Pilgimage: Dubbo to Bourke - Day 6

Bruce Feiler, a man who took a recent pilgrimage across the Middle East in the steps of Abraham, said the big thing that happened to him on his quest was that ‘my learning went from my head to my feet...the big transformation was being on the land...and finding the story in the geography itself.’ That’s precisely what was happening to READ MORE..

Bruce Feiler, a man who took a recent pilgrimage across the Middle East in the steps of Abraham, said the big thing that happened to him on his quest was that ‘my learning went from my head to my feet...the big transformation was being on the land...and finding the story in the geography itself.’ That’s precisely what was happening to our pilgrims as we headed East from Bourke to Brewarinna on the Barwon River and on South-east through the Macquarie Marshes to Coonamble. The puzzle of the rivers that had challenged explorers like Oxley, Sturt and Mitchell, fell into place for them as our guides explained their stories.
As Brad at the Fisheries Museum gave us the narrative of his Ngemba people’s ancient history, the group were beginning to connect to the land and water use in a new way. He highlighted the contrast between European and indigenous understandings and told the sobering story of the Hospital Creek massacre. In the Muddy Waters coffee shop, Pastor ‘Ikey’ Gordon opened their hearts to the spiritual geography of Brewarrina and the encouraging story of the way he acquired the building next door for his thriving church.He invited us to help write a new story as brothers and sisters working together.
Mid afternoon an expert in sustainable soils management, David Duncan, unravelled the curious nature of the Macquarie marshes as we followed him along the brand new two kilometre Boardwalk at Burrima. As he showed us it's extraordinary ability to recover from fire and drought we were hearing a parable about our land. On the way to Coonamble one pilgrim volunteered that the day had given him a whole new appreciation of the river systems and the way remote communities were working to meet the challenges. Learning was not only going from head to feet, but also to the heart.