for cam

your signature bling
rest of you remains secret
a matter of time

Ian Row

feral white people
setting standards for others
keep it to yourself

Cesca Alice

Holiday haiku

Stationary travel:
mind off on annual leave
body still at work.

Chris Gill

The Red Centre Collective 11

Postlude

i.
I forget my brownness
… you have been randomly selected…
define ‘random’

ii.
Alice – twenty four
Melbourne – six degrees celsius
I hope Clinton wins

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 10

Alice Springs V

Blind black busker
A bittersweet James Taylor
My pity is wrong

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 9

Hermannsburg Suite

i.
Hermannsburg mission
G’day Jesus, g’night dreamtime
Legend for legend

ii.
Vision post-Albert*
Desert in watercolours
Life imitates art

*Namatjira, painter

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 8

Tennant Creek II

i.
Restless sleep
Spirits mess with my dreaming
In-residence

ii.
What intervention*!
It’s about uranium
We eat what we’re fed

*Commonwealth's Indigenous intervention in the Northern Territory

iii.
I drift off
Find myself doing 180
Baby’s coming through!

iv.
backbone of mountains
trace the tracks of time; humbled
by the earth and wind

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 7

Tennant Creek I

i.
roadhouse: a dress code,
a time to buy alcohol
rules of engagement

ii.
cash spent on junk food
essentials bought on lay-by
purchasing power

iii.
up here the police
are a law unto themselves
but don’t quote me

iv.
against setting sun
silhouette of shamelessness
night can’t come too soon

v.
stock standard menu
dinner at the RSL*
standard clientele

*Returned and Services League

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 6

Alice Springs IV

i.
barefoot in the bush
the future brought the 4WD
and shoes for the mall

ii.
who have I become?
no stomach for poverty
who I have become

iii.
rabbits are dying
slim pickings for the wedged-tail
can’t please everyone

iv.
indigenous art
middlemen charge top dollar
daylight robbery

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 5

Kings Canyon Suite

i.
contrary to
popular belief, one can
get rock overload

ii.
In artesia
NT’s water miracle
One thousand years

iii.
nation said sorry
the Spinifex burns from inside
regeneration

iv.
twenty-five per cent
royalty from national park
what does money mean?

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 4

Alice Springs III

i.
lizards have ears
snakes are deaf and mostly blind
reptiles 101

ii.
in my mouth
I taste my prejudice
can’t spit, can’t swallow

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 3

Alice Springs II

i.
“I have a white dad,”
“Mostly I feel black. And blue.”
Give the boy a rainbow.

ii.
can’t stay/can’t go
education should be free
get out of jail card

iii.
this life: in amber
he’s outside himself; freedom
as far as the fence

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 2

Alice Springs I

i.
in the red centre
my first meal should aptly be
from Red Rooster

ii.
safe from the social ills…
families mock the big city
we love our bubble

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective 1

Prelude

i.
Backpacker panic
Use my luggage allowance
Big karmic points scored

ii.
eleven kilos!
Who says I can’t travel light?
Take-off: Butterflies

Ian Row

The Red Centre Collective - Introduction

Centre Australia comprises the Northern Territory’s immense, ancient outback and the heart of the Australian continent. Lying in the heart of Central Australia, nestled between the East and West MacDonnell Ranges is Alice Springs, Australia’s most famous outback town. Alice is the product of 19th century pioneers who opened up Australia’s interior.

500 kms north of Alice Springs is Tennant Creek, a mining tent-town gazetted in 1934, following the last great gold rush of Australia.
126 kms west of Alice Springs is the Hermannsburg Historic Precinct. The Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission was one of the early towns in Central Australia; it was also the home of the famous Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira.

Alice Springs is home to many places of cultural and spiritual significance for its traditional owners, the Arrernte people (also referred to as Aranda, Arrarnta, Arunta). Aboriginal people are the original custodians of Australia and are widely regarded as the earth’s oldest living culture, having lived in the continent for more than 40,000 years.

The Dreamtime is the Aboriginal understanding of the world, of its creation, and its great stories. The Dreamtime is the beginning of knowledge, from which came the laws of existence. For survival these laws must be observed.

The Red Centre Collective was written between 10-17 May 2008 and is dedicated to Matthew Ryan.

Ian Row

Sources:

Central Australia: Holiday & Visitor Guide 2008/2009 (published by Tourism Central Australia)
Tennant Creek -The Barkly Region: Visitor Guide 2007 (published by Barkly Tourism)
www.aboriginalart.com.au

Tea & oranges
into your goodness
softly i fall

Karen McVean

Missing duck haiku

i.Lost
Missing: Pre-loved duck
At first I was afraid...
Love, a fickle thing

Ian Row

ii.Found
Did I run amok
or come unstuck when bad luck struck
and I lost my duck?

Chris Gill

manky little fag
one serve of customer care
salvation army

to joel, salvos store, abbotsford

Ian Row

Tram Haiku 2

schoolgirl overload
tram reverberates with glee
class tours the city

Ian Row