Indigenous guide shines spotlight on sacred Aboriginal sites

A new guide details the cultural significance of 18 ‘sacred’ places across Australia.

This new “guide to sacred Australia”, covering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, is a well-illustrated and thoughtfully written compendium of 18 places across the land and their intrinsic practices and features, time-honoured stories and tourism offerings.

Pascoe is an Indigenous language researcher and author of the award-winning Dark Emu (2014), which challenges pre-conceived notions of native Australian hunter-gatherer traditions and puts forward the case for a much more evolved pre-colonial society. Shukuroglou works as a multidisciplinary artist, photographer and researcher.

All the content was sourced in consultation with local communities but the book’s creators admit to the extra pressures involved in a year when “terrible bushfires raged … and coronavirus disoriented our society … and the Black Lives Matter movement pointed to the systematic inequality and violence against diverse people around the world”.

Loving Country: A Guide to Sacred Australia.

At such an unprecedented crossroads, the book’s coverage of rare and sometimes at-risk places and experiences seems more relevant than ever.

In 2021, my must-go list includes the powerful rock art of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula, and the Wiluna and Meekatharra region in the Western Desert of WA, where “colours illuminated by the sun are intense and soak into our spirit: distinct reds and oranges of sandy soils … sparkling stretches of salt … metallic reflections of gibber plains”. And that’s just for starters. Meantime, as an armchair travel treat, this is a beautiful compilation of words and pictures augmented by panels of practical info on Indigenous tours, travel resources, national parks, festivals and further reading on places across a diverse and multi-faceted spectrum, from Birdsville to Bruny Island.

LOVING COUNTRY

Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou

(Hardie Grant Travel, $45)