Mildura Campus

William Mathewson

When Americans — and I'm sure most foreigners — think of Australia, images of red clay and sandy desert come to mind. When I first arrived in this country, I was surprised that kangaroos weren't hopping down the main streets of the larger cities, and that emu and crocodile weren't on all restaurant menus. Yes, there was more to Australia than I expected; but I still wanted to get out into the countryside, the "bush," to have what I considered a real outback Australian experience. That's what I got with the Edge of the Outback photography program. In the outdoors, traveling long distances over unsealed roads in a four-wheel-drive driven by an indigenous guide: I couldn't have asked for more. The days I spent in rural Australia were some of my favorite of the past five months I've spent on the continent, and my interaction with some of Australia's Aboriginal people can only be described as eye opening and life changing. And I learned how to take a half decent photograph, too. At the end of the Edge of the Outback program I will return home to New York State, but I can't imagine having spent my last two weeks in Australia any other way.

William Mathewson

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