Hello everyone,
We are finally onto the dirt roads, made it all the way north to the sea, and we're now west!
Of course I am already behind on the blog, but if you check into my Maryen Cairns YouTube - Femina Australis Playlist and Maryen Cairns Facebook Page regularly you will know approximately where we are!
On the YouTube Channel you can see Greg jumping into Banjo Patterson's Swagman's billabong HERE and Maryen discovering an old Uranium Mine, Mary Kathleen HERE.
There is also a Femina Australis Facebook Page HERE that sometimes has different posts. Sporadic internet coverage is going to pay havoc with the timing over the next few months, but I will be sending you news whenever I can!
We have visited schools in Longreach, Winton, Julia Creek, Cloncurry, Mount Isa (school of the air!), Korumba, Normanton and Burketown. Tomorrow we head to Doomadgee and then we leave Queensland and enter the Northern Territory on our way to Timber Creek before the School Holidays kick in.
Here we are at Timber Creek State School in the Northern Territory
In the workshops we have written the songs the kids wanted to write!!! Starting with Winton State School writing about how so many buildings have, and do, burn down in their town; moving on to Cloncurry State School writing about Mary Kathleen (a Uraniam mining town, now a ghost town that was between Cloncurry and Mount Isa); Karumba kids wrote about the wonderful wildlife that surrounds them, including what lurks beneath the water (!); Normantan State School wrote about sitting around a campfire having a good old yarn and then a crocodile popping up (very entertaining song including 1st person from the crocodile and a rap about Normanton); and then yesterday Burketown State School wrote a very descriptive and exciting song about the Crocodile - very respected around their area, and seen recently in the floods cruising the town's streets! Doomadgee girls wrote about their Country, Timber Creek kids wrote about the wildlife in the bush and although often we cannot see it we are never alone. Inspiring to work with so much talent in our remote communities, and I look forwards to hearing the songs they write now they have been introduced to the process!
Many of the children are interested to see Elvis and Arwen playing guitar and piano with us in the band... they get big applause everywhere we go, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see bands and percussive ensembles popping up behind us. Often kids don't realise what they themselves can do until they see others doing it!
Zone RV have started a BLOG about us too... http://zonerv.com.au/femina-australis/
Right now the school holidays have begun and we are on our way to the Red Centre... Uluru via Alice Springs... SONGWRITING BECKONS! We start the Western Australian part of the tour in Wyndham on July 18.
Lots of Love,
Maryen :-) xxx
Doomadgee State School in Queensland