I used to work as a
Jilleroo on Killarney (cattle) Station,
in the North West of the
Northern Territory of Australia.
Nextdoor was a well known
and influential cattle station,
called Victoria River
Downs (VRD) -
I was interested to have
a look at the area through Google Maps –
And this is what I
noticed -
The entrance to the
Victoria River, which is a large river in the area,
is in the top left of
frame, above, and in the middle of it
is an island.
The river then heads South
East, inland, and comes to a point where it branches
into two opposite
tributaries.
Considering that the
river is actually flowing from this point to the sea, it would be reasonable
to
assume that the darker area behind these two branches is a rocky outcrop or
raised area of land.
I haven’t been there, so
I don’t know for sure.
On the other side of this
darker, maybe raised area, is a light coloured , maybe sandy, clay area,
which
could be flat and lower level.
The two branches of the
river seem to be going around this raised area.
If the raised area wasn’t
there, the river may have normally flowed in one stream from behind
and then
through it. Maybe it did previously, and then this raised area
became an
obstruction, the river altering its course to go around it, in the two streams as
outlined.
On looking at the raised
area more closely –
It looks like a bird, to
me, with a long, thin body.
Looking a bit more
closely –
That looks like the head
of a bird to me, with the eye, and a long, thin beak.
A wing also, seems to be
extended backwards from the shoulder.
So, what sort of bird
would that be ?
The long, thin body is
similar to that of a vulture or ibis –
Vulture
Ibis
But, the vulture has a
short beak, whereas the Ibis has a long beak.
So, I think that the
raised area must be the remains of a huge Ibis that is lying on its side,
over the Victoria River.
What do you think ?
© Katherine Stuart 2024
Dochas Books Film
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