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“Australia’s
arid western region, from the town of Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean coast,
is a beautiful, haunting, but largely empty land. Dominated by the harsh,
almost uninhabited Great Sandy and Gibson deserts, the region is known only to
Australian Aborigines, a handful of white settlers, and the few travelers who
motor across it.” - Robyn Davidson
The Outback is the vast,
remote, arid area of Australia. The term “the outback” is generally used to
refer to locations that are far out, comparatively more remote than those areas
named “the bush” which, colloquially, can refer to any lands outside the main
urban areas. Because of the low and erratic rainfall over most of the outback,
combined with soils which are usually not very fertile, inland Australia is
relatively sparsely settled. More than 90 percent of Australians live in urban
areas on the coast.
The total
population of the Outback in Australia declined from 700,000 in 1996 to 690,000
in 2006. Largest decline was noted in Outback NT, while Kimberley and Pilbara
showed population increase during the same period. The sex ratio is 104 males
for 100 females and 17% of the total population is indigenous. Other than
agriculture and tourism, the main economic activity in this vast and sparsely
settled area is mining.
Owing to the
complete absence of mountain building and glaciation since the Permian (in many
areas since the Cambrian) ages, the outback is extremely rich in iron,
aluminium, manganese and uranium ores, and also contains major deposits of
gold, nickel, iron, lead and zinc ores. Because of its size, the value of grazing
and mining is considerable.
There is much
beauty within the Outback, with vast, unspoilt tracts of land, desert and
scrubland, hidden oases and watercourses, striking rock formations, unusual
vegetation, striking soil and mineral colours, our native animals, and amazing
vistas at sunrise and sunset. There is terror also, with droughts, bushfires,
floods and other natural disasters...
This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.
“The moon puts
on an elegant show, different every time in shape, colour and nuance.” - Arthur
Smith
A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the
closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting
in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The
technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term “supermoon”
is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology. The moon will not be
so close again until August 10, 2014. Supermoons occur about once every 14 full
moons in a full moon cycle. Magpie Tales
has provided an image of last
month’s supermoon by Julio Cortez, to inspire participants in her creative
writing challenge. Here is my offering.
Apocalypse
One day I’ll tear
The thin gauze of the passing seasons,
Transcending time
I’ll pass into the infinite.
Stepping on bleeding moon
Expiring in its death throes
I’ll merge with dying breath
Of supernovaed sun
And travel through Armageddon.
I’ll fathom the true meaning of eternity
Seconds, days, aeons being identical,
My soul will fill to bursting
And still yearn for more;
Forever on until my eyes resemble seas
My brain engorged with newness and
With increasing understanding.
And ever onward,
To know,
To learn,
To understand,
To seek,
To find,
To see the reason why...
“More than 820 million people in the world suffer from hunger; and
790 million of them live in the Third World.” - Fidel Castro
Magpie Tales has provided a photograph by Yohan Musin,
a talented artist to act as inspiration for followers of her blog. Here is my
contribution (including my edit to the photo) to the creative writing challenge:
The Solution
A promise, a vision, a solution –
All preferable to
The present, the reality, the misery.
Her nails, her hair, her clothes
All ache, due to
The never-ending work, the drudgery, the
need.
In the village, in the fields, in the house,
A constant demand for
Her contribution, her labour, her input.
Her sex, her caste, her age
All conspire to
Discrimination, prejudice, unfairness.
A city, a job, a new start,
Will they make possible
The promise, the vision, the solution?
