This post about Brambuk Cultural Centre was originally published in 2008. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.
Being from Canada, we feel right at home in Oz. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again.
Everywhere we turn, we see more and more similarities between Australia and Canada, and are amazed that two countries so far apart geographically can share so many commonalities.
One such common bond, and one neither country is particularly proud of, is the struggle with our respective countries’ indigenous people, history, and culture. In settling both countries, aboriginals were ill-treated, not respected, and their history was largely erased instead of preserved.
The tragedy persists as now aboriginal people are left fighting for land, rights, and respect. Relations are strained at best, and although apologies have been issued by governments for historical blunders, there is a lot of ground to cover before everything is really okay again. Who knows – maybe things will never be okay again.
See also: The Australian Aboriginal Tent Embassy – The World’s Longest-Standing Protest
Before our journey into the outback, we were warned by some people of towns along the way that they considered unsafe to even stop at, much less chat with the locals (who were predominantly aboriginal). We were told not to make eye contact. We were warned of road-side ambushes, and told our fair share of horror stories – some possibly true, and others obviously not.
But knowing our own aboriginal issues back in Canada, we’ve always maintained that there are two sides to a story. So in many of the towns we have passed through, we’ve made a point of visiting the local aboriginal cultural centre in search of that balance. Some centres were informative, and others were not.
Which is why we were absolutely elated when we rolled into the Brambuk Cultural Centre in the heart of Grampians National Park. Free to all, and run in conjunction with Parks Victoria, this museum-cum-souvenir shop-cum-café is a place you could easily wile away a good chunk of the day.
So naturally, visiting Brambuk on the day of our departure from the Grampian mountains and spending the whole rainy morning there was heaven.
If you’d like to know more about what we saw and learned at Brambuk Cultural Centre, then check out the full article over at our World Nomads Ambassador Journal!
Hi Timur,
Because this article is copyrighted by both myself and by World Nomads, you may certainly copy some of the post, but not the entire thing.
If you copy half and provide a link for your readers to the original article here, I would be delighted though.
Thank you for asking!
-Nora
I really liked this post. Can I copy it to my blog?
Thank in advance.
Sincerely, Timur.
Another similarity between both countries is the european whiteness, that abounds, everywhere, and therefore, the pretty in-your-face-racism.
@nomad – I think it depends on where you are in Australia as to how bad the racism can be….for example, Melbourne is incredibly multi-cultural and therefore probably less racist, but I hear you. I have been lucky enough to associate with open-minded Australians during most of my time here.