Growth of the Soil
"For generations back, into forgotten time, his fathers before him had sowed grain; solemnly, on a still, calm evening, best with a gentle fall of warm and misty rain, soon after the grey-goose flight. Potatoes were a new thing, nothing mystic, nothing religious; women and children could plant them - earth apples that came from foreign parts, like coffee; fine food, but much like turnips and beets. Grain was nothing less than bread; grain or no grain meant life or death." - Knut Hamsun, "Growth of the Soil" (1920).
And so we learn of Norwegian life on the land, and see the parallels with life in 19th century Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land). The generations of the Rockliffs who've farmed this land continue to this day. And young Jeremy Rockliff, who attended Sassafras Primary School, is today the Deputy Premier of Tasmania.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Rockliff
Living off the land. It was for Knut Hamsun the closest thing to a religious duty in life. For the Rockliffs it was no less important.
But what of the "generations back, into forgotten time"? Ah, now we really touch on sacred ground. For thousands of years indigenous people trod this ground. They lived off it, and moved around it - as was customary to their nomadic way of life.
But this wasn't just a piece of "real estate". This was land gifted to each subsequent generation by their ancestors. I've said recently that Modern people live in a state of perpetual Forgetfulness. Our memories are dull and shallow. But if you listen to the people of our Heartlands, if you listen to their songs that tell of the sacred meaning in the "Songlines", you will know that this is "solid rock, sacred ground".
None of us can claim to own this Land, we are merely its stewards and custodians. We are the daughters and sons of this soil.
Growth of the Soil
"For generations back, into forgotten time, his fathers before him had sowed grain; solemnly, on a still, calm evening, best with a gentle fall of warm and misty rain, soon after the grey-goose flight. Potatoes were a new thing, nothing mystic, nothing religious; women and children could plant them - earth apples that came from foreign parts, like coffee; fine food, but much like turnips and beets. Grain was nothing less than bread; grain or no grain meant life or death." - Knut Hamsun, "Growth of the Soil" (1920).
And so we learn of Norwegian life on the land, and see the parallels with life in 19th century Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land). The generations of the Rockliffs who've farmed this land continue to this day. And young Jeremy Rockliff, who attended Sassafras Primary School, is today the Deputy Premier of Tasmania.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Rockliff
Living off the land. It was for Knut Hamsun the closest thing to a religious duty in life. For the Rockliffs it was no less important.
But what of the "generations back, into forgotten time"? Ah, now we really touch on sacred ground. For thousands of years indigenous people trod this ground. They lived off it, and moved around it - as was customary to their nomadic way of life.
But this wasn't just a piece of "real estate". This was land gifted to each subsequent generation by their ancestors. I've said recently that Modern people live in a state of perpetual Forgetfulness. Our memories are dull and shallow. But if you listen to the people of our Heartlands, if you listen to their songs that tell of the sacred meaning in the "Songlines", you will know that this is "solid rock, sacred ground".
None of us can claim to own this Land, we are merely its stewards and custodians. We are the daughters and sons of this soil.