26 March 2018 - Day 23 - In Darwin

The washing machine and dryer at Level 2 required one dollar coins to operate them – three each. Detergent is dispensed for 2 dollars. Reception changed bills to coins for me. I had seven days’ laundry to take care of. The cycle I had chosen would take about 40 minutes. I made myself a cup of coffee and caught up on social media news when the washing was being done. The dryer did its work in about 15 minutes. Some of the clothes were still a bit wet and I had to hang them up in the room to dry them further. The rest were folded and placed in the bag.

Last evening I had bought croissants from Coles. That with Strawberry jam would be breakfast. When I was on the second one Shyju Abraham, the contact given by Honey Joseph in Adelaide, called to say that he would be free the whole day. He offered to come around in a short time and take me wherever I wanted to go. In the meanwhile, I got ready and hopped across to the Hertz car rental diagonally opposite the YHA. There I met Prashanth from Kottayam, Kerala. He had recently relocated from Dubai and felt that Australia is an excellent alternative to Dubai, be it professional or personal. I explained to him that I was wanting to get the Hertz rental car serviced as it was very close to its service mileage of 45,000 km. I had contacted Customer Service while in Perth. Their response came a day too late for the service to be done in Perth. Finally, after a series of mails with VP, Customer Relations it was decided that service would be arranged in Darwin this day. And, I was given a number to contact. The calls went through to voice messages and that’s how I happened to be in Prashanth’s office.

Prashanth said that his office only dealt with rentals; however, he would check with his Manager and revert, he said. In the meanwhile Shyju landed up at the YHA. While I was about to get into Shyju’s car Prashanth called to say that his Manager had suggested that I take the car to Action Automobiles, where the servicing of Hertz cars were done. Shyju knew the general direction of the service station. I followed Shyju in the car and reached the place after a small ‘search’. The service station had many cars in various stages of repair and disrepair. I was a bit concerned when I saw that the entire facility was manned by just one person. When I told him what I wanted he took the key and asked me to come back in a couple of hours. When I asked him if I have any paperwork to complete he said that he would do that online with Hertz! Wasn’t I amazed?

Shyju had worked in UK as a nurse for a few years before migrating to Australia in 2011. While he works in the only hospital in Darwin, the Royal Darwin Hospital, his wife works in the same noble profession privately, which gives her more flexibility and better pay. After handing over the car we dropped by at a boating club in the Fannie Bay area. From there we went to pick up Shyju’s friend, Edwin, who he said is an interesting person and politically active – he recently contested the council elections and worked as an Assistant to an MP. We spend some time at his PG accommodation breaking the ice. Originally from Kanyakumari, he became an office bearer in one of the Malayalee clubs due to his grasp of the language and initiative.

We first went to the Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory and spent considerable time there going through displays, exhibitions and a poignant recollection of Cyclone Tracy. In the two days I was in Darwin I could make out that the indelible scars of the Territory are the 1942 WWII bombings of the city by the Japanese and the devastation wrought by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. The Museum gave an excellent round up of reptilian life, birds, minerals, indigenes and their life and art in Northern Territory. Famous among the exhibits is the body of Sweetheart, a crocodile notorious for attacking boats. It was a very informative time spent in the Museum.

The Darwin Skycity is the only Casino in Darwin. The ownership of the Casino has changed hands many times. It has over a hundred rooms, many of them overlooking the sea, and a specialty restaurant. While we were visiting here Edwin gave me a fantastic account of the aboriginals and their life and times. Often, to the outside world, the aboriginals seem like vagrants and potential troublemakers. When you look at their plight from their point of view you will see their lifestyle in a different perspective. Originally, sustenance seekers with very little needs and traditional beliefs, customs and practices, they were thrown out of their own lands by the white explorers and settlers, starting with Captain Cook. The era of white settlement coincided with the cultural denudation of the indigenes, alienation of their lands and susceptibility to newer diseases. They became outcasts in their own land. Till 1974 they were not even citizens with equal rights in their country.  The scheme of development envisaged by the white man did not take into account, initially, the preservation of the aboriginals’ life and culture. They are now given a fortnightly ‘dole’, which is mostly spent on liquor and tobacco. To curtail the increasing trend of alcoholism certain restrictions on purchase and consumption of liquor have been introduced in the Northern Territory.

Edwin, having extensive experience in the working of the political system and his familiarity with the Parliament House, was an invaluable guide on a quick tour of the Parliament House. The main gate of the Parliament House is opened only when the Administrator comes to the House. Security at the entrance is limited to two persons scanning personal items and bags and another two using handheld scanners, when required. No declarations, no paperwork and one is free to walk about. The modern building is fitted out with proper surveillance equipment and access control. Thus, visitors can go only where access control does not restrict their access. We went to the visitors’ gallery and had a bird’s eye-view of the legislative assembly seating and the manner in which business would be conducted there. The NT Parliament consists of 25 elected representatives, of which one is nominated as the Speaker to preside over the functioning of the House. NT has only 1% of the population of Australia, with half of that population being in Darwin. This Assembly is overwhelmingly Labour Party and Independent. When we visited the Supreme Court, Court 5 was in session and we had the opportunity to take a sneak peak of the proceedings. The pleadings were before a 15 member jury with the lawyers and the judge wearing wigs in traditional British style.

It was time for lunch and we had a marvelous chicken and fries feast at Nandoos in the city. Edwin kept on supplying nuggets of information that shed light on the life in Australia and its political system. He had fixed up an appointment to meet Kate Worden, the MLA who represented Sanderson. The down to earth member came out of her office to greet us and welcome us to her room. The office itself was so unpretentious and showed that work mattered more than the trappings of office. Edwin told me that unnecessary use of the perks of office never went down well with the electorate. We discussed, in the short time we spent with her, the issues facing the constituency, the often intractable issues regarding mainstreaming the aboriginals and the latest issue facing the legislators – fracking. During this week they will have to consider the report of an expert committee that had been set up to study the impact of the technology and take a stand on the matter. From the manner in which Kate discussed it, to me, it seemed a very emotive issue.

It was decided that we would do a BBQ dinner at East Point Reserve by about 6 pm. Edwin and Shyju shopped at Woolworths for this and then I went with Shyju to his house where I had parked my car after retrieving from service. There I met up with Shyju’s wife and daughter, Analina, whose extra-curricular interest was dancing. Alan, their son had recently started graduate school and we met very briefly. I also had the good fortune to meet Abhilash, who worked in the Hilton and commuted to work daily by cycle, a round trip of about 25 km.

We got together at Lake Alexander in East Point Reserve after a short visit to St Mary’s Church, near the YHA; also met Fr Tom, the parish priest. At the BBQ I met Antony, a landscape architect, and his precocious son, Augustine.  Edwin joined in a short while and the party came alive. Most parks have electric BBQ facility provided by the council, which can be made use of for free. Antony got busy with making sausages with onion, which became delicious hot dogs in a short time. Beer and soft drinks accompanied the food. There was Kappa and fish curry too; yummy and a Shyju special. During the interaction I understood that Antony is a master chef and a man of many parts. I have promised to return someday to Darwin to partake of a meal prepared by him. The lovely evening eventually wound to a close, but it was tough taking leave of these new friends. They had become close and it was as if I had known them for a long time. That is what travel is all about – meeting fellow souls who travel with you through time and space.