mgoingfromArnhem
Landwhereit’s31°CtoSydneywhere
it’s 9°C at night, I take a wool wrap- inArnhemLandI cansitonit,in
SydneyI canwearit asa top.Always
takea skijacketbecauseit willbecome
virtuallynothingina suitcaseif you’ve
gotthefoldingright.Alwayshavethree
long-sleevetops,threepairsoftights,
twoshorts,sandalsandboots,andalways
carrya sarong.That’saboutit – and
undies.Theundiesinmysuitcaseactually
take up more room than anything else!
I gettoworkinnorth-eastArnhemLand
andI gototheKimberleyquiteoften.So
I’mgoingtoplaceswheremostpeople
wouldbeluckyif theygota tripina
lifetime.EverynowandthenI haveto
pinchmyself.It’sprettyamazingwhen
you’redoingyourjobintheCentral
Desertandyoulookupandthere’sthe
MacDonnell Ranges and you go, “Wow!”Oneofthethingsyounoticewhenyou
aretravellinga lotis thefood.It’squite
extraordinary.Therearerestaurants
everywherenow,reallygoodrestaurants.
Wehaveanincrediblegroupofpeople
whoruna restaurantat home,andthey
dothisthingcalledWildHarvestona
certainnight.Theygetallthelocalfood
sopeoplecanhavetastersandlearn how
the food was prepared before.Homeformeis botha physicalplace
andanemotionalconnection.WhenI was
young,I thought:“I can’twaittogetout
ofthiscountrytown,I’mnevercoming
back.”Butofcourseyoudon’treally
knowtheintangibleconnectionsthatyou
have.I wasveryfortunatethatI grewup
ina communitythattalkeda lotabout
whatthecountrymeantandwelearntthe
stories. I hope I’ve given thattomykids.I’m3000th-generationWidjabul.My
motheris third-generationAustralian.
It’sprettyamazingwhenyouwalkat home
onthefarmandyouknowthatyourgreat,
great,great,great,great,great,great,great,
forever-greatgrandmawouldhavesat
there and weaved beside that billabong.●RhodaRobertsis theheadofFirstNations
programmingfortheSydneyOperaHouse.
Herlatestcreation,thecabaretNativesGo
Wild(19-27October,TheStudio,Sydney
OperaHouse),exploresthedarksideofPT
Barnum, founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus.Justbackfrom...
Darwinforthe
NationalAboriginal
& TorresStrait
IslanderArtAwards,
theNational
IndigenousMusic
Awards,theDarwin
Festivalandthe
Darwin Art Fair.Nextup...Sydney,
thenLosAngeles,
whereI’mpitching
NativesGoWild, and
whereI’mattending
theWesternArts
Alliance conference.Rhoda
Roberts
TheIndigenousarts
leaderona work-lifespent
travellinganddowntime
connectingwithher
Widjabul homeland.
TRAVELLING WITH
How I travel
INTERVIEW MARIANNE BILKEY. PHOTOGRAPHY FAIRFAX IMAGES.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 37