Camp dog artist. Pic. Pennelope Bergen, ABC Radio
I missed this excellent set of radio stories the first time around but Camp Dog Chronicles by Local ABC Alice Springs reporter Penelope Bergen is a wonderful expose on the secret life of the camp dog in central Australia.
I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in getting a better understanding of the relationships between Aboriginal people and their dogs.
As the ABC website says about the series:
Camp dogs are an integral part of life in outback Australia, but people from other parts of the country, let alone other parts of the world, have no idea what they are or that they even exist. To avoid confusion the term ‘wild dog’ is often used instead, but camp dogs are more than just wild dogs.
They have had an important place in Aboriginal culture as hunters and now companions and guard dogs. They have a world of their own in remote Aboriginal communities and have created a culture and society that comes with its own unique set of rules quite separate to human regulations.
Penelope Bergen has made 7 episodes that cover a variety of topics including the genetic makeup of camp dogs – many have dingo blood, camp dogs and art – about the long-term dog health work done by the Warlukurlangu Artists Centre at Yuendumu, some interesting observations on the relationships between camp dogs and their owners and the territorial and protective natures of the dog packs within a community.
Other aspects of a camp dog’s life that Penelope Bergen explores include breeding rates and tactics – the battle in the gene pool, a discussion of the role of dogs as hunting companions and traditional story from Ali Curung – a small community north of Alice Springs which is named after an ancestral hero dog figure.
There is also a large gallery of photos of the dogs, their owners and the country around central Australia.
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