Still life of day old salusalus (leis), Soa village, Fiji.
*click on image for full screen view.
Message Stick Walker
Alwyn Doolan, The Message Stick Walker, arrived yesterday morning on Gadigal country, Warrang, Sydney.
He symbolically walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge with supporters in tow, before heading to Redfern and then on to Invasion Day events, where he campaigned for Sovereignty.
Alwyn has travelled over 5,000 kms by foot from Bamaga in far north Queensland. His epic journey will end at Uluru, via Canberra. His aim is to bring more attention to the injustices perpetrated against Aboriginal peoples across Australia.
*click through images for full screen view
Yabun Sunset Ceremony, La Perouse
This year’s Yabun - a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture and survival held every year on Invasion Day - was launched on the 25th of January at La Perouse with a sunset ceremony.
A sacred fire was created by traditional methods on Yarra Bay and rowed out to Timbery Reserve in a handmade canoe. There, on the point, dances and speeches ensued.
Along with the sacred fire, a wreath commemorating the devastating impact caused by colonisation was then set out to sea on the Tribal Warrior, to be taken through Sydney Heads and used to light a fire the following day in Victoria Park, the current site of Yabun.
From the organisers:
“Yabun has its origins in La Perouse in the 1990s before it relocated to Waverly Park, then to Redfern Park and now Victoria Park in Camperdown. The Sunset Ceremony is a chance for us to come together to honour and reflect on the sacrifices and struggle that has come before us. Performances by Chifley Public School and the Waradah Dance Group.'“
*click through images for full screen view
Invasion Day, 2019, Gadigal Country, Sydney
Up to 50,000 people marched on Gadigal country, Sydney to mark 230 years of British colonialism in Australia.
Mainstream media outlets quoted attendance levels anywhere from just 1,000 to only 3,000 people. Clearly the numbers were overwhelmingly in excess of these figures, as the images prove. Others sources quoted numbers beyond 50,000. An estimated 80,000 people marched in Melbourne, while rallies in other centres and regional areas across the country were also held. Public sentiment is slowly swinging towards a more critical understanding of Australia Day as protest numbers have dramatically increased each year in recent times.
Many Aboriginal people see the 26th of January, otherwise known as ‘Australia Day,’ as the start of centuries of genocide, dispossession and ongoing discrimination.
The rally marched from Hyde Park South in the CBD to Yabun in Victoria Park, Glebe. The protest was organised by FIRE (Fighting In Resistance Equally) with support from hundreds of other community groups and thousands of individuals.
*click through images for full screen view
Invasion Day 2019, Gadigal
Up to 50,000 people marched on Invasion Day in Sydney, Gadigal country, to demand justice for Aboriginal people across the nation.
This image shows the crowds stretching kilometres from Victoria Park in Glebe, down Broadway to at least Harris Street in Ultimo.
More pics to come.
*click on image for full screen view
Message Stick Walker Arrives On Gadigal
Alwyn Doolan, The Message Stick Walker, arrived early this morning on Gadigal land, Sydney, Eora after walking from Bamaga in far north Queensland.
More pics to come.
*Click on image for full screen view
Yabun Sunset Ceremony
A plane sets for landing over La Perouse as members of the Waradah Dance Group sing a wreath of flowers and a sacred fire out to sea, to be transported into Sydney Harbour for tomorrow’s commemoration of Invasion Day, more broadly known as ‘Australia Day’..
More pics from the Yabun Sunset Ceremony to come…
*click on image for full screen view
Women's March, Sydney
Around 5,000 to 7,000 people rallied through Sydney’s streets for the annual Women’s March - a feat replicated in several cities around the world.
The crowd gathered at Hyde Park where speakers spoke out against inequality and violence against women. Nearly 70 women were murdered in Australia last year - more than one a week. Equal pay, respect and human rights were other themes also addressed.
The march moved south bound and ended at Belmore Park.
*click on images for full screen view
Black and white film
I’ve been trying my hand at 35mm black and white film recently. Here’s some shots from my latest roll.
Shot in Tri-X black and white 35mm film with a Nikon F2AS.
*click through images for full screen view
Peripatetic Patricia
Local peripatetic Kings Cross identity, Patricia.
I bumped into Patricia on the way home yesterday. We got chatting as we usually do when we bump into each other. She told me that she had been waiting for half an hour in the oppressive summer heat for a photographer who failed to turn up. So I asked her, given that she had dressed up for the occasion, if she’d like me to take some photographs of her instead. She agreed, so I grabbed my camera and went for a walk with her around the area in the fading afternoon sun.
*click on images for full screen view
Protest Against Police Brutality of Danny Lim
Local identity, 75-year old Danny Lim, was man-handled by 3 police officers yesterday at Barangaroo, the new financial centre of Sydney. He was arrested, handcuffed and thrown into the back of a police van with his small dog, Smarty, for offensive behaviour for wearing a sign saying ‘CVNT SMILE WHY CVNT’. As a result, both of Danny’s arms suffered extensive bruising.
Mr. Lim has previously been arrested by police for wearing his thought-provoking signs - charges which were ultimately thrown out of court.
Today, around 200 people gathered outside the Day Street police station to protest against Danny Lim’s case and against police brutality in general, particularly against the LGBTQI and Aboriginal communities. Speakers demanded more oversight, accountability and scrutiny of police operations. They called for freedom of speech, human rights, less police powers and justice for Danny Lim.
Danny's case will be contested in court where, according to his lawyers, he will be seeking damages against the NSW police force.
*click through images for full screen view.
Marlene Cummins
Marlene Cummins, original member of the Australian Black Panther Party and blues icon, busks for xmas coins at Broadway, Sydney, 2018.
Shot on 35mm Tri-X film, Nikon F2AS.
*click through images for full screen view
Barbara McGrady, Glebe
Hanging out with photojournalist, Barbara McGrady, in Glebe on a hot summers day.
Shot on 35mm Tri-X film, Nikon F2AS.
*click through images for full screen view
David Dungay Junior's Death In Custody - Third Anniversary Rally
Yesterday was the third anniversary of the death of Dunghutti man, David Dungay Junior, at the hands of correctional officers in Long Bay Gaol. Dungay, a diabetic, was held face down by multiple Special Operations Group members and forcibly injected with sedatives in his cell in 2015 after refusing to hand over a packet of biscuits. He stopped breathing shortly after.
To mark the date and to bring attention to ongoing Aboriginal deaths in custody, family members and supporters travelled to Sydney to protest outside the gates to the prison. Special Operations Group members were summoned but despite emotional scenes from Dungay’s family, no serious incidents unfolded.
After a traditional smoking, CCTV footage of Dungay’s death was screened on a TV. Family vowed to continue to pursue justice.
Throughout the day, the crowd’s signature chant was Dungay’s last words before he died: “I can’t breathe”.
A coronial inquest into Dungay’s death has been adjourned until March next year.
*click through images for full screen view
A Tear For Junior
A young family member sheds a single tear at today's rally to commemorate the third anniversary of the death in custody of Aboriginal man, David Dungay Junior, at the hands of correctional officers in Long Bay Gaol in 2015.
More pics to come.
*click on image for full screen view
Carols for the Homeless, Canberra
Some images of the Messianic Ministries, whose members originate from Ghana. Today, they put on a barbeque and sang Christmas carols for the homeless at Ainsley Village, Canberra.
*click through images for full screen view
Still Life At The Embassy
A study of still life at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on Xmas Day. Canberra, Ngunnawal country.
*click on image for full screen view
The Block - Going, Going...
A new wall has been going up around The Block in the last few days as re-development of this important Aboriginal site grows nearer.
The land is earmarked for several 24-story towers of student housing, despite the disputed promise of 62 ‘affordable houses’ for Aboriginal families.
*click through images for full screen view.
Shhhhhh! - A silent Kings Cross performance
Photographs from last night’s silent theatre work, ‘Shhhhhh!’, a performance by Vashti Hughes, Annie Winter, Di Busuttil, Calamity James, Claire Anastopoulos, Felix Kulakowski and Paul Walker.
The work is in response to a ‘dulled’ city - the result of lock-out laws and a pervasive conservatism that has seen the virtual death of Sydney night-life, particularly in the once thriving Kings Cross.
‘Shhhhhh!’ was performed outside the famous Piccolo Bar, in the heart of Kings Cross.
*click through images for full screen view
International Human Rights Day
Images from yesterday’s march in Sydney to mark International Human Rights Day.
Speakers from Aboriginal, Mapuche and West Papuan communities all raised similar concerns about colonialism, genocide, natural justice, due legal process, police brutality and the rule of law.
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN.
*click through images for full screen view
