Megs Eats World: 2.2 The Australian Adventure Continues

The Country Line Up to Newcastle

ozblogrolaAfter savoring a small taste of Sydney life, we took a train up to Newcastle, a city at the very end of Sydney’s Country Train line. Sydneysiders draws a clear and divisive line between the cosmopolitans and the “bogans” (Aussie slang for “hicks”) as you can either take the Countryline or the Cityline train up the coast. Expecting to find nothing but mullet-heads and high tops, I was pleasantly surprised when Marian and I laid eyes on Phil Smart and his partner, Fiona’s, Rolodor Café. Covered in bright murals designed by a local artist, the Rolodor was clearly a bastion of creativity, a pure labor of love. Just as I saw the glimmer of places I loved reflected in Sydney, the Rolodor and its eclectic charm reminded me of my favorite cafes in my San Francisco Mission neighborhood. I felt even more at home when I heard that my friend Holly from San Francisco, who’d recently moved to Newcastle to spend some time with her mom, had met Phil and Fiona earlier that week when they connected over the Burning Man sticker on the coffee maker behind the counter at the café. Similar to my experiences at Burning Man, where there seems to me to be more of a connectedness between encounters and events, delightful synchronicities sprung up for me everywhere in Oz. It made sense to me that on a travel through a new Burning Man world, I would feel like I was in Black Rock City.

Panorama of Rolador by Maid Marian
Panorama of Rolador by Maid Marian

Mural on Rolador Photo by Maid Marian
Mural on Rolador Photo by Maid Marian

Out in the middle of New South Wales, Phil and Fiona are quite a dynamic Burner duo.  Not only have they created a vibrant community around their eclectic café, they also have grand plans for cultivating the Burner community in greater Australia. Back in June 2009, they participated in the first Seed Gathering in Bellingen, NSW where a small, like-minded group converged, planting the seed for what they hope will eventually grow to be an expansive Australian Burning Man community. From the Seed Gathering sprouted a plan to hold the first Oz Burn in 2010. Based on our time spent with Phil and Fiona, they are clearly poised for success.

Phil and Will Enjoying Some Burning Man Stickers
Phil and Will Enjoying Some Burning Man Stickers

As Phil and Fiona excitedly shared their plans for the upcoming Oz Burn, I began to develop a sense of the Australian Burners’ approach to creating  community.  Truly,  they are patient, aware of the intrinsic value each person plays in creating a sustainable community. While they see the Oz Burn as having the ability to grow into a large event attended by thousands, they do not overlook the inherent value in starting small, nurturing the seed of community. They emphasized the importance of sustainability and of Australia’s role in the Burning Man community’s larger whole. If the growth of the international Burner community is to be sustainable, the regional communities need to grow at a rate that does not overtax volunteers and natural resources, while still allowing Newbies to be acculturated into the values of radical inclusion, non-commodification, and a respect for the environment.  Thus, in addition to their respect for the vitality of the community, the Australian burners also have a strong respect for the land, one that can be traced back as far as the aboriginal ancestors of Oz. Based on my background working behind the scenes of the Burning Man organization, I recognized a commonality between the OzBurn team’s regard for the environment and the Leave No Trace ethic of my co-conspirators in Black Rock City. The fact that the Australia burners were moving forward with the core values of the Burning Man Project as central guiding principles made me feel even more at home.

Though brief, our trip to Newcastle was a growing experience for me. Our conversations with Phil and Fiona helped expand my understanding about the Australia community and provided me with a lens through which I could view my encounters with other Burners on the next leg of my journey. I also took pleasure in meeting Fiona’s son and daughter who reminded me of my brother and I growing up and in spending time in a family home. Fiona’s son, Will, and I became fast friends as he entertained me with tales of rouge peacocks, robotic dinosaurs and murderous magpies. Before I left, Will gifted me a magpie feather from his collection, the first of the two special gifts I would receive on my travels. As in a Hollywood movie, Fiona and Will waved goodbye to Marian and I as our train pulled out of the station and we ventured back to Sydney and on to Melbourne.

Will and Fiona Give Us a Hollywood Goodbye Photo by Maid Marian
Will and Fiona Give Us a Hollywood Goodbye Photo by Maid Marian

About the author: Megs Rutigliano

Megs Rutigliano

Meghan "Megs" Rutigliano is Burning Man's Associate Director of the Regional Network. She oversees Burning Man's annual Global Leadership Conference and European Leadership Summit. Meghan explores the art, events and culture of various regional Burning Man communities in her blog posts.

10 Comments on “Megs Eats World: 2.2 The Australian Adventure Continues

  • affinity says:

    What a lovely story, thanks Megs!

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  • Nice story on Australia Megs, but when are we going to see the BIG part of your adventure published?….your trip to the well-established and utterly fantastic Kiwiburn!!
    :-)
    Yonderman xx

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  • Stellar J says:

    I’ve now been traveling around Aus for the past few months, searching out any opportunity to meet willing and like-minded travelers to adventure with. Unfortunately, with the heaps of international tourists and workers all searching out the same jobs along the same roads, I’ve been hard-pressed to find many that are even aware of the BM community. Being swept up in the hullabaloo hasn’t been hard, and avoiding near slave-like working conditions in orchards and farms.
    I’ll remain searching out ways to cover costs to carry myself back to Black Rock, but after reading this, I’m moreso hoping to focus efforts to find burners in similar situations. Any info regarding events in Aus would be a great commodity to have.
    Beyond chance encounters, is there any resource to bring us together other than burner blogs?
    I trust all will remain well, keep smiling.

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  • Jodie says:

    Hey Stellar J,
    So where abouts are you travelling in OZ? This is my home country and Im sure I can help you with meeting truely amazing and inspiring people on your travels!!! Im off to Burning Man for the first time this year and am so excited!!! Dont really know what to expect, except what I’ve seen through photos. So if your travelling up North you probably wouldn’t run into too many who are aware of Burning Man, it’s more in the underground culture of the cities!! Im down in Melbourne and a lot of people know about it and are really jealous Im going on such an adventure!!! Any tips for a first time go-er?! My best friend and I are going alone and need to find a camp, we figure we’ll just walk around with a sign and make some new friends that way!!!
    Anyway, hit me back and I’ll try and fill you in on some of our AMAZING underground parties!!! :) x

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  • pixi pirate says:

    hey u guys!
    check out http://www.burningmanaustralia.com
    this is our official site and register on the forum and introduce yourselves :)
    we are now having regular gatherings in syd, melb,newcastle with more happening all the time. this is the most effective way to connect with the down under burners.
    Pixi Pirate

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  • Doc Squat says:

    This begs the question… Exporting culture? Walking around the world wrapped in a bubble of one’s own culture rather than touching what the mass of the other culture is? Or finding that thin sliver of commonality in every culture, and building commonality from that thin sliver?

    Does every culture need a “Burning Man” or do we just need to find the seeds of commonality? Can radical inclusivity swallow a continent on the other side of the planet while it is meaningless to 95% of San Franciscans?

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  • NB says:

    Meg your travels through Oz sound truly Australian and i am glad that you are enjoying, and indeed pleasantly surprised, by the joy that is oz. Being new to the burning man community i am surprised to hear of oz burn 2010. Are you able to provide more details of where and when. This is something that I think has the potential to reach and inspire many

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  • Useful post. Have been trying to learn a new language on the net but not having a lot of success, have been considering going to a local course so this is useful, thanks.

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  • Andy Flowers says:

    That is a great story, thanks!

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