TRACES OF A LOST CIVILISATION ?

In  his  wide  travels  in  the Australian outback and East Timor ,  agronomist and  long-time  activist ,  Robert Wesley-Smith , of  Darwin , has  built up an impressive photographic   collection of  people, places , animal industry and agriculture , major  events, oddities  . 

 Along the way he  also  amassed  many  wonderful stories , some  of  which  will  be  run  in  this  blog .  

The photos  displayed  here  were   taken   at  Hall's Creek ,Western Australia , in  the  early  l970s , looking  like  the  ruins of  an ancient   African  settlement. 

It  is  the  remains of the old  town hall , built  from  mud  bricks . 

The man in the above photo  is Bobby Widitburu , from  Bulla , on  Auverge  Station,  a stockman who had worked for a member of  the  Durack family . He  had approached Wesley-Smith for help to  obtain  an  Aboriginal  land  rights  claim  over  Bulla ,knowing  he had been involved in the historic  Northern Territory Wattie Creek  land  claim by the  Gurindjis . 

On two occasions , Rob was confronted  by an angry station manager who called him a Commo bastard and threatened to shoot him. On the last occasion, Bobby Widitburu  stepped forward  and grabbed  the   gun . This , says  Wesley-Smith, was  an extraordinary event   in  which  the  all  powerful "boss" had  been  confronted, disarmed.  

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In the above interior view ,appearing to show a fireplace and mantelpiece, are Robert's wife, Jan, her stepfather and mother  from  Adelaide , and  Bobby. 

A Darwin art  teacher , Jan  drew  the name  Bulla on a piece of  cardboard  to  declare   the  land  claim . She  is  pictured below  with  the  first  Gurindji girls   to  attend   Kormilda  College in  Darwin , where  Robert  coached  several soccer  teams.

During his connection with Kormilda, back in the l970s , he met a trainee who became Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann,AM,a teacher, artist, writer, public speaker and activist, just named Senior  Australian  of   the  Year  in  Canberra. 

From the Daly River area,  he said  she had later alerted him to the fact that  there was an invasive weed threatening the waterway, which on investigation  proved  to  be   the  first  sighting, requiring  prompt  action .

He  doubted  if   anybody  at  the  Canberra  ceremony  knew  that  she , now 69,  had  painted  the Aboriginal version of the   12  Stations of  the Cross in Darwin's  Catholic  Church .

On Christmas Day 1885, prospector Charlie Hall started a gold rush when he found  a massive nugget ,28 troy ounces , causing a wild township to spring up, most living in tents. Mining equipment was brought in from as far away as California. On the northern end of the Canning Stock Route , Hall's Creek  had a  population of 15,000, led to the establishment of the ports of Derby and Wyndham.