Famous Australian poet Henry Lawson

I recently visited Waverley Cemetery in New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.  I was encouraged to look further into its history. I found a famous poet named Henry Lawson the son of feminist Louisa Lawson, is buried there. He wrote "Past caring" that  tells the story of a women who gives the impression she is past caring but in the end it shows she is not. She has had a difficult and depressing life, yet, she still cares a lot and she wishes she did not.
Henry Lawson died in 1922 and he saw and understood what most people do not.

Poem of states

Never retire, angst, against. Beat upon my chest

Transpose evaluations, I dive into my polarities of yin

in test and yang of chance

Blessed with that at least. Meet and greet, left are these

days in mind I delete. Smart to swap or trade my inner

ways. So I can leave a inner part of me I can't rearrange

dowded in this world, so cold. I beat my fists.

Repeat a new archetype of my ancestry

Reach hands high, grasp in essence my tribal lever

By Raven

Morton Bay Strangler

This plant takes over its host, the roots are above ground, and strangles the tree it is taken over. Possums and other creatures live in it.

Melaleuca or Paper bark tree

Is a soft bark tree with many uses such as making rafts, roofing for shelters, bandages (take what you need). You can treat skin infections by crushing the leaves over the infection and then covering with mud.This tree has both antifungle and antibiotic oils.

                                         

Warrigal Greens or wild spinich

This was the cure for scurvy years ago when the white ghosts (man)came. You can only eat a little  fresh for it must be cooked to really work.

Lomandra Longifolia

A course grass that the Aboriginals grounded, mixed with water, then cooked over coals. Aboriginals were known as the first ever Bread makers from approximately 35,000 years ago.

Grass trees or Black boys

Are only found in Australia. They are unique because they live for 100's of years. They can even survive fires when their leaves and trunks are burned. There are around 60 different types not all survive. They can take several years to flower. Lots of birds and insects are attracted to its nectar and they can produce up to 10,000 seeds. The Aboriginals use the yellow resin it produces for making spears.

Dianella Patch

Grass like for making whistles. If a child goes missing they were told to find one of these patches and blow on the grass until someone finds them. They were also used for mimicking bird sounds.

Lemon Myrtle tree

Has leaves that release a strong lemon scent, when crushed or after rain. They are good for inhaling if you have a cold or are stuffed up. You can eat the flowers and seeds of the Lemon Myrtle tree or use for flavoring in cooking.

Candle nut tree

Has a spiritual meaning of light, hope and renewal. They were the first known candles and the oil in the nuts was also used for starting fires where they were put on the ends of sticks and lit.

Cousins

A Brewarrina Tribe member, Terry Crawford, shares his knowledge in the Aboriginal Heritage Tour at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. He first gives us a small history of the Australian Aboriginals that I find to be so similar to the Canadian Indigenous history that I have outlined some of the main similarities:

• There is just over 200 known Aboriginal tribes and languages in Australia
• In Canada there is approximately 600 different Indian bands and over all around 150 different languages.
• On June 11, 2008 Prime Minister Harper gave an apology on behalf of Canada to the First Nation People for the Indian Residential School System that was forced upon them.
• On February 13, 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized for the Stolen Generation ..."for the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants, and for their families left behind we say sorry......must never happen again."
• A fight for justice for Aboriginal women who go missing in Australia: " there are no names, no follow up reports about the case, and usually no arrests were reported to the media . . .The reports made it seem she was responsible for her own death . . . had been drinking the day she was killed . . .died in police custody . . .(cops) were saying all this horrible stuff to her . . .police called because of domestic violence . . .but, instead of assisting her, the police chose to run her name, found she had a few unpaid fines for traffic misdemeanors and then locked her up . . . When it happens to Indigenous women we see how the media adds on another stereotypes they have about us, such as alcohol or drug abuse."(greenleft.org.au ; September 16, 2017 retrieved on October 13, 2017).
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous women involving the Highway of Tears and First Nation prostitutes. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada asks for a public inquiry into the victimization of Indigenous women and girls in 2015.

Then we proceeded with our walk through the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

"look carefully"

There is only a single known colony of Pearl white butterflies  in  Sydney they feed on the flowers in the Botanic Gardens and they are found not more than20 meters from their native pomegranates in the garden ever since around 1884 (Royal Botanic Gardens)

Sydney

This Unknown

This is mine and my daughter Erica's first trip to New Zealand
They drive on the other side of the road here
Or we drive on the  other side of the road there
My friend Justine had to push me out of my comfort zone to get me to drive
The money is different but almost the same in exchange
The food is different as we experiment with each meal
People here think differently and have different values
We have no real plan, we just go where the wind takes us
The land, the language, the animals, and the air is different
I try not to think to much so I do not panic, as things are so different
Respect is different
Sometimes my daughter and I fight these changes with anger and criticisms
We don't mean to
Sometimes we don't talk
These new ideals, changes, views
They are letting us see, hear, and understand slowly and without knowing
Are we different from when we were in our own home, our own country?
Is it good? or Is it bad?
This unknown.
These changes.
What we see and know now, the present.

I love the beach it is so beautiful

We give value to the Ocean

By the way we look at it

By the way we touch it

By the way we care for it

We give value to the Ocean

By the way we are present

Koekohe Beach: Moeraki boulders

"I am cracked open"

Erica trying to find balance

Riding on the beach and feeling it

Looking at it looking at me.

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places on earth here is Kakanui, Moeraki and Oamaru.

Dot Smith made her own legacy by building her own castle which is known as Riverstone Castle in North Otago.

We are walking the land

They have lemon trees here

Arrival in Christchurch, New Zealand