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Thylazine: The Australian Journal of Arts, Ethics & Literature                                                                                                                                    #1/thyla1k-lb AUSTRALIAN POETS SERIES 1 The Poetry of Lisa Bellear Selected by Coral Hull [Above] Photo of Lisa Bellear by Jenni Mitchell, 1999. I no.162 I Vision Seekers I Victorian Aboriginals - Aborigines I On the hops I no. 162 Who are you no. 162 and what right do I have to offer this gaze. There is always a story no. 162. How honest can I be with you, without bringing tears to the page. You no. 162 stand dark, tall, deep set jet black eyes. How I admire your strength, your tenacity to survive. Who are your warrior ancestors, no. 162. Who are your people. Your country. We all have mothers, at some point a particular place your mother gave birth? And now there you stand in a photographer's studio. Alone. Your gaze defies the colonisers' as you are forced to adorn their clothes of savagery. I honour your spirit I honour your ancestors. You no. 162 have a name and history. You and I and All indigenous survivors are part of that continuum, that legacy. No. 162 your spirit will be honoured and named. Vision Seekers Whose God are we talking to, praying with I tell you I under stand this. Sing our hymns in our civilized language and you may live. I sing my brother does too. Was there ever a choice. Let me live through the whispering spirits of the river gums. My God. Always these white seekers of Blackfella spirituality. Asking, pleading, demanding, answers. What are your sec rets and spiritual beliefs? How to answer my god my spirituality into a tape recorder and video camera. Two hundred and ten years and counting of undeclared war. That is how I will answer, although the seekers may not like that vision the truth is the truth. Victorian Aboriginals - Aborigines Spirits artificially captured in a photographer's studio. Beautiful and handsome Koori women, men and booris are half named and racially classified. a)  Mathilda      Loddon tribe      Black. b)  Louise & Mathilda      Murray tribe      halfcaste, Black. These 'noble savages' stand statuesque, wearing animal skins or government issued blankets, with spears, boomerangs and woven baskets. No one wears shoes. No one looks comfortable. No one smiles. Destined to disappear, filed deeply within untouched drawers of a state government library - museum, our spirits, memories are awakening. On The Hops For sure it was hard work, hot work, dusty and smelly. The best times were the night times, the laughter and the stories. If you drifted, the stars and river spirits spoke. Look at the way we dressed, kangaroo skins long gone, how I love disappearing into the milky way. When you find my story and those of my friends, our long journey back home will have started in earnest. ABORIGINAL NATIVES OF VICTORIA HOP GATHERING COPYRIGHT REGISTERED. The whitefella give us that caption and he promised us copies. It was hard work, smelly and dirty. We didn't mind. In the dust and the heat our stories were kept alive. Name us. About the Poet Lisa Bellear Lisa Marie Bellear was born in Melbourne. Actively involved in Indigenous affairs throughout the country Lisa is passionate about social justice and simply looking after each other. She has been a volunteer broadcaster on 3CR community radio for 11 years on the Not Another Koori Show. Lisa's poetry has been published in many journals and anthologies. She was been nominated for the 1995 Human Rights Award for Poetry for her poem "Native Title Now". The poem is the title of an exhibition of Aboriginal art currently touring Australia. Lisa Bellear has read at literary festivals, pubs and conferences in Australia and in the USA. For the two years she has sat on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Literature Panel of the Australia Council as well as sitting on the selection committee of the RAKA (Ruth Adney Koori) Award. Lisa completed her Master of Arts degree at the University of Queensland and is doing her PhD (English) at La Trobe University - contemporary indigenous issues through radio and photographic text. Lisa's first book of poetry is Dreaming In Urban Areas (UQP, 1996).    [Above] Photo of Lisa Bellear by Jenni Mitchell, 1999. I Next I Back I Exit I Thylazine No.1 (March, 2000)