Chapter 82

While I was reporting to dad, Rachel arrived. I told her that I still wasn't certain and asked about her day. She was unhappy with the simplicity of merely deriving Pop Art from cartoons and adverts.

"He makes it so-o-o simple! Dots from cartoons. Warhol's shoe adverts. Rosenquist's billboards! And it's all American pop. And he slights Oldenburg, even though he was an American, because he was born in Sweden! The Op Art class is so different. Maybe it's because Bridget Riley is a British woman and Vasarely was a Hungarian. And so many of them grew out of the Bauhaus. And Albers moved to the US, anyway." She ran out of steam.

"Want some tea? Or wine?"

"Is there any white on ice?"

"I'll look." There was, and I brought her some. She the asked me to elaborate and I did.

"So, Craig will see whether he can set up a meeting with the NSW Land Council, and..."

"Exactly. And ... I don't know what they will say, nor how I'll feel about the meeting. Deep down I think my snake will have something to express. But I don't know when nor how."

"If you knew when or how, there'd be no need for a serpent."

"You're so smart. What's up tomorrow?"

"You've that lecture. I'm off to the Gallery. I'm hoping I can talk to Winnie. Perhaps lunch together. Then I need to learn more about what UNSW and Macquarie have to offer."

"Does Macquarie offer anything?"

"I don't think so. But we can ask that friend of Winnie's."

"True. By the way, what were you planning for dinner?"

"Me? Plan for dinner? I'm not a very good wifey, am I? I can do more in the kitchen than Katherine Hepburn at the end of Woman of the Year, but I'm not going to be a real housewife unless I have to."

"Well, we had Italian last night. And I don't want sushi or Greek. Grilled quadruped?"

"Bovine or ovine?" Rachel laughed.

"Let's go to the Grill; they've got both."

"If they had goat, would it be caprine?"

"I presume so. Think of the mince: hamburgers, lamb burgers, ram burgers, kid burgers,..."

"I'm sure we could get fish burgers. But what about wallaburger or kangaburger?"

"Don't give the Macdonald's people ideas."

We washed up and went off to forage.

When I left my Tuesday morning lecture, my phone reported two missed calls. The first was from mum; the second from Craig. I called him from a bench on campus.

"Is Friday still possible?"

"Of course."

"Is 1500 too late?"

"Not at all. I presume this will be an hour or more."

"Possibly. But I'd anticipate an hour. Then both groups can confer and contemplate."

"Right."

"Do you know where the NSW Aboriginal Land Council is?"

"No."

"They've a building in Parramatta. 33 Argyle. The Land Council and other services share the building. Do you think you can get there?"

"Yes. I'll drive. It shouldn't be hard to locate, though it may be slow on a Friday afternoon."

"Give yourself enough time."

"I will. Any special dress?"

"No. Business garb. You're neither going to the outback nor opening night at the Opera."

"I understand."

"By the way. I don't know who'll be there. There might be someone from the Ministry. I'm arranging this, but I'm not the host."

"I get it."

"And God only knows what they'll ask or say. I'll meet you in the building's lobby."

"Yes, sir. 1500 hours on Friday. 33 Argyle in Parramatta."

"Exactly. See you then."

I sat and collected my thoughts for a few minutes. Then I called mum.

I stopped at the messy bookstore on the way home, but couldn't find what I was thinking of – perhaps it didn't really exist. And I wasn't in the mood to spend hours grubbing about in hope. Walking past the shops, I realized we'd have to start eating in again. It wasn't realistic to hardly eat at home. Not economical, either. I pulled some money from a cash point. When I got home, I began reading Stubbs' article "The Acquisition of Indigenous Property on Just Terms" [Sydney Law Review, 2011].

It concerns a case (Wurridjal v Commonwealth) that "challenged Northern Territory legislation, alleging there had been an 'acquisition of property' without 'just terms.'" It seemed important to me because part of the question dealt with whether 'just terms' in the Constitution applied differently to Indigenous property rights