Alice Springs in mid-summer gets pretty hot. The sun is directly overhead at midday and casts no shadow. It’s a busy town and an important strategic one, with no neighbours for hundreds of miles in any direction (and thousands in some).
My abiding memory of this little town remains the number of Aboriginal people we saw, lurking in the shadows as if living in a parallel world where no-one else could see them. I know nothing about their plight or the complex history of modern Australia that brought about the Aboriginals’ current situation, and I will not make any attempt to analyse the causes or consequences of the existance of this socially separated group. Rather I will stick to our own experiences and emotions during our day in Alice Springs.
Taking a walk into town in the morning, we first saw groups, men and women, young and old, sitting in the shadows of the shopping centre. Mostly without shoes and dressed in old tatty clothes, they kept themselves separate to the main activity of the town. They were not seen in shops or cafes, and this segregation, while seemingly not enforced in any way, appeared absolute. The white inhabitants of Alice Springs seemed to be like those of any other town: running errands, stopping to chat with friends and taking a break for a coffee and a gossip. They inhabited the same space as the Aborigine people, but it was rather like watching a film where a character can see dead people walking among us. I was acutely aware of both sets of people, yet each group lived with a total lack of acknowledgement of the other.
Later in the day, we ventured into the town again for dinner. We had a walk of around 1km, mostly along a quiet road by a dried out river bed. Well before reaching the town we could hear the shouting and screaming coming from the shade of the trees on the other side of the river. Groups of Aborigine men and women were sitting, standing, arguing, and it seemed almost all were drunk. Many swaggered with bottles of what looked like home-brew, and while a few shouted out to us, most ignored us as we passed hurriedly by. As we entered the town we made our way quickly to a restaurant, and later even made the rare step for us of getting a taxi back to the hotel; we did not want to venture out again along that street.
There are very few places in the world where I have felt uneasy about our safety, and I never expected to feel that way in Alice Springs. While I doubt we were in any physical danger, it was certainly not pleasant to be out after dark. We later talked to many Australians we met along the way and related our experiences to some of them. Most expressed sadness, frustration and were at a loss to offer a way forward in what has been a social blemish in Australia’s recent history.
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An interesting and moving account of the reality of Alice Springs. I've lived in the Alice for over 5 years now. It's a strange place at times. Intriguing to observe.
I have found the town to be very safe but I don't venture out on my own late at night without a car or taxi. Most of the hotels here advise visitors to use the taxis at night.
Your opening comment about "Alice Springs in mid-summer …" makes me smile. We're only just entering spring here, after an unseasonally warm winter. I suspect we will be in for a very long, very hot summer. But summer doesn't begin for us until December, with February & March being the hottest months. Temperatures will regularly reach over 40C!
Cheers & may you continue enjoying your travels & writing about them.
DG
Thanks Desertgirl, it's been a while since we were there (December 2000) but as you way it's intriguing to watch the different people going about their business and I suspect the issues in 2000 and still the same 9 years on.
As for the heat, we found December too hot, so I hate to think what it's like in Feb!
Thanks again for stopping by and posting (I enjoyed reading your blog too!)
It’s a very complex issue, and one that we’ve been wrestling with all trip. Does a point come where you have to say what white people did was awful, but you can’t turn back the clock and go back to the way things were? Are the sins of the past be used as a way of not addressing the problems of the present?
Reparations vs responsibility, intervention versus indigenous way of life, tradition versus harsh reality – there are so many fine lines to tread. In the meantime, the desperately sad tales of alcoholism, sexual abuse, unemployment and disenfranchisement will continue amongst some sections of the Aboriginal Australian community.
Incidentally, if you have time, read this exceptional report on Mutitjulu, the hidden Aboriginal settlement near Uluru/ Ayers Rock – http://www.smh.com.au/national/between-the-rock-and-a-hard-place-20090703-d7sa.html. It’s long, but paints a great picture of the issues involved.
Thanks David. They are tough questions for Australia to grapple with (the same ones others around the world including the UK have struggled with): for how many generations does the guilt of previous generations last?
Paul McGeough’s report on Mutitjulu makes uncomfortable reading but paints a vivid picture of the fine line that those advocating intervention must tread. Like you say, well worth reading. Will be interested to hear what you made of Alice Springs if you made it to the town while you were in NT.
I did go to Alice, yes, but I’ve been before and I know what to expect. We had two days there and picked very specific things to do and see, so we didn’t spend much time hanging around in town. You see the same thing in Coober Pedy, Tennant Creek, Katherine etc.
We did walk home at night, however. I rationalise it – I’ve seen the scenario you’re painting before. It’s desperately sad, but threatening? I’m not sure – I tend to feel uncomfortable, not threatened. The drunks tend to be hurting just themselves.