My second day in Perth, I still wanted to go see the museum. I had been told the museum is quite good. So I once again headed to town. The previous day I had walked in on the north side of the river. This day I decided to head into town on the south side and take the ferry across to town. Along the way I saw this old condemned jetty. It had been separated from the shore and was now sitting out without people access to it. Of course, this did not in any way prevent non-people from taking refuge on the jetty. I hope they don't even take it down. It seems to be a good place to see some interesting birds. Like pelicans.
At length I arrived at the ferry jetty across from the center of Perth. It is quite a view from there across the river.
Then I crossed and headed to the museum. And it was indeed very interesting. I was disappointed that one exhibit was closed for reorganization. This section was on the Aborigines of Western Australia. And although the natural history section was quite extensive and interesting, the same section in the Melbourne Museum was so much cooler with the computer assisted viewing consoles. Nevertheless there were some great stuffed animals and lots of skeletons as well. They also had this huge collection of butterflies, thousands of them in one gallery. Unfortunately, they didn't photograph well.
Up on the top floor there was a comprehensive look at the formation of the earth and how it came to be in its current configuration. There was also a whole floor of Aboriginal history and how the Europeans came and decimated them and basically enslaved them. There was a conscious attempt to eradicate the culture by taking the children away to educate them “properly.” That was sobering.
But possibly the most surprising exhibit was the AC/DC exhibit. AC/DC is a famous band, and is also an Australian band. The exhibit traced the history and development of the band from its beginnings, following them through personnel changes and to their current resurgence as one of the most successful bands of all time. It was quite enlightening, even if I was never a fan of them myself. Shhhhhh!!!! Don't tell the Australians.
After I finished with the museum, I headed back to where Kelly was staying. She was going to meet a friend for dinner. I was invited along. I began to see how many interesting people Kelly knows. This friend was a veterinarian who was working with a group reintroducing endangered species into the Australian bush. Many of these animals are, as Kelly explained to me, between the ankle and the knee in size. They are the perfect size for foxes and feral cats to prey upon. As a result they are all but extinct on the mainland. Kelly's friend goes out and raises them on outlying islands where they are safe from the predators. Then she captures them and releases them into protected areas on the mainland. These areas are usually protected by fencing of various sorts. Kelly has assisted her in the past and it has meant going out for three or four days into the bush or to outlying islands and tracking animals. They were telling me some of the stories of their exploits and it sounds like a really interesting job. If I could handle living in the bush for a few days, avoiding dangerous snakes and spiders and many of the plants as well, I would probably find it a lot of fun.
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