First Year of living in Fregon

| Introduction | How we got there? | Fregon: Where is it | First Impression| Bush picnic | School life | All by myself | My son the cash register | Leonie the rally driver | I hate snakes

Bush picnics.

Ann drove us out to Westbore Hill that was a favourite spot to enjoy the countryside. It was also the highest hill around the area and you could get a sense of the land. Ann made a fire and cooked damper and tea cooked in a Billy or open tin.

Westbore Hill looking towards the Musgrave Ranges

It was a fantastic experience and it certainly made it a lot easier for the family to have this experience. She told us about some of the things that were and were not acceptable, like not giving eye contact as this is thought to be rude or aggressive. This seemed rather hard to do as Europeans, we had always been taught that eye contact is for showing respect. Also asking a direct question was considered rude. These were some of the many difference between the cultures.There was also an odd shaped group of rocks to the west of Fregon. This was a "Men's business" area and no-one was allowed to even look at the rock. All of the stories of the area revolve around the rocks and all of the initiation cermonies where conducted there. This peice of land had such significance to the Anangu (Aboriginals) people and you can see why what is seen to be just another peice of dirt by the white people holds such religious and cultural preciousness by the Anangu. As this was the most prominate thing in the horizon it was very difficult to keep from looking at it. After a while it became just part of the area so you were no longer worried around it. However as visitors came into the area we were always aware to warn them, as if you broke this law then it was their right to spear you in the leg as punishment. In fact in the 3rd year that we were there some white government workers came into Fregon and had some time to spare so they decided to climb this unusal hill. One of them was a wormen, the Anangu followed their tyre tracks out there and all hell broke loose. This was a place where no women had ever set foot in. How sad that this had happened, the people where lucky to escape without physcial injury however it took the police to step in and excort them off of the Lands. The Anangu elders were determined to spear the offenders.
Women also have areas in which men are not allowed to go and this was out of town but very young boys were allowed to go but as soon as they turned 5 or 6 they had to be left back at town.

There were quite a few small homesteads around. There were ususally a windmill and a tin shed. The creek indicated is Officers Creek

We climbed to the top of Westbore and saw to the north the Musgrave Ranges where Mount Woodroffe was, this being the tallest mountain in South Australia at 1435m. To the southeast was the Evarard Ranges which we had come through and Mimilli is in the middle of. The rest was flat and looked like an ocean with gentle swellings only it was red and emerald green.