In a few days Sydney has become among my favorite cities in the World. In nature I am a true big city dweller, quickly at ease in urban jungles and it usually does not take me long to measure and benchmark a city. Of course it certainly helps having relatives or friends in the local scene. It didn’t take long to find that Sydney is a place with much to offer. A hustling and bustling city in between beautiful bays and beaches. The city is home to 5 million of the 20 million Australians inhabiting this huge country and two of them are my aunt Melanie and cousin Priscilla.
The old governmental and financial centre and port area called the Rocks close to Circular Quay have some nice and well maintained old colonial architecture surrounded by a chain of modern business buildings and completed by a fine accessory called the Sydney Opera House. The whole vibe of the city is quite European and nothing apart from the large Asian community, similar to Auckland, tells you your in the Asia Pacific part of the world. This is also the place with the most vibrant and outgoing China town I’ve ever been to. In any case it doesn’t surprise me that the Australian economy is still on the rise and real estate prices in Sydney are sky rocketing.
When asking a retired Australian foreign service official why this Aboriginal predicament seems so much worse than other native peoples around the world he acknowledges that Australia has simply not found a solution for it and recent research projects have indicated that beyond the cultural and psychological factors there might even be biological factors impairing their integration and general welfare. Or perhaps that's just an easy excuse. Up to very recent times the Australians have hardly been interested in the welfare of it's indigenous people, quite the contrary actually.
On television I saw that in this years elections it was the first time in Australia's history an Aboriginal was chosen for parliament. And Priscilla told me that sports are slowly giving the Aboriginals role models to look up to. In the plane home I also read that Qantas airlines was supporting aboriginal sport projects. A Nomad has faith there will be upliftment of Australia's indigenous population.
Staying at my aunts place in the lovely neighbourhood of Lillyfield in west side Sydney it’s obvious that the Australians have acquired a high standard of living. The main street there has some of the best Italian food and coffee, the best bagels and some of the finest bakery I’ve had in a long time. Its obvious Aussies have a sweet tooth as throughout the city you can find delicious chocolate shops with Carl Brenner being the king of chocolate. Now that is something this Nomad can appreciate.
The old governmental and financial centre and port area called the Rocks close to Circular Quay have some nice and well maintained old colonial architecture surrounded by a chain of modern business buildings and completed by a fine accessory called the Sydney Opera House. The whole vibe of the city is quite European and nothing apart from the large Asian community, similar to Auckland, tells you your in the Asia Pacific part of the world. This is also the place with the most vibrant and outgoing China town I’ve ever been to. In any case it doesn’t surprise me that the Australian economy is still on the rise and real estate prices in Sydney are sky rocketing.
The city attracts people from all over the Asia Pacific region as well as of course Europe and even Lebanese and other Middle Eastern countries. But you do start to wonder where the original inhabitants are. I haven’t seen one aboriginal to date. A big difference to neighbouring New Zealand where Maori presence is everywhere. It seems that even compared to the American Indian the Aboriginals have a harder time reconciling their world with that of the white man. Alcoholism and drug abuse is still a widespread means to escape their predicament. In fact the average life expectancy of an Aboriginal is 60 years, while for other Australians it is 78.
When asking a retired Australian foreign service official why this Aboriginal predicament seems so much worse than other native peoples around the world he acknowledges that Australia has simply not found a solution for it and recent research projects have indicated that beyond the cultural and psychological factors there might even be biological factors impairing their integration and general welfare. Or perhaps that's just an easy excuse. Up to very recent times the Australians have hardly been interested in the welfare of it's indigenous people, quite the contrary actually.
Even up to the late 60's wandering bands of untouched Aboriginals were found in the Northern parts of Australia's outback. When a rocket missile landing spot in what was presumably an uninhabited area in the North was surveyed before launching, a band of 12 naked women and children was discovered living of the land. The men had apparently disappeared and they were taken into a Church ran reservation. These people had never seen white people or even wore clothes, but had a very extensive spiritual life.
On television I saw that in this years elections it was the first time in Australia's history an Aboriginal was chosen for parliament. And Priscilla told me that sports are slowly giving the Aboriginals role models to look up to. In the plane home I also read that Qantas airlines was supporting aboriginal sport projects. A Nomad has faith there will be upliftment of Australia's indigenous population.
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From the surfer's spot Bondi Beach and the magnificent Blue Mountains the Sydney area has much to offer and again a Nomad has found a place that is well worthwhile returning to.
I realise that I have just seen a tiny spec of the continent, but believe that this is a place Nomads could possibly settle. So many have done so before me, right?
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