Cyclones, Indigenous and Invasive, in Northern Australia

Abstract

Northern Australia experiences on average 13 cyclones a year, and cyclones there continue to play a significant role in shaping the land, the environment and the lives of all creatures living there. They are indifferent to both cultural identities and political boundaries. They begin at sea and mostly do damage on land, although historically the human death toll from cyclones in Australia has been higher at sea. But cyclones can also be ecologically and culturally beneficial; and in the cyclone belt of Northern Australia, a wide range of different knowledge systems apply to wild weather events. In this chapter, McDougall focuses upon significant differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cyclone experiences in Northern Australia—as lived, danced, painted and written. Texts for discussion include Patrick White’s The Eye of the Storm, Randolph Stow’s To the Islands, Tim Winton’s Breath, Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria and the Gurirr-Gurirr visual texts of Rover Thomas and Paddy Jaminji.