Tanya Heaslip

Like they still had the big loud hailer in the main square where every day messages and lessons and orders and instructions were roared out to the community and people would stop all over the town to listen to this.

It was as though time had not moved on.

Luckily for me, in the school, there were some really progressive teachers and they were the ones who had...

had the courage to go from inward living to also outward looking and they welcomed me and that's what made it possible.

But for the rest of the town, there was so much fear.

There was just fear of showing anything, speaking to a foreigner in any way, engaging in any way that could get them into trouble.

But what about your students?

Were they curious about you and where you'd come from?

And what on earth could you tell them about where you'd come from as an Alice Springs girl?

Exactly.

And bear in mind, this is pre-internet.

This is pre-everything, pre-mobile phones.

They knew nothing about Central Australia.

But it was exciting meeting them because they were so curious and interested and untainted by the world, untainted by the West.

Their life was around Settle Charney, their family, their friends, the nature.

They spent all their time in the nature whenever they could.

And they...

Asked questions.

They wanted to know.

They were unfiltered.