ELFERINK REVIVES DEBATE ON CATTLE STATION FREEHOLD TITLE. Report by
ERWIN CHLANDA.
Vast regions of the Territory could be opened up to sharply increased
productivity, and Aboriginal native title issues could be defused,
under a proposal by MacDonnell MLA John Elferink.
He suggests that wherever pastoralists and Aborigines come to agreement
between themselves over division of a station lease into portions of
their mutual agreement, each party would be rewarded with "freehold in
fee simple" over their land.
And native title would be extinguished over the land retained by the
pastoralist.
"In this way the issue of native title would be settled once and for
all," says the CLP politician.
And what the pastoralists would lose in area they would more than make
up in new commercial opportunities.
Whilst not commenting on the native title aspects in Mr Elferink's
proposal, two prominent pastoralists in The Centre strongly favoured
freehold over pastoral land.
Says Jan Heaslip, who runs a successful tourism venture on Bond Springs
station, just to the north of The Alice: "You can't survive on a cattle
or sheep property.
"You need to have another income" Ð and tourism is ideally suited,
she says
"The wife usually runs it, and she can still be at home.
"It's better than going off the station to work."
Mrs Heaslip says in a similar move the NT Government gave freehold
title to private schools.
Jimmy Hayes, from Undoolya Station, says cattle men have "a lot of
money invested without much security" under the present land tenure of
pastoral leases.
There are supposed to be no activities other than grazing on cattle
stations, without the consent of the Pastoral Board.
Mr Hayes says some people run stores, but the board often "makes it
quite hard".
Mr Hayes is developing a vineyard on Undoolya but he is using parts of
2500 acres converted to freehold in 1974, for use as a lucerne fodder
patch.
The Territory's first Chief Minister, Paul Everingham, commissioned a
report into freeholding by Brian Martin, now Chief Justice due to
retire.
Although the report recommended in favour it was never implemented.
Mr Elferink says the notion of the Crown owning vast stretches of land,
and letting it at very low rents, is now well and truly outdated.
Mr Elferink represents the vast MacDonnell electorate, some 345,000
square kilometres, in roughly equal shares occupied by family owned
cattle stations and Aboriginal land.
About 65 per cent of his constituents are Aboriginal.
Mr Elferink says the productivity of cattle land compared to other uses
Ð especially tourism Ð is minute.
Alice News research suggests that the carrying capacity of grazing land
is just one beast per square kilometre, yielding $700 over two years.
By comparison, the four square kilometres of vineyards in TiTree Ð
in a good year Ð return $22m.
"The capacity of land under horticulture to raise income would be many
thousands of times the productivity of cattle grazing," says Mr
Elferink.
"This is not a criticism of the cattle industry, it is just exploring
new ways to raise more income from the land at our disposal."
Putting land to uses other than grazing, and furnishing it with secure
tenure, would have substantial benefits for owners.
It would be far more useful as collateral for bank loans.
And Aborigines would have direct control over land they acquire through
that proposed process.
Aboriginal land acquired through land rights cannot be sold (it is
"inalienable") and therefore cannot be used as loan collateral.
Also, Aboriginal land is mostly part of large land trusts which are
under the collective Ð and unwieldy Ð control of thousands of
people.
Mr Elferink has been a frequent critic of lack of economic progress on
Aboriginal land, about half of the Territory's land mass.
He says he is putting up his idea to the CLP and to the public for
comment.
Mr Elferink recently had a falling out with Opposition Leader Denis
Burke and has resigned form his shadow portfolios.
Mr Elferink says he has written to pastoralists and to Aboriginal
leaders to promote his proposal.
LOCAL "FOUND METAL" ART HEADS FOR SYDNEY. Report by KIERAN FINNANE.
Local fans of Dan Murphy's unique found metal artworks can get a
preview of his first Sydney exhibition this weekend at the Silver
Bullet cafŽ and gallery.
Earlier this year Murphy had felt that he was "a bit over making the
flat panels".
Then he found new excitement in working on the textures of the pieces
Ð beating, hammering, punching holes in themÐ and in
experimenting with different perspectives. Pictured are "Paddocks No.1"
in situ at the Silver Bullet, and inset, "Hugh River".
The latter shows the death of a crow, a real event observed by Murphy:
"It was trapped by a string around its foot, at the top of a dead tree.
It was still alive but there was nothing I could do about it."
Except make art: apart from the texturing, in this piece he has also
tried to "fiddle around with the perspective", trying to render the
landscape as seen by the crow.
The Silver Bullet at 4 Hele Cres Ð a marvellous homage to the
Central Australian natural and man-made environment Ð is open
9-4.30, weekends only. Murphy's work shows in Sydney, September 2-16,
at Gallery Gondwana's venue in Waterloo.
FAMILY COURT IS NOW PART OF LIFE IN CENTRE. Report by KIERAN FINNANE.
Making themselves more "available to people in the remoter parts of
Australia" and learning to better "deal with Indigenous issues" brought
judges of the Family Court to Alice Springs last week for their annual
conference.
Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson told the Alice Springs News "there was
virtually no usage by Indigenous people of the court's conciliation
services" before specific Indigenous programs were established in 1996.
Now Indigenous people are using the processes "at the same level at
which they are represented as a percentage of the community.
"So, there's an acceptance there that we have got something to offer,"
said C.J. Nicholson.
"I hasten to say I am not encouraging them to come along and fight
things out in court Ð that's contrary to our ethos anyway Ð but
we do try to assist them in resolving disputes."The court does not wait
for Indigenous people to come to them. In Alice Springs, it employs two
Indigenous family consultants, who travel out to communities on regular
circuits to see how they can assist in mediating family disputes.
"In the past Aboriginal people themselves tended to sort these out,"
said C. J. Nicholson.
"But now they are marrying across skin lines and marrying people from
different communities so the old system doesn't always work.
"That's why it has become more relevant for us to become involved."The
court deals with all children, whether they are the product of a formal
marriage or not.
"It's relationship breakdown that we deal with rather than marital
breakdown," he said.
Is the law adequately framed to deal with Indigenous families?C.J.
Nicholson: "Not really, I think it needs change.
"One thing it does do, as the result of an amendment introduced some
years ago now, is that we are required to take into account the need to
maintain connection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
"That wasn't in the [Family Law] Act until I asked for it to be put in.
That's had a significant effect, it's enabled us to take cultural
matters into account.
"One of the problems of the Act is that it is predicated on a dispute
that might involve a mother, a father and perhaps a grandmother in the
usual nuclear family type of arrangement.
"If you get an Indigenous dispute with a complicated kinship
relationship, the Act isn't really structured to handle that. It is
quite troublesome for that reason.
"I think we really do need to look at issues of customary law.
Obviously polygamous marriages are not taken into account, yet people
are still in those situations.
"So there are a number of areas, which I think the Law Reform
Commission identified about 15 years ago, but nothing much has been
done about them since."
Can the court nevertheless find ways of dealing with realities on the
ground? .
Yes, said C.J. Nicholson: "For example, a Torres Strait Islander issue
is their customary adoption practice, usually between a brother and
sister. "We've been able to adapt the power of the court to make
residence orders in ordinary disputes to make orders in those cases,
which give legal recognition to the responsibilities of the people who
received the child.
"I think that is a considerable advance and is an example of how you
can use existing structures in a different way."
In discussions with Indigenous people last week, the Chief Justice
heard a number of demands for a greater recognition of customary law.
"We can only do that in the limited sense that I've talked about, but I
think a lot of work needs to be done in that area."
Is there interest from the Federal Government in law reform in this
area?
The short answer is "no".
But, said the Chief Justice, there are some hopeful signs.The Prime
Minister's statements of concern last week about issues of violence in
Indigenous communities may mean "that some more government attention
will be going into these sorts of areas".
The judges, both from speakers at the conference and in their visits to
communities, heard about violence on communities and within families,
as well as about other problems relating to children, such as "finding
things for children to do" and "issues of petrol sniffing".
"We are not in a position of policing those issues, but we are in a
position of understanding them and taking them into account when we
make orders in relation to children," said C.J. Nicholson.The Alice
News also asked the Chief Justice whether there are family law issues
particularly relevant to non-indigenous families in Central Australia.
C.J. Nicholson: "Distance, because of the size of this country, is one
of the enormous problems we face all the time.
"The problem of people moving away is a classic one in places like
Alice.
"It does mean that some children will be effectively cut off from one
of their parents.
"The real problem is, can you so limit the freedom of the person that
you require them to stay somewhere where they may not have any
particular ties, simply because the other parent is there. That's one
of the real difficulties in family law."Are there any answers?"I think
you try and work out the least worst solution."
PLENTY TO DO IN ALICE. Report by LINDA HUGHES.
"There's nothing to do in Alice Springs," say local kids all too often,
but I disagree.
School holidays are now over, but mine were great, a fun and relaxing
time.I was able to do so much! Like having time by myself, where I was
able to relax and sit down in front of the TV, listen to music, or go
for a long walk. Spending time with my family was great as well.
Alice Springs held some exciting events. The show, which I enjoy almost
as much as Christmas or my birthday, was just as good as I had hoped. I
spent a lot of money there, but it was worth it.
Bass in the Grass was the biggest concert I have been to in Alice, and
I was able to listen to many famous artists, including Russell Crowe,
Selwyn, Sophie Monk, Machinegun Fellatio and the Living End.
The social part of the holidays was wonderful. Catching up at lunch and
going out with my friends at night, it was busy. The best part of all
though, was when my best friend came back from four months of
International Exchange in Canada. I'd missed her a lot and it was
exciting to hear all about what she did and the new friends she'd made.
(I'd talked to some of them on the phone when she called me for my
birthday.)
I asked other girls I know about their holidays in Alice.
Kiara Price described her holidays as "interesting". Although she was
working at K-mart a lot, she was able to fit in some fun things like
going to the cinemas and the show. She also met up with friends at the
Bass in the Grass concert in which she was chosen out of the crowd to
dance with Machinegun Fellatio. "It was cool," she said.
Rebecca Brown was also working in her holidays, at a take-away store,
and this earned her lots of money so that she could go to the Alice
show and the Moscow circus.
She said: "The best part of the show was going on the peewee motorbikes
with Linda." (That's me!)
She went to the cinemas a few times and played tenpin bowling.
Asha Blundell was very busy these holidays. She was working a casual
job and playing sport. She went to the Gap Youth Centre Internet Cafe
in her spare time. The highlight of her holidays was the huge barbecue
for all of her family, including her aunty who was visiting from
Canada. She also had an exciting day which she spent paragliding with
her parents. Her favourite part of the holidays was going to ASYASS
where she
recorded a techno-style song about teenage life with Shellie Morris.
And people say there's nothing to do in Alice!
Three cheers for the quiet non-achievers. COLUMN by STEVE FISHER.
Painting a lounge wall orange and listening to my daughter's Avril
Lavigne album, a line from one of the songs kept going around my head.
"I'd rather be anything but ordinary, please," Avril sang.
I looked at my paintbrush and the half-covered light green wall. I
looked at the can of paint with drips running down the outside.
This is ordinary, I thought, accidentally letting orange acrylic stuff
drip onto the floor.
Sometimes I wish that it was alright to be mediocre.
Or at least to be a normal, slightly mundane and troubled person living
in the suburbs of an Outback town and worrying about their body shape
and superannuation contributions.
A person who means well, is sometimes incompetent and occasionally does
good for other people. After all, that's how most of us lead our lives.
The world is full of achievers who never stop telling you about their
achievements. For several years, part of my job has been to recruit
people to various kinds of job.
One trend in recent years is that the applications have become more and
more outlandishly impressive.
Not content with having more degrees than a thermometer and winning
more awards at gala dinners than your average test cricketer, now
people pack their outside hobbies with barely believable achievements
too.
I long for the good old days when the section in a job application
marked "Hobbies and interests" invited the response "home improvement,
reading, gardening, polishing my collection of brass spoons".
Now the forms always say something like "world record scuba diver,
president of high IQ club, historian, champion horti-culturalist".
People often tell me about the national trait called "tall poppy
syndrome". How does this work when none of the poppies are short?These
days the conventional wisdom is that you have to talk up your work or
your hobbies to make them sound more dynamic and world-shattering than
they actually are. I remember calling on an old school friend once, a
short time after we had both left school. He was out, but his parents
regaled me with their belief that he was single-handedly running a
major building contractor.
In truth, he was just a spotty school-leaver who answered the phone and
made tea for himself, being the only person in the office. The rest
were outside building things.
I don't blame them (much). After all, surrounded by people loaded down
with sporting, musical, academic, career and other assorted
achievements, it is tough being normal.
Take those cricketing dinners, for example. I have lost count of the
number of gala events for Australian cricketers that have been covered
by the media on front pages and peak viewing times in the last couple
of years.
Every time I see one of these mock-Oscar ceremonies, I feel convinced
that the world has gone mad, parading all these men in their dinner
suits and slicked back hair and asking them to make meaningful
speeches.
I never heard a bowler say anything more profound than "On this pitch
we need to keep the length and line tight". I thought that applied to
every pitch.
Recently Ian Thorpe did a tour of the Top End, visiting remote
communities along the way. Then he wrote a book about young people
being able to reach their dreams. On the face of it, there's nothing
wrong with any of that, but why can't normal people be role models too.
Why can't someone write a book about the challenges of keeping it
together in the face of dodgy relatives and physical impediments. Or
being a mother and just doing the small things right.
Gradually, the just plain solid, run-of-the-mill, steady contribution
will be squeezed out all together. The idea of the quiet achiever is
great, but how about the quiet non-achiever.
afishoutofwater@bigpond.com
In new campaign Alice is not so hot. COLUMN by ANN CLOKE.
The long since defunct advertising campaign See Alice While She's Hot!
enticed overseas travellers, escaping from winter in the Northern
Hemisphere to Australian beach resorts, on that extra leg into the
Centre, with super fare and accommodation packages.
Christmas in a hot climate is memorable, and it's a great time for the
hardy to visit, provided they travel with litres of water, insect
repellent, hats with bouncing corks, fly-nets, sun screen and camera:
We tend to travel around the Red Centre with most of those items any
time, even in mid winter!
The latest NTTC advertising campaign which is now being promoted in
southern states features crocodiles and camels Ð Nick and
Michelle's camels (I don't know who owns the crocodiles!) superimposed
on Steve's outback photographs, but one has to wonder why are we
sending out this particular image of ourselves? 2002 was the Year of
the Outback, and Alice was proclaimed the capital: a calendar of
special events attempted to educate Australians elsewhere about what we
have to offer. We need to capitalise on that without concentrating only
on the Ocker/Outback slant.
One of the greatest wonders, apart from the countryside captured in
photographs and mentioned in every postcard which is mailed from the
Alice, is our weather.
It's an on-going natural advantage and perhaps we need to focus on
selling the concept of holidaying under clear skies to national and
international markets. We've all experienced the wet (sometimes dismal)
holiday: the photos of the Blue Mountains would have been great if it
hadn't been so cloudy É and, in Scotland, the pix would have
been brilliant, if it hadn't rained every day!
In the Centre we can usually guarantee blue skies, enormous clear
heavens, for our visitors' interlude as they travel around our
incredible Red Centre, camping out under all star or staying four or
five star, immersing themselves in our unique landscape and the
heritage of Central Oz to in-town touring with the arts, culture and
positive Indigenous experience and our relaxed way of life complemented
by the markets, exciting dining choices, night life and vitality of
this town called Alice.
The latest Bureau of Stats report shows that Australia's international
visitation numbers are still well down, the main factors cited being
the after shocks of September 11, the on-going threat of terrorist
attacks, the Bali bombings, the impact of the Iraqi war, SARS and the
world economy in general: It has also been suggested that people who
are coming Down Under aren't spending as much time or as much money
here. There's a lot of competition out there, much to see, and do,
universally.
Mum and Dad flew in to Alice a fortnight ago on a plane jam-packed full
of passengers, international and national, disembarking here and
looking forward to seeing the Centre.
Walking through the mall markets with Mum, exchanging greetings with
friends, stall-holders and people we met along the way, there was
happiness and an air of festivity around: everyone was smiling, talking
about our mild winter and what a great day it was.
On that particular Sunday, it was about 25.
As Mum said, people who live in the Alice don't know the meaning of the
words "bad weather".
As if to remind us, the weatherman dished out two days of almost
cyclonic force winds last week Ð not nice at all Ð but even
then, we had crisp blue skies and brilliant sunshine, although the
temperature was only 15 degrees.
David and I are enjoying re-acquainting my folks with the Alice, family
get togethers with Norm, Lee, Emma, Davin, Lesley-Ann and Bart,
breakfast barbeques, meeting friends at favourite places, watching
locals and visitors mingle.
Will and Anne, proprietors of Nthaba Cottage, Bed and Breakfast,
commented recently that fellow B&B owners around the Alice, have
noted an increase in enquiries lately É there are certainly a
lot of interstate number plates around which is extremely encouraging:
is the Alice a bit more insulated, turning the tourism visitation
corner earlier than other centres?
Mum and Dad have been busily writing postcards to friends and family in
New Zealand.
Having a super time exploring the Red Centre (yet) again, touched
Rainbow Valley and called into Jim's Place for lunch Ð the
countryside still astounds, and the weather is, as always, perfect
ÉWish you were here, blah, blah, blahÉ.
Is there some way to bottle our huge clear skies Émarket them,
along with vials of different coloured sands, or, is our secret
actually out at long last?!
SUPER ROOS SLIP INTO FINALS GEAR. Report by PAUL FITZSIMONS.
Pioneer maintained its position at the top of the CAFL ladder, with a
21 point win over Rovers on Sunday.
They booted 16.13 (109) to 13.7 (88).
But all interest lay in the late game, when South showed their
potential by accounting for reigning premier West, 17.14 (116) to 14.11
(95).
Pioneer took the points in their game, but from a coaching perspective,
all does not appear to be plain sailing in the Eagle camp.
Rovers lost but gave Pioneer a good run for their money in a game where
Pioneer looked lack lustre. Having held sway for three quarters of the
game, and with a 34 point lead at three quarter time, the Eagles were
out played in the last term. Rovers kicked 4.2 to 2.4 in the run home
and had the game gone another 10 minutes a different result may have
eventuated.
Again Pioneer had Joel Campbell collect a bag of four goals, as did the
Rolls Royce, Graeme Smith. Down the ground, however, the hard work was
left to Daniel McCormack, Dave Kerrin and Jethro Campbell to secure the
win. Another player to put in was Abdula Kamara who is playing in only
his second season of Aussie Rules. As a newcomer to the game he shows
real potential and would be a coach's dream, as he gives of nothing
short of 100 per cent each week.
Rovers in defeat had some bright lights. Sherman Spencer again proved
to be a real dynamo in the forwards with his five goal haul. Karl
Hampton again played his consistent 100 minutes of determined football.
Garth Spencer stood out as the Blues best, and Nigel Kenny, Ricky Rose
and Oliver Wheeler each contributed.The West and South game proved to
be a crowd pleaser, until late in the final quarter when a player count
had to be conducted due to an unacceptable decision by the interchange
steward.
Only three points separated the two sides after South had led by 29
points at half time, and the disruption of the count altered the
momentum of the game.It was in the second quarter, however, that South
had established their ascendancy. They ran with the ball and set up
loose men in the forward line, who capitalised kicking eight goals for
the term. West replied with four, albeit late in the quarter. However
the dynamic play of the Maher brothers, Shaun Cusack and Brenton
Forrester really set the Roo wheels in motion.In the third term the
Bloods brought Souths back to the field somewhat, with Kevin Bruce
taking control in the centre half forward position and providing the
drive that could have seen them steal the game.In terms of goal scoring
Forrester and Bruce headed their respective club's tally with five
goals each, but from the back line to the goal square the pace of the
game was a highlight.
By three quarter time it seemed the fitter side would take the points
and with West giving South a four goal lead going into the last term,
they were on a roll to get within three points of the Roos prior to the
count.
The count was called as a result of a yellow carded player being
replaced. However before the umpires could act on the West's call, the
Roos were made aware of the situation and had promptly reduced the
number of players on the ground. The interchange steward's inept
reaction to the replacement led to the disruption in play.
When the game resumed, South took advantage of the disruption and
rattled on three goals to deservedly win the game.
TOP END GOLD FOR CENTRE STEEDS. Report by PAUL FITZSIMONS.
The Alice Springs racing community are revelling in the riches of the
Darwin Carnival with some fifty per cent of the prize money to date
ending up in the accounts of Centralians.
Derby day in Darwin proved to be yet another success story for Alice on
Saturday, when Catriona Green's Tjilpi stormed home to win the main
race of the day, so pocketing almost $50,000.
Fellow desert galloper Edge to Edge, who was seeking a Triple Crown
bonus, led the field up into the straight.
The 2000 metre journey proved a trifle too far for the favourite
however, as Wild Heart claimed the lead, with Tjilpi coming home wide.
Tjilpi who had run the early part of the race in the tail of the field
exploded in the straight and got to the line by a long head over Wild
Heart. Edge to Edge took third money.Earlier in the afternoon two year
old Drifter set the scene for the Centre when he proved too strong over
the 100 metres.
Jockey Phil Crich took Drifter to the lead after jumping from barrier
two, and after leading into the straight by a length, extended this to
two and a half lengths, before Allspent pegged him back to a length on
the line.
Enunciate filled the placings with local performer Chigwidden taking
fourth place.
The third Alice horse to salute for the day was sprinter Scotro.
In typical fashion Scotro raced to the lead, turned well and headed
into the straight, two lengths clear.
As expected the flyer tired over the last 50 metres, to take the money
by a short half head from the fast finishing Skiing, with High Revs
third.Prior to the Fanny Bay meeting those horses stabled in Alice
still had chance to run in a four event card.Short priced favourite
Pecan Rose got up in the 1200 metre Members Bar Class Five Handicap.
The promising performer accounted by a length for Santa Boy, who
started at 15/1, with Ayr Rider third.Willy Savage's Bletchy then
rewarded those punters faithful to him when he took out the Guineas Bar
Class Two Handicap over 1400 metres. It was far from a lay down misere
however, as Bletchy only got the decision by a head over favourite
Smartly Evident, with Ollettie further back third.
In the Pavilion Class D Handicap over 1100 metres, the favourite
Creditwise had to be satisfied with second place as Wild Knight,
starting at each way odds, scored by half a length, with Clad filling
the placings.The last in Alice was the 1000 metre Season Finale
Handicap. With all horses celebrating their birthdays on August 1st,
He's Tough Enough rewarded trainer kevin Lamprecht and connections with
a three and a half length win over sentimental favourite Binoculars
with the pre race favourite Cover gal completing the placings.
CENTRE'S 'ENORMITY' OVERPOWERS ARTIST. Report by DOROTHY GRIMM.
Printmaker Machteld Hali did not think Alice Springs would be very
exciting when she made a stopover in the Centre last year to visit her
brother Frank.She had never been here before.
When her brother took her out of town, she fell in love with the
environment."The 360-degree views were an over-powering experience,"
Machteld said."It is so different from what we on the eastern seaboard
experience.
"The sense of enormity and the sense of being in the middle of the land
I felt very strongly."Machteld is in the midst of a
three-and-a-half-month residency at Territory Craft."I knew if I were
away from my normal routine I could be productive," Machteld said."When
I was in Bali for three weeks, I made 21 plates."Adventure, different
people, cultures, and environments are all fuel for art."Being away
form one's routine, one's comfort zone is good for one's art."And even
after spending several weeks in the Centre, her awe of the environment
has not changed.
"I was walking in a chasm at Ormiston," Machteld said."The ups and
downs and arounds were overwhelming, a very powerful experience."They
were so big and so impressive and one had a strong sense and awareness
of age."There is a sense of a spiritual presence too which is quite
overwhelming."A lot of the townspeople I've met seem to feel the same
way, they seem to have the same sensitivity to the physical
environment."When she isn't out experiencing the Central Australian
environment personally, she is in her studio space at Territory Craft
trying to capture what she has seen and experienced in her art work,
which includes collagraph plates.
A collagraph plate is a collage of various techniques and materials,
which are assembled to print as line and texture.Making a collagraph
plate invites spontaneous creativity and personal response to natural
materials and found objects.
New ways of working seem to develop as one goes along.Most artists who
use this medium develop the plate by gluing or painting textured
materials onto a thin flat base material such as mat board or
Masonite.The plate can then be inked and printed as an intaglio plate
so that the concave areas hold the ink; in other applications the
convex relief surface is printing.Sometimes both printing techniques
are used."I look for bits and pieces which I can include in my work,"
Machteld said.
"You can often find them right under your feet.
"I often play around with the found pieces; some work, some don't, but
all the time you are trying out different ways and getting new ideas.
"I like to be playful while at the same time honour the environment and
give pleasure to others.
"I like to make pieces which will make people feel happy, which can put
joy on the walls of their home."
Born in Holland, Machteld's relationship with printmaking began with
childhood experiences of potato printing in Holland.
Much of her childhood was spent in Indonesia before coming to
Australia.
Machteld has also had a varied professional career, which includes work
as a studio painter, systems analyst, librarian and teacher of art,
drama and English.She has had solo and group exhibitions both in
Australia and overseas.
A joint exhibition with her sister-in-law, Alice Springs fabric artist
Philomena Hali, entitled Impressions, opens at Territory Craft this
Friday, August 1, at 6.30pm and continues through Sunday, August 17.
Machteld will also be conducting a hands-on collagraph print making
workshop on Saturday and Sunday, August 9 and 10.
"The workshop will be on the collagraph method and people will be able
to make their own prints," Machteld said.
"The technique is seductive and it is fun to have a workshop where lots
of people are trying something new and creative.
"That is what is appealing about collagraphs, every one is an original
work.
"The workshop takes the participant from the first idea through
manipulation of imagery to cutting, collaging, inking, wiping and
printing to a finished piece."
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