Police stations and poetry are not often paired but they are well-matched in the mind of Kamilaroi poet Aunty Esther Gardiner.
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Two of her poems are pinned to the notice board inside Inverell Police station’s small front foyer – ‘A Starry Night’ and ‘A Burning Campfire’. Aware that a number of Aboriginal people go to the station, Aunty said she hopes the words will help remind them “to feel pride in culture, connection to land and country, and the importance of family.”
The words are also there to help remind people that Aboriginal people “were a proud race and still are.”
A Burning Campfire (excerpt)
A campfire where glowing embers glow / Burn bright
The Aboriginal elders tell their dreamtime stories
As children sit by their mother’s side
The didgeridoo it’s echoing call
Can be heard on mountain sides
As tap sticks tapping are heard / On a dreamtime starry night.
