I would like to acknowledge the Dharawal people who are the traditional custodians of this land. I would also like to pay respect to the elders past and present of the Dharawal nation and extend that respect to all other Aboriginal peoples.
That Hidden Holiday Place
Every year thousands of Australian’s travel hundreds of kilometres to their favourite holiday spot. Whether it’s a camping ground or caravan park, many of us travel ‘to get away from it all’.
My family is a little different.
For as long as I can remember my holidays have started with a short car trip, followed by a long walk; sometimes across rocks, other times down a steep escarpment, but always with a pack. My grandfather made the same journey almost 80 years ago, and he fell in love. Yet unlike most love stories his was interrupted by war, the Second World War in fact. Upon returning from service, he made that journey again, but this time was more… permanent. It was at Era Beach, between the shore and the bush, that my grandfather built a small shack. Our family has been returning there ever since.
Yet our family isn’t alone, there are 143 shacks at Era and in the surrounding bushland of Garie and Burning Palms. It’s hidden amongst those bush surrounds that our community resides. To the casual bush walker our shacks might seem out of place, but for us it’s history, it’s our heritage. My cousin Karlen thinks “a lot of people might think that we’re (the shacks) an eyesore, but they don’t realise how much we care about the land”. While my father recognises that we don’t own the land, he says “I belong here”.
Era to me is more than a place, it’s a part of my life. Era has made me who I am today. When you think about it, I’ve been going since before I was born, almost 80 years in fact. It was hidden in the bush where my grandfather started a tradition. That tradition still remains today. While it might not be hidden from the casual bush walker or explorer anymore, they could never see how important that shack and the Era community is to my family.
So when I arrive at my family’s holiday spot I don’t feel disconnected or ‘away’ in any sense. It’s when I walk through the front door of my family’s shack that I feel at home.
This is the Era Lands 