Di Sylvester
(it means ‘red-clay widow’s cap’)†
I was born on Wiradjuri country on the lands of the Tubbagah people in a town misnamed Dhubbu where the Wambuul streams life. On the lands of the Tubbagah people widows wrapped red clay around their heads, where the Wambuul streams life home to whitefellas, for 198 years. Widows wrapped red clay around their heads —I was born white, and I didn’t know that. Home to whitefellas for 198 years and home to Wiradjuri for 65,000 —I was born white, and I didn’t know that. I lived five years in Dhubbu, home to Wiradjuri for 65,000. Say, is Dhubbu my hometown? I lived five years in Dhubbu, in a town misnamed Dhubbu. Say we call it Dubbo—is Dubbo my hometown? I was born on Wiradjuri country.
Note: †Source: McNaboe, D. (2019) Central Western Plains: Acknowledgment of Country: Macquarie River, Dubbo and Terramungamine Reserve [Online]. Available at https://gather.sl.nsw.gov.au/digital-heritage/central-western-plains-acknowledgment-country-macquarie-river-dubbo-and (Accessed 9 May 2022).
Di lives and writes on Gundungurra country in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, and experiences place, here in Australia, as both imposed and dislocated. Di is an amateur landscape photographer and a keen jigsaw puzzler. She holds a PhD in history from the University of Sydney and is currently studying for an MA (Creative Writing) with The Open University (UK).
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