National Migration Museum, Adelaide

~ The National Migration Museum, Adelaide tells a story of the state of South Australia and the people who migrated to it over many years.

It is the story of their courage and heartbreak, their struggles and successes, all brought to life through an ever changing interactive series of displays documenting the states unique cultural heritage.

By showcasing the objects that shaped the lives of the early settlers; possessions, official documents, family heirlooms, and other everyday objects, visitors get a powerful insight into the waves of immigration across the decades.

A visit to the Migration Museum lets you experience the rich blend of cultural diversity that makes up South Australia while you learn about people from different backgrounds, ages and experiences who have together shaped our identity.

Through sight and sound, the journey unfolds to reveal: early settlers in the 19th century and their impact on Aboriginal Australians; post-war migrants and the ‘ten pound Poms’; the White Australia Policy of the 20th century; and refugees, asylum seekers, and the multicultural debate of recent years.

While there, visit the Museum’s special gallery, The Forum, where community groups have an opportunity to present their own personal stories in their own way.

The Migration Museum has its own unique history, that is worth retelling.

It used to be part of Adelaide’s Destitute Asylum housing the poor and homeless from 1852 until 1918. Today, a permanent display called Behind The Wall tells this often tragic story.

Finally, a Memorial Wall acknowledges the many people who were forced to leave their homelands, and seek refuge in Australia, while a Reconciliation Plaque is dedicated to the Kaurna people (pron: Gar-na), the first inhabitants of the Adelaide plains.

Location:82 Kintore Avenue
Adelaide, South Australia,
Open Daily (except Christmas Day and Good Friday)
Monday-Friday: 10am-5pmWeekends and Public Holidays: 1pm-5pm
Entry: FREE

Current Exhibitions
Selling an American Dream: Australia's Greek Café

4 April – 28 September 2009

Selling an American Dream: Australia's Greek Café is a photographic exhibition now on at the Migration Museum.

Every time you drink a Coke, enjoy an ice cream or sweet chocolate treat, go to the cinema, or listen to the latest popular music hit, you can thank Australia's Greek settlers.

Greek cafés in Australia were a Trojan horse for the Americanisation of this nation's eating and socio-cultural habits from the very start of the twentieth century. They initially introduced American commercial food catering ideas, technology and products and later influenced the development of cinema and popular music.

The Greek café helped transform Australian popular culture. This exhibition not only looks at how this was done, but also the personal stories of those involved.

The exhibition explores the key role that Greek Australians played during formative years of Australian culture. The curators are Macquarie University historian, Leonard Janiszewski, and documentary photographer, Effy Alexakis.

Song For The Open Road

~ Day two of my road trip to Sydney unfolded with a beautiful, cold dawn, and the sight of a lone fox loping across an open field as it presumably headed home to its lair.

Breakfast in Ouyen consisted of coffee and bacon and eggs on toast, followed by a delicious vanilla slice from the local bakery. And why not? After all, Ouyen hosts an annual Vanilla Slice Festival, that attracts bakers from far and wide competing to see who can take the prize for making the best slice! Hey, in a tight tourist market, any angle will do if it helps get the visitors in.

Apparently, the former Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett stopped in at the local bakery about ten years ago for a coffee and piece of this delightful delicacy. He was so taken with the cake, that he quickly conceived of the idea for the Vanilla Slice Festival, which now takes place every September in this small rural Victorian country town.

And yes, I can thoroughly recommend the local delight.

This is my song for the open road,

The blue sky, and the lighter load.

The heart filled with a joyful song;

The summer breeze pushing us along.

© 2009. Jim Lesses. All Rights Reserved.

Observations
Dry. Everything is so dry.

Murphy’s Swamp? Dry. It probably hasn’t been a ‘swamp’ for years.

Creeks and rivers? Dry. Who knows when they last ran with flowing water? Or for how long. All along the highway, signs just before isolated country towns tell the tale: Stage 3 water restrictions in force. Sometimes the luckier towns, those with a more regular supply of the precious liquid only face Stage 2 or even Stage 1 water restrictions. But it seems that virtually all towns face some level of water restrictions.

Meet The Press
One of my rituals whenever I take a road trip is to purchase local papers in the towns I stop in. I do this to get a snapshot of what issues and concerns are foremost in the minds of the local communities.

Many of these local papers are quite small, often no more than 8-16 pages. The North West Express, at eight pages, is no exception. It even contained an extra two page agricultural supplement, the Mallee Ag. News.

The main front page story (which spilled over to consume the whole of page two), concerned the Mallee Track Health & Community Service 2009 Debutante Ball, at which nine “beautifully dressed young ladies and their partners were presented…”

Another front page story presented a progress report on the forthcoming Wild Dog Mail Trek, which appears to be one of those events designed to test participants to the limit. This event apparently covers a distance of 68 kms, and according to the organizer, Terry Gibson “Walkers… have to be super fit (and a little mad) as there is no vehicle access to rescue them when they get out in the Wyperfeld Wilderness Zone.”

Meanwhile, the Mallee Ag. News supplement offered 'Top Tips To Be Water Savvy', which, given the parlous state of the water situation in the region – already noted above – seemed to be very timely.

Distance from Ouyen to Sydney – 1100 Kms.

Make a Note of That: The lovely new public convenience behind the old court house in the main street, also includes free showers. Just the thing for the weary (and smelly) road warrior looking to freshen up after a long day on the road.

IMAGE: Here Comes The Sun, by Jim Lesses

On The Road Again

~ As I wrote in an earlier post, I love nothing more than to be on the open road, the highway stretching off to the far horizon, and naught to distract me but my own thoughts, songs, dreams, and fantasies.

Having now arrived in Sydney after a two and a half day drive, I am feeling somewhat tired, but relaxed and happy to be here. What follows are some of my observations from the road.

I left Adelaide at 1pm on Easter Monday. My intention was to drive to Ouyen, in Victoria, and spend the night there, probably at the local pub, or in a local motel I have stayed at before. In the end, I didn’t quite make to Ouyen. I pulled into a lay by just after dark, and decided to sleep in the back of the wagon.

I’m glad now that I did.

As night fell, the stars came out, and what an incredible sight they made.

There’s a whole galaxy out there, people!

For the first time in years, I was able to see beyond the first ‘layer’ of prominent stars to the galaxy – or galaxies – beyond.

In the city it is easy to spot the Big Dipper or the Southern Cross, but tonight the Southern Cross in particular, was much harder to spot, because it was hidden in amongst billions of other stars that make up the Milky Way. And what a light show the night sky was putting on for me. Every few minutes or so shooting stars went streaking overhead like fireworks on New Years Eve.

Again, in the city you see only the biggest, brightest shooting stars, but out in the open air, far from street lights, and house and building lights, even the smallest, briefest asteroids were made visible.

Then there is the constant ‘traffic’ passing overhead in the night sky. Planes mostly, en route for Sydney and Melbourne and beyond. But then there are the other objects crisscrossing beneath the heavens. Satellites of course, though how many of those are out there presumably only NASA knows. The space station is out there too, somewhere, and who knows what else!

The air was filled with the songs of crickets, while way off in the distance a lone dog was barking a warning – but to who or what?

Maybe it was the fox I saw at 6am the next morning, crossing a vast open field, heading home to its den following a night foraging for supper. At least, the rooster crowing in the new day, had survived another night of Mr. Fox’s midnight ramblings.

As I watched and waited for the sun to come up, I couldn’t help thinking that I would have missed all of this if I had checked into a hotel for the night.

It’s not enough to know that all of this is still out there – even if we city dwellers rarely see it. Sometimes you just have to get out of your comfort zone and experience it first hand for yourself.

Life is not a dress rehearsal for something more exciting, interesting or fulfilling, folks.

This is it. This is as good as it gets.

So get out there and make the most of it.

IMAGE: Country Morning, by Jim Lesses