PONDE'S STORY

Aboriginal Culture Images

YOUNG AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL BOY  (Simple Tell)

Ponde was a young boy.  He lived with his tribe near the beach.  He would sit on a rock and look out at the sea.  He saw seagulls flying and walking on the sand.  Crabs also walked on the sand. Under the sand were cockle shells and these shells were collected by the women in the tribe. They used their toes to find the cockles.

THE YOUNG ABORIGINAL BOY  (Tell with a little Show)

Ponde was a young aboriginal boy who lived with his tribe on the southern coast of Australia. Most days he would sit on a large rock near the water to look at all the things that made his world.  Seagulls would stretch their long thin wings and glide low over the golden shiny sand. The sun glittered off the backs of the soldier crabs as they marched back and forth being chased by the rising tide.  The water would never quite reach them but it did with the cockle shells that lived under the soft wet sand where they could be easily found by looking for the tell tail pattern of bubbles that appeared on the surface.  Ponde loved looking at all the activity and was never bored with what he saw.  That day the woman were collecting the cockle shells for lunch.  Ponde watched on as the women pushed their bony feet into the soft sand to feel for the cockles with their toes.  When they found one they quickly bent down and scooped them up into their long fingers and placed them into a basket.

4000 YEARS BEFORE THE PRESENT   (Show)

The sun was not yet high enough to burn off the grey mist hanging low over the outgoing water. The lowering tide slurped back and forth along the full length of the white pristine beach. The tug of war between land and sea was gradually being won by the receding water.  The salty cool air clung to the low lying limestone cliffs, breathing life into the lungs of the new morning. Winter and the cold south easterly winds would soon arrive bringing with it the rains to quench the thirst of this dry sparsely vegetated landscape.

Ponde, on top of a limestone outcrop, crouched down low on his haunches, feet spread wide apart, balanced perfectly, relaxing while he looked seaward.  Through the salt spray he saw the women swiveling their bony feet into the soft tidal sand, feeling for the prized cockle.  Ever so often their toes would come across the hard smooth shells.  When this happened they would quickly bend down to scoop the cockles up into their long thin outstretched fingers, then with care, transfer their find into the net bags they carried over their shoulders.  This occurred many times during the course of the morning.  He watched on, feeling increasingly hungry.

By:  Alister Thorpe