A NOMAD WAS OUR GUIDE

A book by W L Grayden

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What kind of people were the Australian Aborigines of the Central Australian Desert before they came into contact with Europeans?

How did they live in that harsh environment?

This book helps to answer those questions. It is a rare first-hand account of interaction with the desert Aborigines whose living conditions had remained unchanged since the dawn of time.

This is the story of the first motor party ever to travel from Warburton Mission to the Rawlinson Range on the edge of the Western Australia/Northern Territory border.

In 1953 William Grayden led an expedition to the centre of Australia to search for remains reported to be lying in the desert.

Descriptions by local aborigines pointed to the possibility that the remains might be those of the ill-fated Ludwig Leichhardt expedition which vanished in 1848 while attempting an east west crossing of the continent.

It was to be a journey into lands where no vehicle had ever travelled and where many of the local people had previously had little or no contact with western civilization.

On their journey, Mitawalinya a Wongi of the people who call that country home guides them through the desert. The party is continually impressed by his knowledge, skill and his navigation through hundreds of kilometers of sand dunes previously thought to be impassable for vehicles.

Mitawalinya shares his knowledge of bush foods and guides the party to hidden waterholes. The party comes to appreciate how the local people have survived for thousands of years in country where Europeans perish of thirst and hunger.

As the journey proceeds the party begins to understand something of the hardships faced by the Wongi people and of their desperate need for practical assistance.

Just a few years after this journey, events at Maralinga and Woomera made the construction of the "Gunbarrel Highway" a necessity. A Government meteorological station was built at Giles and the Aboriginal people of the area were exposed to all that western society could offer for better or worse. This trip was one of the last opportunities to interact with the Wongi in their traditional lands before their ways changed forever.

Written from the diary of the trip kept by the author and crammed with stunning colour and black-and-white photographs, this story ranges from moments of high drama to humour. The underlying theme, however, is one of respect for the Wongi people and especially for Mitawalinya.

Comprising 188 pages including 16 in full colour plus dozens of black and white photographs.

Web page by J S Grayden