After a few days to re-orient and re-pack after returning from the NCIA retreat in Queensland, I set off for my first weekend ministry visit for this year to Canberra, Australia’s capital. It involved the usual Spiritual Growth class on Saturday, and worship followed by a shared (potluck) lunch, on Sunday. On my way back to Woonona, I stopped at “Old Parliament House,” now a history museum.
My focus was on preparations for Australia Day, also known as Invasion Day, which was to be celebrated the following day. It marks the date of the beginning of British settlement in Australia, in 1788. In the gallery above, the first photo is of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy which is the longest running protest for First Nations land rights in the world. It started in 1972, in front of the then Parliament House, now Old Parliament House. The second photo is of a depiction in the museum of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring soil into the hands of an indigenous leader in 1975 as a promise of land rights restoration. The rose garden outside Old Parliament House in the third photo was the site of the gathering place for the annual First Nations protest planned for the following day, which is pictured in the final photo, taken by Mick Tsikas of the Australian Associated Press.
Every Thursday evening in Wollongong (the closest city to where Jon and Angela live) the indoor/outdoor Crown Street Mall holds “Eat Street” on the plaza. Thursday is the “late shopping night” in NSW, meaning shops stay open till 9pm instead of the usual 6pm. One Eat Stret evening, Jon organised an “Amazing Race” (Google it!) for a group of friends. We were divided into 3 teams, following clues up and down the food trucks, night markets and musicians on the mall. Michelle and her two girls were the winners! Evie placed the winner’s medal on her cousin.
When we got home from the Amazing Race, we had an amazing visit by a Tawny Frogmouth Owl, which is a nocturnal predator that is technically not part of the owl family. An almost daily visitor is the heron pictured below it, who preens and enjoys the sunshine on the same stretch of the garden fence.
