For a start, he created an online version of Daisy Bates' genealogies of south coast Noongar families. He also added some Noongar language resources, including the indigenous names of plants. Then there is a list of Noongar whalers and Nebinyan's whaling songs ... and Bob's blog Kyangardarup.
I remember when he'd finally built his website, he came around for dinner one night and showed me around the place. I was impressed but it has taken a few years to understand just how important his work is.
This year, just after the fourth anniversary of his death, the website disappeared. Maybe Bob stopped paying the rent or something. It was a bit of a scary moment - until I remembered that in 2009, Spencer Collins (aka Colin) had foreseen this event and rebuilt it, putting it somewhere else safe. I don't really know how this stuff works. You'll have to ask Colin - just click on his name above and it will take you back to 2009 when he was rebuilding the site.
Anyway, the point is that Colin saved Bob's website from disappearing forever. Ciaran wrote to me the other day, saying that this act of protecting the site was really smart thinking and should be recognised in some way. And so it should, but neither of us are sure how.
Noongar bidi(pathways) from 'Mokare's Domain' R.A. Ferguson, in 'Australians to 1788'(1988)
The WineDark link to Bob's home page is at the bottom of 'From the Wild West'. If you are interested in Noongar history and language, climate change issues, environmentalism, poetry, music, memes, the ANZACs and all things magpie, have a look around. And thanks Colin. Nice work.
That looks well worth saving - especially for a people whose tradition has been (I guess) oral for thousands of years.
ReplyDeleteYes, most of the material is in the archives ... somewhere but it can be tricky to find. Bob just put out some things that he was interested in.
DeleteGood on Spencer. I think I actually copied and kept some of Bob's blogs (for my Noongar students) because I am naturally suspicious of anything surviving into perpetuity.
ReplyDeleteI'll ask Boy Wonder, who is all over this sort of techie thing, whether he has any ideas for referencing it an acknowledging Spencer's work.
I'm not sure either Michelle. I think the local library may be interested in referencing it.
DeleteI'm sure the Noongar community would take ownership of it. Getting someone from that arena who recognises the importance of the work he's done shouldn't be too difficult. His work isn't the be-all and end-all, of course, but it is important and does make a contribution. His 'Noongar Resistance Along The South Coast' piece has been quoted a fait few times in other people's work and The DB geneologies, bloody hell, there's a few hundred hours work in linking all that up...
ReplyDeleteCiaran, I was thinking today that the NLA's Pandora might be interested in archiving it as a website.
ReplyDeleteI hope they at least take an interest. Thanks to Spencer it's protected for the time being anyway..
DeleteYes, also perhaps the local library would like a version on DVD so they can loan it out etc. Another way of making sure it is protected - the more and varied the formats the better. Getting it into hardcopy would be a bit of a mission but not impossible.
ReplyDelete