Yulleroo
“Thank you, love you, God bless you” is faithfully cried out amongst the makeshift camp as cars and road trains cruise by and Toot-Toot in support of the anti-fracking campaign out at Yulleroo. If a Toot-Toot isn’t heard, it’s also clear… “FRACK OFF”!
The Frack Free Kimberly Community is lead by Yawuru elder Micklo Corpus who has, for the past month, camped inside the gate of the recently claimed Native Title Land on the Roebuck Plains 70kms out of Broome…and he is not leaving anytime soon. Dedicated to the cause of Country, Corpus will remain there until Country is safe from the proven devastating effects of fracturing the land for coal seam gas.
I entered the camp Saturday afternoon with arms held out in appreciation and a warm [44 degree] welcoming to Country which was proceeded by Corpus’s insightful explanation of fracking and the potential effects it will have on Broome drinking water, artesian ground water, native flora and fauna and of course the significance of the land for our nations First Peoples. Slowly others started to arrive and we made our way to the main road where photographer Damien Kelly took a photo of us amongst the banners dedicated to non-violent protest as part of the Global Frackdown on October the 11th [http://www.globalfrackdown.org]. Others continued to arrive and when night fell an outdoor cinema appeared on the side of a truck informing and encouraging us all on other self-funded projects against huge multi-national mining corporations.
The following day we all headed off to view the old, new and proposed fracking sites. As we were educated about this menacing threat, Val, also Yawuru, showed us the range of plants; their uses and importance, and the endangered Bilby burrows. This was a wonderful juxtaposition helping support the critical importance of this landscape.
After brunch, cooked in 44 degree heat by Micklo’s dedicated wife Jeanie, we all yarned and yarned about the good the bad and the hilarious, with the ever faithful “Thank you, love you, God bless you” or “FRACK OFF” by Shirley Anne, as many Toot-Toots were…or were not heard.
By mid afternoon everybody had left except for Micklo, Shirley Anne and me. Yarning continued as Micklo shared the story of what he is fighting for… and it’s more than Country…it’s also a call back to Country from those who are sadly forgetting their roots. He tells the story about his daughter’s youthful distractions of thumping ‘vibrations’ and how he slowly turned them down to reveal the importance of Country in practical ways. She continues today with respect to Country in mind and practice. Micklo’s own story has been no easy road and understands where it’s all going wrong. ‘Children look at their mums and dads to see what it means to be a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’ and what they often receive is not the right way. They need to return to the circle of Country, Culture and Community’.
By some miracle a sun shower appeared followed by violent winds and a storm that caused havoc with the camp tarps but, thankfully, no major damage. It was however a chance for us to dance in the rain and enjoy its ever-changing beauty and strength of this land.
I won’t forget this weekend in the bush - the frontline of our war zone. It has however made me think how lucky we are that no guns are involved. If this were the front line in South America or Africa, my weekend away would be a very different story. Maybe we still have a little bit of the Lucky Country still in us after all.
The Frack Free Kimberly Community is lead by Yawuru elder Micklo Corpus who has, for the past month, camped inside the gate of the recently claimed Native Title Land on the Roebuck Plains 70kms out of Broome…and he is not leaving anytime soon. Dedicated to the cause of Country, Corpus will remain there until Country is safe from the proven devastating effects of fracturing the land for coal seam gas.
I entered the camp Saturday afternoon with arms held out in appreciation and a warm [44 degree] welcoming to Country which was proceeded by Corpus’s insightful explanation of fracking and the potential effects it will have on Broome drinking water, artesian ground water, native flora and fauna and of course the significance of the land for our nations First Peoples. Slowly others started to arrive and we made our way to the main road where photographer Damien Kelly took a photo of us amongst the banners dedicated to non-violent protest as part of the Global Frackdown on October the 11th [http://www.globalfrackdown.org]. Others continued to arrive and when night fell an outdoor cinema appeared on the side of a truck informing and encouraging us all on other self-funded projects against huge multi-national mining corporations.
The following day we all headed off to view the old, new and proposed fracking sites. As we were educated about this menacing threat, Val, also Yawuru, showed us the range of plants; their uses and importance, and the endangered Bilby burrows. This was a wonderful juxtaposition helping support the critical importance of this landscape.
After brunch, cooked in 44 degree heat by Micklo’s dedicated wife Jeanie, we all yarned and yarned about the good the bad and the hilarious, with the ever faithful “Thank you, love you, God bless you” or “FRACK OFF” by Shirley Anne, as many Toot-Toots were…or were not heard.
By mid afternoon everybody had left except for Micklo, Shirley Anne and me. Yarning continued as Micklo shared the story of what he is fighting for… and it’s more than Country…it’s also a call back to Country from those who are sadly forgetting their roots. He tells the story about his daughter’s youthful distractions of thumping ‘vibrations’ and how he slowly turned them down to reveal the importance of Country in practical ways. She continues today with respect to Country in mind and practice. Micklo’s own story has been no easy road and understands where it’s all going wrong. ‘Children look at their mums and dads to see what it means to be a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’ and what they often receive is not the right way. They need to return to the circle of Country, Culture and Community’.
By some miracle a sun shower appeared followed by violent winds and a storm that caused havoc with the camp tarps but, thankfully, no major damage. It was however a chance for us to dance in the rain and enjoy its ever-changing beauty and strength of this land.
I won’t forget this weekend in the bush - the frontline of our war zone. It has however made me think how lucky we are that no guns are involved. If this were the front line in South America or Africa, my weekend away would be a very different story. Maybe we still have a little bit of the Lucky Country still in us after all.