Beyond Reasonable Drought

Quite by accident, Stacy and I came upon the photo exhibit Beyond Reasonable Drought last week. It was set up in the old parliament building (as well as other locations around the city) and we arrived with enough time to check it out before our tour of parliament started. I am really glad that we stumbled on the collection.


Australia is in a drought. Its hard for us, as Canadians, to really understand the gravity of a country in this kind of crisis. This exhibit had some really remarkable photography that helped to introduce us to what effect it has on the country and the people living here. They were really powerful images.

The exhibit was also scattered with quotes on the walls. Some were recent, from politicians and activists. Some were from poets and artists. The quote in the picture above is this...

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping planes,

Of ragged mountains ranges,

Of drought and flooding rains,

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel sea,

Her beauty and her terror-

The wide brown land for me.

-Dorthea MacKellar, 1906