Ooldea Soak

Long before the days of white-man

Ooldea Water was a refuge in

times of severe drought and distress.

Yuldi belonged to Kokata;

southern Mirning and Wirangu,

northern Ngalea and Pindini,

came in for water and barter;

pituri, ochre, flint, nulu.

Around the Soak

lay scatters of

stone tool making

that speak of trade 

and related matters.

Of particular interest

are the black glassy

stones called nulu

           called meteorites

           called tektites

           called australites

           called nulu

medicine stones

death pointers

sacred stones

magic stones

rain makers

charm stones

message stones

circumcisers

punishment stones

healing stones

barter stones.

Droplets of siliceous glass,

a mystery.

Little enigmas strewn

like fossil raindrops

over the Nullarbor Plain.

Sky-stones fallen

from the Sky-world.

     Kabbarli: grandmother, Miss Daisy

'These moonless nights

when the stars are at their brightest

and even Magellan's Clouds take

on a warmth and a shimmer from 

their glittering neighbours,

on such nights it is good

to wander over these great distances

in company with the aborigines,

along the moon road that was made

when the moon was human,

listening to snatches of song from

the oldest singers on earth.'

     Never point at Murgara or Oimbu,

     the Magellan Brothers who steal away the dead.

'Throughout my life I have adhered 

to the simple but exact dictates 

of fashion as I left it, when

Victoria was Queen. Not until

I was in most meticulous 

order would I emerge from my 

tent, dressed for the day ― a neat

white blouse, stuff collar and ribbon,

a dark skirts and coast, a sailor 

hat and a fly-veil, and, for my

excursions to the camps, always

a dust-coat and an umbrella.'

     Jupiter and Venus, morning and evening star,

     are Maarlu and Kulbi, kangaroo red, kangaroo grey,

     a night between them, on the same path.

∈ = mc²

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-

We are waiting for

A night without a moon

A moon without an earth

No man, no star

All round, no sound

Warm rain falling

Maralinga-thunder

X.300

"no practical or ceremonial benefit

 remains on the Ooldea Reserve"

"all active tribal interest

 is now at an end"

"nothing to suffer damage

 except spinifex and mulga"

Like Woomera, a roar

that fills the void

of Terra Nullius.

'peering through welder's safety goggles

I watch the explosion swell

into a tremendous fireball

a miniature man-made sun

rising away from the red sand

like a giant balloon

then a minute later I was shaken 

by a terrific shock-wave

a hot blast that sent

a double thunder-clap

rolling around the desert

for half a minute more

as the fireball expanded

giving off a second burst of light

more brilliant than the sun'

                                          European observer, October 1953

'it wasn't long after that 

a black smoke came through

a strange black smoke

it was shiny and oily

a few hours later we all got crook

we were all vomiting

we had diarrhoea, skin rashes, sore eyes

I had really sore eyes

they were so sore I couldn't open them 

for two or three weeks

some of the older people

they died

they were too weak to survive

all that sickness'

                                            Aboriginal observer, October 1953

Black mist come, pulu

Sickness country now

Bad magic, pulu

__________________________________________________________________________

Poetic Borrowings:    'Tektites', Jan Owen, Finger Prints On Light

                                            'clean bomb', Eric Beach, Weeping for Lost Babylon

                                            'After the Atom Bomb Blast', Nancy Cato, The Dancing Bough

                                            'Skylab and The Theory of Forms', John Kinsella,  

                                                                                                                     Peripheral Light

Other Sources:              J Brockwell et al., 1989, 'The History and Archaeology of      

                                                    Ooldea Soak and Mission', Australian Archaeology, 

                                                    28(1), 55-77 

                                            PA Clarke, 2019, 'Australites: Early Aboriginal Perception and 

                                                     Use', Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage

                                                     22(1), 155-178

                                             E Hill, 1973, Kabbarli: A Personal Memoir of Daisy Bates 

                                                      (quoted 'Seven Sistas: Daisy Bates', Craft West Touring 

                                                        Exhibition contributors' inspiration site)

                                             M Borg, 2017, 'Little Known South Australian History:

                                                        Uncovering the nuclear weapons project at Maralinga', 

                                                        Oral History Australian Journal, 39, 23-31

                                             E Tynan, 2011, 'Maralinga and the Journalists: Covering the 

                                                        bomb tests over generations', LiNQ, 131-135

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