Wujal Wujal 2

We had a wonderful chat with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Like many Indigenous communities, language is one of the key topics of concern. In this case, there are enough non-Aboriginal peoples around that knowledge of the community language is really important for survival in this remote region, as so much of the plant and animal life is tied in to the language.

After our talk, Mayor Tayley brought us up to the sacred falls, along the Bloomfield River. Do days get any better than this?




My friend and colleague Olivia. Below, Julien and Min.



The ICOM dynamic duo, Julien and Alissandra. Below, the State Library group (r to l: Olivia, Terena, Luke) with the Mayor.



At the falls.



I know I asked about this flower, and can't figure out where I wrote it down. Some type of bottle brush?


Ah, more signs. The bottom is the community sign, as Wujal Wujal is their name for the community and the river. Above, it's a sign warning -- in English and German -- of crocodiles. Yes, they are a big problem in Far North Queensland, and the Mayor did spy one sunning himself on a rock across the river from us. He was too far away for the lens on my camera, but I did see him.


As we were preparing to go, we had to take a closer look at Terena's vehicle. On leaving the community, we all had to off-road for a bit because of a cargo truck, and she had clipped a culvert and popped a tire. This was actually very exciting for many of us, seeing bush mechanics in action. Mayor Dayley clearly had done this too many times. He had Luke and one of the Shire Councilmen drive the tire onto a large rock, before working with the jack. Amazingly quick. They tightened the bolts once out of the forest and back into the community, and Terena brought the car in once we got back to Cooktown. But before we left, we set my camera on the car -- because it had a timer -- and took a group photo. Well, almost. Shannon climbed up to position the camera, and I had to hold it in place while she climbed back down, so we're the two running into the shot at the last second!




The drive to Cooktown from there took about an hour. We had a large group dinner scheduled that evening over at the ball club. It was really nice. And just to cap off the day, as we headed into town, we saw this little kookaburra just sitting on the street sign. Perfect!