Have you been there with a lantern?’ How Australians embrace the winter solstice

Winter is a difficult time for many Australians. Yuletide nostalgia inherited from European colonists leads us to do bizarre things like spray fake snow onto our windows during high summer. Since 1980, Australians have been offered “Christmas in Jul” as an antidote for this climate incongruity. But outside of Yulefest, the original festival, the folly proved to be too much to […]

‘We look at it more holistically’: how to heal Country beyond Naidoc Week

Naidoc Week, which was born out of the Aboriginal Rights Movement activism, is a week-long national event that celebrates the culture, history, and achievements of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The ‘National Aborigines (sic) and Islanders Day Celebration Committee’ used to be responsible for the organization of the Naidoc Week. The acronym is now the official name of the […]

Light in Victoria’s lockdown: ‘We’ve turned Hurstbridge yellow’

Residents were encouraged to get creative and make decorations for the town. Residents were encouraged to get creative in making decorations for the city to be painted and knitted yellow. Carol Jenkinson explains that a pompom garden was planted in the middle, bunting of yellow and green was used to decorate the shops, and a dam with “little wattle fairies scarecrows.” Eliza, […]

The Case Against Travel

What is the least informative statement people tend to make? I would nominate “I love travel.” This statement tells you little about the person because almost everyone loves to travel. Yet, people say it because they are proud of having traveled and that they plan to do so in the future. The opposition is small but articulate. G. K. Chesterton said that travel […]

A gentle hidden gem: a visitor’s guide to the NSW far south coast

About six hours drive from Sydney and seven from Melbourne, in Thaua Country in Yuin nation, are the small towns of Pambula and Merimbula. This is not your stereotypical Australian coast of bold, gold beaches and “apart hotels” with salt-smeared glass balconies. The far south coast of New South Wales has a gentle, hidden gem feel. Ringed by national parks and nature […]