Bull Bar Tours
By Catherine Fitzgerald and Eva Johnson
Vitalstatistix Wharf Shed
Remaining matinees: November 20, 27 at 11am.
$18/15/10/5
Reviewed by Emma Webb and Melanie Sjoberg

The chill winds blew across the Port Adelaide docks as we rugged up to enter the imposing shed on the wharf. A cavernous hangover from the bustling port and rich history of the working class area, it provides a fascinating context for this complex play of Australia in its diversity.

Entering the shed, you are transported into the outback: caravan, deck chairs and four wheel drive at the ready. The bar offers various forms of "piss" while you linger to the sounds of mournful country music. The occasional whine of a buzz-saw from the group of locals shipbuilding next door reminds you that you are still in the city.

This is a humorous story of tourists attempting to discover the real Australia through an outback camping tour with your stereotypical bushman; a liberal spiritual woman; a middle-aged, middle class couple; an English traveller who left his milk run in the hands of an incompetent; and an urban Aboriginal woman. The contradiction between expectation and reality is explored as the tour proceeds.

When the group are stranded, the superficial harmony and politeness give way in the face of the fear that they may not survive. The most enjoyable and politically sharp moment is provided here when the urban Aboriginal woman is expected to help the group find food and water because she is assumed to be closer to the land. Flora responds that her hunting ground is "the Coles supermarket. Just like you."

Sacred sites, gender issues, environmentalism and cultural exploitation are all touched on with humour, yet in a serious tone. You don't miss the point.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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