27.3.11 – Art in the outback (Hawker, South Australia)

27.3.11 – Art in the outback  (Hawker, South Australia)

A sunny Sunday morning, and we joined a tiny Christian fellowship in Hawker – a serene and meditative little service, led by Jeff Morgan, a quiet spoken, unassuming man. He’d been out fixing up houses with his son in preparation for the tourists – it’s too hot here for tourism in the summer, so autumn and spring are the seasons. They spoke about the rain – it has damaged many of the roads, undermining the tarmac and cutting off outlining towns and homesteads. It’s the first serious rain they have had for twenty years, so is very welcome none the less.

Garden in Hawker

Cactus in Hawker garden

Hawker is a quiet little township of about 300 people. Its population has been falling since its railway days, but we found several lively shops, three garages and several tourist businesses, supplying the route to Wilpena Pound, our ultimate destination. We walked the town trail, past neat houses with the customary pretty wrought iron verandahs, gardens full of brilliant flowers - a mark of defiance to the scorching weather, whereas others boasted huge cacti – presumably, as far as the weather’s concerned, if you you’ve got it, flaunt it. We also found Vatican House here – His Holiness’ holiday home we surmised, but it turned out to be the abode of a family named Pope. Pigs may fly, and in one garden, one was doing exactly that (see photo).

Flying Pig

Meg looking at Panorama

We also found three art galleries. One of these announced the presence of the ‘Wilpena Pound Panorama’. Curious, we went in. We were led into a circular room, about 20 feet high, with a platform in the middle. Ascending the stairs to this, we found ourselves surrounded by a complete 360 degree painting of the view from St. Mary’s Peak, the highest point of the rim around the Pound. It was as if you were there, breathing the fresh mountain air and hearing the wind and the birdsong. And the artist was none other than Jeff Morgan, the unassuming man who had led the service. He and his family had built the building and then, for 4,000 hours over 13 months, he had devoted himself to this amazing painting. Every leaf on the gum trees was there, the softness of the clouds, the shadows on the red rocks, the blue mistiness of the distant plains. As a result, he has been recognised world-wide as a one of a very few people anywhere who have done this. Most of the others have depicted different scenes, fading into one another. Part of his objective was to help his town by stimulating the economy (and he has succeeded – lots of bus trips now come to visit) but most of all, he wanted to display God’s creation, just as it was. The effect was to raise in the viewer a sense of awe and breathless wonder, and the few apt Bible texts on little silver plaques enhanced this.

Emu browsing at Wilpena Pound

Wilpena Pound, a national park, is a geological wonder. The Flinders Ranges consist of some of the most ancient rock on the planet, having been pushed up, absorbed, and then pushed up again from deep within the earth’s heart. Wilpena Pound is a massive natural amphitheatre of this rock, six miles wide by twelve miles long, rising out of the level plains all around. As we approached it, through the shade of little forests, two red kangaroos watched us dappled by the woodland sun. And then, as we swung out into open country, there! A group of about ten wild emus, brown fluffy feathers teased by a brisk little wind, pecking the soil (and each other), quite unaffected by our presence.

On arrival we donned our boots and set off on a short hike along a marked trail. Kangaroos watched us calmly from the bushes and rocks, an achidna (ant eater) trundled across the path, and brilliant green parrots swooped from tree to tree. Animals were everywhere, but signposts were not – they appeared to be an endangered species – so we retraced our steps to our caravan, planning to try again tomorrow.