Wangiwriter's Blog

An A to Z of places I have been

This post was inspired by a creative writing prompt on Strangling My Muse.

A          Armidale University, where three of my sons graduated.

Old Burra copper mine and engine house.

B          Burra, a lovely little historic country town– the longest I had lived in one place (six years) since 1968.

C         Canberra, the national capital, designed by Walter Burley Griffin, and home to many repositories of national importance.

D         Dapto, where my family came for a couple of months in 1954, after we arrived in Australia.

E          Earning a living as best I could.

F          Finding out about inland Australia on a four-month caravan trip in 1980.

G         Going into the depths of despair, and climbing out again.

Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira

H         Hermannsburg, the birthplace of famous Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira, where I taught for four years, and became school principal.

I          Imagining something better, and finding it.

J         Jousting with cancer and winning.

K         Kiama, which was a lovely little place when I was a child, but is now suffering the blight of urban growth.

L          Lake Macquarie, the largest coastal lake in NSW – beautiful!

M         Moss Vale, almost an English village in an Australian setting – well, it does rain a lot!

N          Narromine, where I found out the meaning of passion.

O          Observing the magnificent night sky in remote Central Australia

P          Perth, the capital of Western Australia – not so long ago the only capital city with a country town atmosphere.

Q          Queensland – coastal and inland – a state of natural beauty and destructive mining.

R          Realising a dream in the self-publishing world.

University of Sydney

S          Sydney University, which I attended for one term in 1966.

T          Teaching the children, and learning about indigenous people and life (and about myself) in the small and remote community of Ampilatwatja.

U          Underground in an old gold mine.

V         Valuing the joys of birthing and being mother to five wonderful children.

W         Wollongong, a once-thriving city, now trying to re-invent itself after losing most of the region’s manufacturing industries.

X         X-ercising my right to vote, to protest, to be involved in the life of my town, state and country.

Y         Young Hospital, where my youngest child was born.

Z          Zooming in on a Dreamtime place in the desert.

Linda Visman

8^th June 2012