On my last day, Catherine and I went on an indigenous tour of Sydney harbour which included a visit to Goat Island which was recently “returned” to the indigenous people. More on that later.

Prior to this tour, we had visited a couple of places that helped to educate me on the colonial history of the area. The First Fleet was a new term for me that describes the arrival of a fleet of ships from the UK mostly carrying convicts (plus the crews and military folks). Can’t go into it all, obviously, but wow. The torture visited upon the convicts surprised the indigenous folks – surprised at how these white people treated each other. Oversimplification, but telling, right? (Photo of detention rock below)

So here are some pics from the harbor trip, (then more about the island):

Indigenous flag flying from the stern:

Obligatory Sydney Opera House photo:

Two flags flying from the bridge where you can see tiny people walking up there!:

Tribal Warrior boat:

Once we got to Goat Island, three indigenous dancers gave a demonstration of a variety of traditional dances (and then taught us a dance at the end – that was fun!):

After the dancing, they showed us a darker side of things. Such as the harrowing torture/slaying chambers (no need for photos here, although apparently these hands went viral on TikTok recently):

Prison rock where a convict was detained for two years! No wonder the indigenous folks wondered about how the white folks treated each other. I emphasize this because clearly the first folks did not practice torture on each other as much as the colonizers did (or perhaps at all).

To wrap up our afternoon, Catherine and I engaged in a celebratory colonial activity of champagne in the sun (in view of the opera house) marking a most delightful week together. Thank you so much!!

Next up: Singapore bus tour.