I must just about be the only Aussie who doesn't enjoy the beach. We have countless miles of sandy beaches that are magnets every weekend, public holiday and school holiday no matter what the weather. We have champion swimmers, champion sailors and champion surfers. We have birds that annually fly from Alaska to spend the summer here on the beaches. Most of our cities are on the coast. But me? I'd rather stay home. I really don't see the attraction of salty water, sunburn, sand and searing wind.
But I look happy enough to be on the beach in this picture. At this stage I was the only child so no siblings to play with yet.
Lorraine 1950
This is a different story. One long weekend we took our children to Robe, in South Australia, about two hours from home. It's a delightful area to visit and Robe is a town with a lot of interesting history and historical buildings. The children had a good time on the beach doing what kids do if it's too cold to swim, and there were rock pools to explore as well.
Kerrie, Glenn & Gemma, Robe beach c1988
And me? Can you see me in this photo? No, not the legs - that's my daughter. I had a severe migraine for two out of the three days we were there. This is me on the beach with my head under a towel. Luckily the children have a father as well as a mother so there was an adult capable of supervising.
Lorraine (and Gemma), Robe beach c1988
I suggest you take your spade and bucket and wander over to see some more beaches at Sepia Saturday.
The theme photo for Sepia Saturday #202 prompted me to dig out some photos from 40 years ago. They're not Sepia but it does seem like a long time ago nevertheless.
In 1971 and 1972 I lived on an island, in a village called Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island off the coast of Northern Australia. Galiwin'ku is home to the Yolngu people and the beach is an integral aspect of their culture for food, beliefs and fun.
I've chosen some images from that time that show the sandy beach as a dancing platform for fun and ceremony. The Yolngu dances are called bunguls (the u is pronounced as in oo in book) in that part of Australia, and the adults and children danced for fun almost daily. Someone would grab a didgeridoo or a piece of poly pipe, someone else would grab a pair of clapsticks or similar, the drone would start, the rhythm would start, the singing would start and the dancing would start. And somehow they all knew what dance to do and when to stop, without instruction.
An important aspect of the bungul is being able to flick sand from both feet as you dance and of course the beach is perfect for that.
Children doing an impromptu bungul (dance), Elcho Island. Note the polypipe didgeridoo.
Teenage girls doing a bungul (dance), Elcho Island
Flicking the sand with feet, bungul (dance), Elcho Island
Adults performing a circumcision bungul, Elcho Island
There was no body paint for the impromptu dances but all of the ceremonial dances required a lot of preparation with body paints and decorations beforehand. In the photo below the children are painting their faces and bodies with foam from the surf, just for fun.
Children decorating their bodies with surf foam.
And lastly, a run for the sea, just for fun.
And finally. You have to watch this. About five years ago a group of dancers from Elcho Island (the chooky dancers) took Australia by storm when they performed Zorba the Greek dance Yolngu style. (I hope this works - I've never embedded a video before.)
You can do some more beach exploration over at Sepia Saturday.
