Desert Springs

This is my first time in NT (a short transit at Darwin airport some years back does not count). There are three things that stand out when first arriving in Alice Springs - the surrounding ranges, the roller shutters on many downtown buildings and the number of indigenous people loitering in the streets including a few begging.
Many people know my feelings about the poor way white Australians have treated indigenous people over the last 200+ years (it scares me to think that 1/4 of that has been in my lifetime). What has been, has been and we can't change that. I think things have improved in more recent times but clearly we have a long way to go. "White Australia" is no longer just white and British, we have moved on from that and have become a multi-cultural society, though some people are having trouble accepting that. I don't have answers but clearly there's a problem needing more effort to resolve regarding how the new Australians can live in better harmony with each other and in harmony with the indigenous people and culture we have displaced. Boomerangs and aboriginal art are Australian icons, found in every tourist shop in Australia so why do we still celebrate our national day on the day discounts the existence of the people who have been here for thousands of years before?
One thing is for certain is that every day, even here in Alice, the sun rises and sets.Read more