Latest news with #Lutruwita
ABC News
6 days ago
- ABC News
Seeking the wild: Alone Australia and connection to nature
Corinne Ooms was a contestant in the most recent series of the reality show Alone Australia. She spent 70 days by herself, in the remote west coast ranges of Lutruwita, Tasmania. And there, she had to navigate the psychological challenges of solitude and the physical challenges of survival in the wild. She experienced a profound change in how she experiences the world and her priorities in life. Guests: Corinne Ooms, finished as the second-runner-up on SBS' Alone Australia and last woman standing. Originally from Glasgow, she lives in Tasmania. Anna Halafoff, Associate Professor in Sociology of Religion at Deakin University, Melbourne, and coordinator of the Spirituality and Wellbeing (SWell) Research Network. She is one of the authors of: Alone Australia. Nature connection and spiritual complexity in popular culture, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 2025 Further listening: Solitude and the ache for humans - ABC listen, featuring Dr Kate Grarock, from Alone Australia season one. Sacred landscapes: the forest as mirror and sanctuary - ABC listen Sacred landscapes: snow and the high country - ABC listen Remembering Buddhist teacher and deep ecology advocate Joanna Macy Love, Beauty and Solitude: Translating Rilke with Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy - ABC listen Deep ecology and reconnecting with the natural world - ABC listen
ABC News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Aboriginal policy vacuum from Liberals, Labor as NAIDOC Week starts
Aboriginal flag-raising ceremonies have been held across Tasmania ahead of a week of cultural events and activities for NAIDOC Week celebrations. The theme this year, for the event's 50th anniversary, is 'the next generation: strength, vision and legacy'. But so far, the issues of treaty and truth-telling have not been mentioned by either of Tasmania's major political parties in the lead-up to the state election on July 19 — which has disappointed some Aboriginal organisations. Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre's (TAC) Nala Mansell said she was disappointed by how little attention treaty and truth-telling had been given during the state election. "For the whole time the Liberals have been in government, we've reminded them that we want a treaty here in Tasmania, and we want some of what's been stolen from us returned," she said. In 2021, then-premier Peter Gutwein appointed former Tasmanian governor Kate Warner and law professor Tim McCormack to lead talks with the state's Aboriginal people to map out a pathway to treaty and truth-telling. In May, while announcing funding to establish truth and healing commissioners, the state government said it would no longer progress talks for a treaty with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. Ms Mansell said at a recent meeting with Tasmanian Aboriginal people the consensus was to reject the offer for the truth-telling commission. "Most people agree that truth-telling is important especially in Lutruwita, Tasmania where the state has fully swept Aboriginal history and the treatment of our people under the rug. "But everyone in the room that day agreed that we reject the Liberal government's offer of truth-telling without any type of action. "[It] acknowledged that the truth-telling commission will give no land back to Aboriginal people. It will return nothing of what has been stolen from us." Greens leader, Rosalie Woodruff, said both the Liberal and Labor parties need to commit to processing a treaty and land returns. Last week, Victoria's Yoorrook Justice Commission handed down its first report after four years of work. It found Aboriginal people in Victoria have endured crimes against humanity and genocide. "We need to be following what Victoria and other states have done, having a truth-telling and healing, and treaty process. That needs to start this year," Ms Woodruff said. Premier Jeremy Rockliff was asked on Monday whether he thought his party had done enough towards reconciliation with Aboriginal Tasmanians. "What's important about reconciliation and indeed truth-telling is that it needs to be Aboriginal-led," he said. "We have embarked on a truth-telling journey and a healing journey with Tasmanian Aboriginal people particularly when it comes to the commissioners that we've announced," he said. Premier Rockliff said the Liberals had prioritised several closing-the-gap measures. "We've been investing and supporting social enterprise. In the north-east when it comes to abalone quota, a great social enterprise, First Nations product … we've committed to for a further 10 years," he said. "We need to ensure that we're focused on closing-the-gap when it comes to life expectancy, educational attainment, lessening the incarceration rates and improving housing for Tasmanian Aboriginal people." Labor Leader, Dean Winter, said the party is open to revisiting treaty with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. "We understand that there needs to be truth-telling, we understand that there needs to be a pathway towards treaty, but you need to bring Tasmanians along on the journey towards that," he said. "Tasmanians want to see a state that is united and together and we've got to treat our Tasmanian Aboriginal community with respect.
ABC News
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
How to defrost and defog your car windscreen quickly when it's cold and icy
If defrosting an icy windscreen has become part of your morning routine, we're here to help. There are several dos and don'ts to making sure you safely defrost the glass, and get to work or school on time. We also share the fastest way to defog your windscreen once in the car. The easiest and most accessible way to defrost a windscreen is by pouring regular tap water over the affected area. If the water temperature is above freezing, that will melt the ice. You could use a water bottle or nearby hose, for example. Be warned, using hot or boiling water is a mistake. Rapid temperature changes can crack the windscreen's laminated glass. If you prefer, a bank card or other plastic card can be used to scratch away at the frost. You can also buy purpose-built scrapers (if you're fancy like that). There are products on the market that involve various alcohols designed to quickly melt ice. "There are ones for windscreens that involve various alcohols, things like propylene glycol," says Nathan Kilah, senior lecturer in chemistry at the University of Tasmania in Lutruwita. Along with de-icer sprays, a solution of vinegar and water is a method of windscreen defrosting that is another example of this. Dr Kilah is personally not a fan, though. He says the products can be corrosive and may end up causing problems. If you dread the defrost chore on a cold winter's morning, you can prevent the icy windscreen in the first place. Leaving a blanket, towel or cardboard on the windscreen is effective. Experts say this means you can just "peel off" any ice crystals that have formed due to the temperature dropping off. Our readers shared some of their more novel ways of defrosting their car windscreen, including parking a car "nudged" into some bushes. One reader parks their car so it faces east to get the morning sun, while another pops a hot water bottle on the dash (not touching the glass) "before breakfast". For electric vehicles, one reader suggests using the app to turn on heater before you brush your teeth. And apparently half a potato does a good job of scraping off frost without scratching the glass! To defog a windscreen from the inside, you can either heat up the surface to evaporate the water, or cool down the inside of the car, so it equilibrates. While some people will opt for the latter by blasting cool air, Dr Kilah prefers to "turn on the heater and warm up the surface so that fog won't form". If you don't have an air conditioner in the car, an anti-fog wipe or spray could be an option. It's to be used ahead of time, before fogging occurs. "These products leave a thin film of material on the glass that somewhat prevents the formation of water droplets," Dr Kilah says. "But the products can require frequent reapplication or need pre-cleaning for them to work well." You can also try opening the windows to lower the temperature of the air inside the car, though Dr Kilah warns "it won't be very comfortable."
ABC News
28-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
What it's like to visit Country for the first time and how to prepare
Earlier this year, I went to my mob's Country for the first time. I had never known my connection to Country, as I grew up physically isolated in Lutruwita/Tasmania, with feelings of shame about being Aboriginal. I knew that I had family living on Country in Far North Queensland, but both the people and the place felt so far away. As I got older, I felt a blossoming urge to learn more about my culture. I reached out to family, joined First Nations organisations, and also did an old-fashioned online search. I learnt that the official name for my mob was Dulgubarra-Yidinji, which translates to "belongs to the rainforest Yidinji" in our language, which I am also now beginning to learn. Finally, at age 27, I decided to travel to Dulgubarra-Yidinji Country. I knew that when I visited for the first time, I wanted to understand how to do so respectfully. So, to prepare for my own journey to Country for the first time, I asked some experts for their advice on how to approach and prepare for the experience. Visiting Country for the first time can be a profound way to deepen your connection to your heritage, according to Bardi Jawi First Nations culture consultant and writer, Bebe Oliver. "Honestly, there's no stronger way to do that than to be surrounded by the land that raised your family and your ancestors," he says. Mr Oliver grew up on Bardi Jawi Country in Western Australia's Kimberley region, swimming, collecting shells, and learning about the animals and the seasons, and felt a deep connection to his family. When he later returned after living away for 20 years, he says it was like coming home to a place he never left. He says reasons for visiting Country can vary and the experience will look different for every person and every language group; Some people seek a deeper connection to their family, while others may want to have a strong spiritual experience. And, he adds, often, people find that they are connected to Country in ways they didn't expect. "That happens a lot for Blak people because so much of our history has been disrupted through dispossession and forced removals." Samantha Faulkner is the editor and curator of the book Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, and a Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal woman, from Badu and Moa Islands in the Torres Strait and the Yadhaigana and Wuthathi peoples of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. She says as a starting place it's important to "seek permission from the appropriate people or body [and] watch others and take your cues from them". Ms Faulkner advises that the Torres Strait Regional Authority have put together a useful 32-page book that you can find on their website: It's worth checking online for relevant resources for the Country you are hoping to visit. Mr Oliver believes that one of the most important aspects of visiting Country is connecting with local people and communities. "Respect is a core value in Blak cultures, and it's something we need to bring with us every step of the way. That means speaking to the local mob first and foremost," says Mr Oliver. Ms Faulkner recommends also planning time for space and reflection in your visit, to give you an opportunity to sit with your feelings about connection to family, Country and ancestors. "It can be overwhelming at times, so take time out for yourself at the end of the day or find a quiet space to decompress," Ms Faulkner advises. Visiting Country can have a significant effect on emotional and mental wellbeing. And that can look different for everyone, according to Dr Carmen Cubillo, a proud saltwater woman and clinical psychologist from Larrakia and Wadjigan Country in the Northern Territory. Dr Cubillo had her own cultural journey coming to her Country at the beginning of her clinical psychology career. She says that visiting country isn't like in the movies, and that it's normal to feel grief about being on colonised land. However, Dr Cubillo also says that many have a positive experience coming to Country for the first time. "You may have feelings of peace or yearning, to know more and be there more, to soak up the goodness of Country. "There is a special energy that only you and Country can feel as a relationship." She says that there is no one correct or appropriate way to feel when you visit country, but advises that if you feel you need support it is important to reach out to a medical or mental health professional to help process the feelings. Have you had an experience of visiting Country for the first time? We'd love to hear from you. Email lifestyle@ When I visited Dulgubarra-Yidinji Country, it was just as the experts had said. I felt a smorgasbord of emotions. I was nervous to speak with new family I had never met, overwhelmed by the cultural knowledge I learned, and in awe as I drove through the clouds on the side of a mountain. In school assemblies, meeting and events I had always acknowledged the Traditional Owners of the Country I lived on. During my trip my Elders said that while my feet were on this land I was a traditional owner myself. This was a very powerful concept and it evoked a lot of emotions that I processed both during and after the trip. And while some of those feelings were hard, overall the experience was transformative. My chest was filled with the strange sensation of coming home to a place I was visiting for the first time. This sort of feeling, of belonging to something I never thought I could connect to, was truly life changing. Sitting with Elders, listening to my mob's stories, made me feel so lucky. I was honoured to listen as they spoke our sacred truths. Under all my personal feelings for my new-found connection to Country, I didn't want to leave, because I know I have so much to learn. I now have a sense that this place is, in many ways, my true home — a place I need to return to.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
From ‘convict stain' to badge of honour: Tasmania's early criminals inspire celebrated musical
In 1802 Martha Hayes was transported from England to what was then called Van Diemen's Land, accompanying her convict mother. The teenager was the first white female to set foot in the new colony and, having become pregnant on the voyage, she gave birth to the first white child – a baby girl – on the island we now call Lutruwita/Tasmania. While that child had a convict grandmother, her father was Lt John Bowen, a colonial administrator who led the first white settlement, at Risdon Cove. Martha's story is symbolic of so many Tasmanian family trees post-colonisation: part-convict, part-free settler or colonial master. It's one of 17 brought to life in the musical theatre show Vandemonian Lags, co-written by the musician Mick Thomas of Weddings, Parties, Anything fame and his film-maker brother Steve. Premiering to sellouts and standing ovations at the first Dark Mofo in 2013, the show is back from hiatus for a small run of Victorian performances with a cast including Jeff Lang, Tim Rogers, Brian Nankervis, Darren Hanlon and Claire Anne Taylor. Vandemonian Lags had its genesis in the Founders and Survivors project: a multi-university research collaboration drawing from Tasmania's unusually large and detailed trove of more than 70,000 convict records, which was added to the Unesco memory of the world international register in 2007. One of the creative outcomes was a website presenting 17 convict stories in an accessible, interactive format. Vandemonian Lags ('lag' being the contemporaneous slang for convict) takes these stories and gives them a theatrical life, with live songs – composed and performed by the talented cast of musicians – storytelling, and a combination of film and still imagery. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning It's a joyous, emotional and humanising reclamation of stories that were hidden for so long, often due to shame. 'One of the very early songs I wrote is Two Grandfathers,' Mick Thomas says. 'This kid's got a grandfather who's a pillar of the community, he's very visible. And that grandfather's got a chauffeur who the kid doesn't really think much about. 'The kid only finds out much later in his life that the chauffeur was his other grandfather – but he was a convict. So even though they made allowances for him and got him a job and stuff like that, he was not talked about.' The Thomas brothers have convict ancestry in their own family, which has roots in Victoria (where they grew up) as well as Tasmania. 'The family folklore was very much focused on northern Tasmania,' explains Mick, 'but it was pretty much on a great-grandfather who was a banker; it was definitely not convict-oriented.' There was far less attention given to the other side of the family – the one with the strong convict link. The historian Prof Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, an expert on convict life whose research informed much of Vandemonian Lags, says shame about convict ancestry was particularly persistent in the island state, where marriage between classes was more common and upwardly mobile convicts sought to hide their ignominious past. Steve Thomas says denial was still common when he moved to the state in 1979. 'There was still evidence of that 'convict stain' [mentality], where people would deny they had convicts in their family, or they were ashamed, and often the convict side of the family was erased from history.' But statistics don't lie: 'If you look at the entire Australian population, over 20% of them are descended from convicts,' he says. 'In Tasmania, it's closer to 70%. [It was] this major influx of dispossessed British people being used to build this colony virtually as British slaves. It remains one of the biggest forced migrations of the 19th century.' It was disastrous for the island's Aboriginal people. 'There's no doubt that the arrival of convicts was terrible news for First Nations Australians,' Steve Thomas says, 'and we open the show with this.' The arrival of British graziers from the 1820s coincided with the war against the Aboriginal population; those who were not killed were banished to Flinders Island in Bass Strait. 'The land grab was enormous,' Thomas says. 'But, you know, I guess our contention is that convicts did not choose to be here. They were forced and most of them had no way of getting back.' Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion In 1851, as gold was discovered in Victoria, Tasmania's former convicts joined the thousands flocking to seek their fortune. They were not welcome. In 1852 the Melbourne Argus described a Vandemonian as 'a pestilential addition to our population' and said 'his coming is an evil we must guard against at all costs'. In the same year the Victorian government passed the Convicts Prevention Act to prevent Vandemonians from making the trip across the strait. It didn't work. And, while many Vandemonian visitors failed to find their fortune on the goldfields, turning to crime or dying paupers, some did very well indeed – including Samuel Phillips, who had been sentenced to transportation for poaching. Eventually given his ticket of leave, he made his way to the goldfields and had a huge strike. 'He was smart enough to just hide it and get back to England as a rich man,' Mick Thomas says. 'And – this is a true story – he purchased the estate on which he got caught poaching!' (In the show, Darren Hanlon brings this story to life in his song The Wildest Dreams of Samuel.) Steve Thomas says views about convict ancestry have changed significantly. 'Genealogy has become really big and this shame that many Tasmanians had about their convict past … gradually has faded, so that what was a stain is now a bit of a badge of honour … people are actually sort of looking back at their convict past. Now they talk about things like convict chic!' The 2013 performances in Hobart were 'so emotional for people', Mick Thomas says. He recalls one young woman, the descendant of a convict featured in the show, accosting him in the foyer. '[She said:] 'You don't know what this means to my family. This is so raw.'' Thomas says the heavy material the team was working with had to be balanced with lightness and humour, a delicate mix required to get the stories across in an entertaining yet truthful way. 'In the end, they are ripping stories,' he says. 'It comes down to the thing that Mark Twain said when he toured Australia, that Australian history reads like a pack of lies but it's all true. So they're ripping yarns. But, you know, they're still people's lives.' Vandemonian Lags is at Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo, on 22 May; Melbourne Recital Centre on 23 May; Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat, on 24 May; and Frankston Arts Centre on 25 May
