Easy to love Alice

Well, what about Alice? If you have never, never been here or you haven’t been here recently you, like me, may have intrepid expectations. Well now I have only been here ten minutes and I have only seen less than 1% of what there to see but my initial impressions have been astoundingly surprising! From some rather disturbing reports on the mass media I flew in expecting corrugated iron, flies, humpies in the desert and unsociable, unfriendly and unkempt inhabitants and, so far, I haven’t found a single one of any of them! In fact, what have found so far has amazed me. I wasn’t expecting to find a modern, scrupulously clean and tidy, extremely (by Ossie standards) well maintained buildings, and a picture-perfect physical environment absolutely clear of any sign of human degradation. It seems to me that people in the Territory have set out on a mission to present a very houseproud appearance for anyone coming into the environment. And this intention is displayed in all sorts of places – on signs in various locations - and the theme is always the same: “Show respect for our sacred sites, keep our environment litter free and respect one another, irrespective of ethnicity.” 

And, to me, it seems to be working. People greet each other when they pass by. I am used to this in the Lifestyle Village I have been living in and in the tiny medieval village of Giulianello near Rome – EVERYONE greets every passer bye, with a “G’day”, a wave or just a nod. Everyone! Irrespective of where they come from and I haven’t witnessed that in many other places.

I was braving the 4.5 kilometre hike from my short-term accommodation into the town this morning. The temperature had plummeted from the mid-forties to 39 degrees Celsius and I thought it was the ideal time to do some walking so off I strode walking along the Todd River which led me into town. A number of people passed me (of a variety of origins) and we all saluted each other and when I emerged onto the roadway (I had noticed that the obviously local ones preferred the roadway rather than the pedestrian paved path – which proved to be in shade rather than direct sun and where there was a breeze rather than doldrums). The first car that came past going in the opposite direction pulled up alongside, wound down the passenger side window and said: “Hey mate, are you feeling OK and would you like some water?” whereupon I most politely declined in saying: “No thanks mate. I only have 1500 metres to town and I’ll get a drink when I get there”, whereupon he simply said: “OK. I just thought you looked as though you might need a refreshment”. I immediately quite purposely stretched my stride, straightened by back and made sure my face was smiling as I continued my journey. 

I can remember the times (when I was a tad younger) when you would always pull over if you were driving in the bush and you were passing a vehicle parked on the side of the road. Admittedly they make cars a bit more reliable these days and the roads are such that punctures are non-existent. I guess in the Outback people are more aware of distress signals on Outback roadways. 

I was on my way to the Todd Tavern to relieve my thirst, cool down and relax and, on the way, I happened to pass the Catholic Church and there was a service going on. Now Cinzia and I attend Mass religiously (in BOTH senses of the word) each weekend and festivi and she, calling from Adelaide, had asked whether it was my intention to hike the 4.5k to the local Mass in the Alice and I said I thought not, however when I heard the homily being presented on the way to the pub I did the respectful thing and took a very minor detour into what turned out to be a Piccininni baptism. I was struck by the modern majesty of the chiasa! It is the nicest church of any denomination that I have seen in Australia besides the cathedrals in Sydney and Melbourne. It was absolutely beautiful and so appropriate to its environment. And the remarkable thing is that is NOT very uncharacteristic of the architecture and the built form in the township. The legal precinct buildings (Police station, Law Courts and the NT Supreme Court) as well as the shopping mall, the commercial buildings and even residential houses are the most spectacularly resplendent of any major (or minor) town that I have been to around this country. 

My immediate thought was that the Alice is a very upmarket southern Africa. There are high fences everywhere (without barbed wire toppers) and the citizens are quite security conscious but the buildings, and the general environment are modern, tidy and cared for. The church also had something that I had not seen in any church anywhere – and here I mean world-wide! The tiny chapel provides a second option for salvation. If praying doesn’t do the trick they have a defibrillator handy as a backup option. How prepared are these guys? 

I made it to the Todd Tavern, a hundred metres up the same road, where I was instantly greeted by the friendly charm of a French barman who served up the coldest, sweetest draft VB I have ever tasted. Yes, it’s worth making a bee-line for the Tavern even if you are not in the area if you want the best tasting beer you have ever experienced. The pub has probably been there a long time but you wouldn’t pick it because it is renovated in the style of the very best pubs I have been to and everything about it oozed elegance, charm and its presentation was top class, and so was the service. The barman charged up my iPhone in the process of my indulgence as a bonus – see how friendly these folks are! Another feature that I don’t recall seeing elsewhere. 

On the bar of the Tavern there was an ice-chilled water fountain for the locals. Now you might say: “So what?” We see this in coffee shops, cafes and lots of places. Well, here is the thing. For a long, long time we have been exposed to the image of overindulgence in pubs, especially (but not solely) by indigenous folk. Here the story is written everywhere: “Show respect. For country, for sacred sites, for the environment, for every person” which goes with it an implied expectation that people should act responsibly, respectfully and appropriately. When we see indigenous people, along with whitefellers, lining up at the bar and addressing the water fountain it makes a strong message that those old, dated stereotypes are being addressed and are working to change our consciousness. 

You know, at the highest levels, indigenous people are saying: “We can all live together and share the benefits that this nation has to offer, and we can do it by showing respect in every direction.” Well, that’s what our mission is all about. And I see that as a big part of my role – to foster that spirit, to prepare everyone for a better future based on improving competencies, fostering resect for each other and sharing our compassion.