Dorothy Pollard’s Memories of the Early Years in Upper Boggy
After the Aquarius Festival in Nimbin many years ago, young people wanted to be authentic and to act in their lives free of judgement. They had to be thus, in a place where they could do what they liked. Boggy Creek made that possible with its vast, cheap and ‘out of the way’ acres. It was a wonderful affordable opportunity.
I was still living in Sydney at this stage and yet subsequently continued regularly to visit. The first time I travelled along the track, I observed how very narrow and muddy it could be. Fortunately the day was dry! Driving in with Geoff Thomas my partner on this rough track, I noticed how vulnerable the edges of the track were. As our old car descended the long slope to the flat area below, I could see a hut. I had been told the area had been cleared of lantana and yes, you could even see the beginnings of a garden and it was a fair sized clearing.
The hut was primitive containing a couple of rough beds, a camp stove and a sink fed from a drum of rain water out the window. Because there was not enough room, already people began spreading out into the bush putting up shelters. A ti-pi appeared down the creek which was often damp but picturesque. In the forest in a small living area there was also a wooden platform upon which there was a stove and a place to dance. I always amazed at how that stove got there. Bob, now the ‘yachty’, was busy building a large dome on a platform house size!
For our recreation, there was always lantana bashing as there still is today. This was a mixture of therapy and reclaiming space and a time ‘to get your rocks off’. The soil under the lantana was rich and we used it elsewhere.
Fresh water lay at the bottom of the long slope. There was a small waterfall and rocks to sit on. Water needed to be carried in buckets as there was no plumbing and no pipes. This certainly made everyone very fit.
Sylvia Jacona played a great role at this early time. She built a ‘real’ house reassuring us all, that this was possible. Her common sense was often a pull up as was her black humour about this situation she had chosen to share with her young children.
At Boggy Creek, lots of things were very different. Cheap vegetables were valued and a lot of yoghurt made from Norco poddy stock feed powdered mixture was consumed. Most of the food however was bought in bulk and as there were over ten people coming and going, the sacks were an appropriate size.
On later visits you could see the need for money to live even simply. Jobs were scarce in Bellingen. Some of us worked in the wood mill down the road, a dangerous job. The big burner much larger than a house and spacious inside, was used to burn the wood waste. The wood was fed into the burner from the top of a metal track that wound around the entire construction. Marvellous and on cold days or in the evening, I would sit inside or nearby and enjoy the residual heat.
Two people stand out in my memory. They occupied the hut when many had left seeking work elsewhere. Pam and Kerry were their names. They gardened and lived on fruit which was part of their spiritual philosophy. I was saddened on one of my regular visits to find that a plague of itchy grubs, a type of caterpillar, was descending down the road to the garden and trees planted and cared for by Pam and Kerry. All the cultivated growth was devoured. We tried to block them but they climbed over each other in their thousands. They even invaded the hut and despite all efforts, they began to traverse the water bowls under the legs of the beds and bite the sleepers. Strangely women were less effected but Kerry had to go. They did not return.
Later Boggy was somewhat abandoned. Warren had bought Sylvia’s house and she had left. I came to live in Bellingen and found work in Coffs Harbour and then at Chrysalis Rudolf Steiner school. During this time I was sad to find an unprotected hut was open slather for theft. On one occasion, I spotted outside Geoff’s solar shop, in the back of a ute many of my things…antique irons,candle sticks chairs etc. I recovered them only to find later that the minimum of comforts required to visit the hut, were taken.
Fortunately, Henry a man who had been involved from the start and Pontiff his Asian wife wanted to live in Boggy. Pontiff stayed for several years and together they built a deep duck pond which remains to this day in my small rain forest area. Later I moved to Boggy concerned about the land and lived with Geoff there in a caravan. I had Rhiannan at the time and she needed special care. Geoff worked in and around the area. Later we all moved back to Sydney but after a number of years returned to live in Bellingen permanently.
Geoff and I were aware however that the Dansy land at the lower end of Boggy Creek was coming on to the market. If Boggy Creek was to grow and survive as an initiative, it was important to acquire better land. Those who had left also needed their share money back. Now Geoff had arranged to be informed by the real estate agent about the neighbouring land as soon as something developed. This happened and I immediately sent through the deposit. This was fortunate as others were also interested and had been waiting for years. This purchase however, made Shambala possible.
Geoff was soon involved in finding suitable people to come up from Sydney. Many community members today would not have known about this opportunity had it not been for Geoff Thomas. One final memory which encapusales the freedom which we all today cherish, was the arrival in that early time of a herbalist and an artist with his wife and child. He asked us if he could birth the coming baby and to that end we all helped to build a little grass hut for the event. My role was very small; the carrier of hot water up the hill and the baby arrived perfect.
You may wonder why I never left the rugged land up the top to join the richer fields lower down? It was because of love for that wild Nature and the land and sky that surrounded me up there which has even to this day a special hold on my heart.
Dorothy Pollard