I walk up the hill, away from the graffiti and loathsome cakes on Acland street in St Kilda, to the Jewish Museum of Australia. Most people are here on a rainy Sunday afternoon for the exhibition of Warhol’s Jewish Geniuses. I head, instead, to the back of the building, ignoring the Judaica too. I want … Continue reading Multiculturalism under the microscope in Melbourne Museums – Mark 1
From Melbourne to the Moon
I arrive at 598 City Road. I should have guessed, by the high number, that my accommodation wouldn’t be that close to the city. I ring the bell. No answer. I look around. An empty petrol station. Low rise warehouses with few signs of life. Tower blocks in the distance. A car pulls up. … Continue reading From Melbourne to the Moon
Canberra – heritage hole or cultural oasis?
The origin of the name ‘Canberra’, the capital of Australia, is disputed. Is it from the Indigenous name for the hollow between a woman's breasts, the hollow being likened to the floodplain between Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain. Or is it, according to a more European version, from the Australian 'cranberry'? Two competing versions, two … Continue reading Canberra – heritage hole or cultural oasis?
Settler or migrant, colonisation or invasion?
At the door of the Migration Museum in Adelaide there is a dedication to the Kaurna people, ‘the original occupants of the site, who were disposed of their homelands by British settlers.’ Inside are a series of paintings by an artist of Aboriginal descent, Darryl Pfitzner Milika. A painting of a sole Aboriginal person about … Continue reading Settler or migrant, colonisation or invasion?
Up for Adelaide
“A friend from Sydney told me 2 days in Adelaide would be enough,” I tell my airbnb host as we sip coffee in her semi-detached 1880s bungalow. “Your friend’s a snob,” says Melanie, a New Zealander, who’s made the capital of South Australia her home “It may have been true ten years ago, “ she … Continue reading Up for Adelaide
Chirps from around the world
Thirteen flights booked to Australasia and back, thirteen novels downloaded on my Kindle about all the places I'm about to visit - Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Christchurch, Hawkes Bay for Christmas and Sydney to see New Year fireworks. They say 13 is unlucky but rest assured I didn't book Air Malaysia. … Continue reading Chirps from around the world
In the Holy City of Sanliurfa
The holy city of Sanliurfa. Click image for more photographs of Sanliurfa. “My name is Hilal which means good friend. And I hope we will be very good friends.” Hilal, a Kurd, is our tour guide in the city of Sanliurfa (glorious Urfa) where our group has just arrived on a two-day trip … Continue reading In the Holy City of Sanliurfa
Chiselled Good Looks
Ahmet Diler, owner of Kirkit Pension. Click image for more photographs of Cappadocia. The imam's morning prayers wake me at half-past five and I tumble out of bed. An hour later, I'm in a wicker basket with a moody American teenager and a clutch of excitable Japanese women. Our pilot fires gas flames into the … Continue reading Chiselled Good Looks
Power and the Passion – Easter in Murcia
Sculpture by Francisco Salzillo. Please click image to see more photographs of Easter in Murcia As the bells strike 10 o'clock on Maundy Thursday night, the city of Murcia is plunged into total darkness. There's a roll of drums, the doors of the church of San Lorenzo burst open and men wearing purple cone-shaped hoods … Continue reading Power and the Passion – Easter in Murcia
Hey Hey Trinidad – carnival mayhem
Nadella meets an old friend during Jouvert. To see more images of Trinidad Carnival please click image. THE sky is punctuated with shooting stars and clear constellations shed enough light to guide us into downtown Port of Spain, capital of the republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is 2am and I am dressed in a yellow … Continue reading Hey Hey Trinidad – carnival mayhem
Eithne Nightingale 