In the 16th century, Francis Bacon said “knowledge is power,” and as I get older (and hopefully wiser) that statement starts to hold real value. It’s also timely as we have just been travelling through the Kimberley, where the indigenous people place great importance on knowledge. An indigenous woman once told me that her people didn’t value “objects or things,” but believed the greatest gift to be knowledge. Something that is not given lightly and is cherished when it is received. After all, knowledge has kept their people alive for thousands of years!
As we travel from Wyndham to Com in Timor, there will be many opportunities to share knowledge. Today, there were presentations from a few members of the expeditionary staff. The first presentation, “Koolama Drama,” by Steve Egan related to the area we visited yesterday. It was very interesting to hear about the bombing of the Koolama during WWII and the turmoil that followed. Next was Adam Cropp’s presentation, “The Exotica and Erotica of the Deep.” Adam not only delved in the reproductive activities of many different marine creatures, but also many other facts that were very interesting to learn about.
After a fantastic lunch, we were lucky enough to have a presentation from Jason Edwards, our National Geographic photographer. We learned how “photography changes everything,” including the world! It was also fantastic to take on Jason’s tips for making photos that could have a huge impact and tell a story.
As a special treat, Chef Lothar conducted galley tours of the kitchen, showing us where all the amazing food is made by him and his hard-working team day after day!
To wrap up the presentations for the day, Martin Cohen gave a presentation on cane toads and their impact on Australian ecology, which was the subject of his PhD. It was fantastic to be able to ask questions about such a complicated and important topic.
