Darwin, an unlucky town?

 Feb 17, 2025

When people hear the word Rom, it means our Law. It is Yolnu tradition, happening on Yolnu land with Yolnu people. Rom is what it is to be Yolnu." ~ Yurranydjil Dhurrkay, aboriginal elder

Today we docked (Yay for docking instead of tendering!) at Darwin, which has a larger harbor than Sydney, but isn't nearly as heavily populated. The entire Northern Territory, which reaches inland to include Alice Springs and Ayre's Rock (Ullaroo),  wouldn't match one of Sydney's suburbs for numbers of residents. 

Those big floaties studded with tires keep the Viking Sky from banging into the pier. 

Darwin is named for Charles Darwin of Origin of the Species fame, though he never actually visited here. The area has had its share of woe in the past. During WWII, they suffered more bombs than Pearl Harbor and the US heartily welcomed the Aussies as allies in the Pacific fight. After the war, the city was rebuilt.

Then in 1974 on Christmas Eve, Cyclone Tracey demolished the place in the dead of night. True to form, the residents rose from the ashes and rebuilt again. I think that dogged stubbornness is one of the things I find most attractive about the Australian spirit. 

Our excursion today was The Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery. Unfortunately, the art portion had just been closed down and moved to storage because they'd had a large competition and judging of aboriginal art a few weeks ago and much of it was sold into private collections. One of the docents confided that the American comedian Steve Martin is a foremost collector of aboriginal art. 

This 1988 rock painting was the only permanent aboriginal painting in residence.

  

So instead of art, we were treated to collections of the flora and fauna of Australia past and present. My goodness, they grew everything big here. There was a skeleton of a flightless goose that once stood 10 ft tall. (The insects were big too, but I won't dwell on that!)

This beautifully marked lizard certainly explains some of the aboriginal motifs.

On our return trip to the ship, our driver explained that Australia had suffered economically during the covid shut down and the government encouraged its citizens to come up with a song to promote tourism. He sang us this little dittie as he drove. Does it tempt you to venture Down Under?

Whatever they have to deal with, be it bombs, cyclones or animals out to kill you, the Aussies take it all in stride! Gotta love em, even if I'm not ready to join 'em.

Today is my birthday. It's one of those special ones with a zero on the end, the kind that make you wonder where the years have flown, and, as my Uncle Rick used to joke, why didn't I take better care of myself? 

But no complaints about getting older. I'm full of gratitude for the myriad blessings God has crammed into my life--my dear husband, my family, my friends, my church, my little dogs...I could go on for days. 

This morning my DH asked if I was happy. 

"Forget Disney World," I told him. "Wherever you are is the happiest place on earth!"