Bau

This is Bau. The consequence of beautiful synchronicities and a reminder of the goodness of humanity in this chaotic world. From meeting him one night at a pub to taking him to my 6 hour journey to Uluru the next day - a risky move that paid off.

He was like an unopened door, his knowledge, wisdom and lens into the bushland from Alice Springs to Uluru was kept hidden but once opened, revealed perspectives of Central Australia that shifted my preconceived notions of what I and many others believed what Central Australia was. Barren, empty, lacklustre. But this was a complete opposite to its reality.

From salt lakes, gorges and craters it was as if Bau was rediscovering its beauty for the first time through my eyes.

A bond, like a father and daughter, a teacher and a student, the old and the new, he gave me wisdom and I, vitality. 74 years of life was no enemy to his youth.

His connections to remote Indigenous communities from the 1970s, working closely with them to advocate for their rights and reconciliation, peeled back layers of white lamination that allowed me to see the rawness, vulnerability and strength of these communities.
Bau was the key to the side of Australia I had never seen before. A deep connection to bush, sacred stories and Indigenous communities.