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So I've written and re-written a mammoth post to try to describe the trip to the Pitjantjantjara lands but there's just too much to do it any justice. It was an extraordinary experience. Confronting, beautiful, moving. It's difficult to believe we have places like these in this country. The lives people in these communities lead is so far removed from anything in my experience that it was quite humbling to see the problems first hand and to catch a glimpse of what European settlement has done to the Aboriginal people. So rather than try to explain what it was like in words, here are a couple of photos that will at least give you a feel for the whole thing. The rubbish was astonishing and confronting. Oak Valley It rained one night. The most devastating thing were the kids. Such little people whose lives of almost certain destitution, ill-health and abuse seem to be mapped out already. The last weekend we were in Yalata someone estimated that there were probably 80 to 1

Just, wow! Courtesy of Dr Mike.

Well, we're back. And it was extraordinary as expected. I'm currently working on a monster post to explain all about the trip, but in the meantime, Virginia has alerted me to the Powerhouse Museum's photo collection that has recently been loaded to Flickr . It's mesmerising. The photos are mainly of Sydney (like this one of Bondi beach at the turn of the 20th century) But it's fascinating nonetheless. Powerhouse should be congratulated for opening up their collection in this way.