Dust Bowl Retreat

The land

Flat ground under thorny scrub on dry ground, 121 m up; the sea about 100 km away; cold desert.

Cover

thorny scrub on dry ground

Elevation

121 m

Relief

flat ground

The sea

the sea about 100 km away

Climate

cold desert

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.59 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,593 m east to west, 2.95 km²

Centre

30.7083°S 130.4750°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: timber, reed, earth, turf, stone, hide, bone, cloth, rope, fire. The land allows: ground, stilts.

Now

Clear and warm here, 12:26 local, late spring.

The wild

Animals here this month: thylacine (denning), kangaroo (feeding), tasmanian devil (feeding), emu (nesting), locust (feeding).

The lay of the land

• The grass meadow (meadow): a bright sward of tall grass damp with morning dew
• The marker stone (spot): a level patch of firm ground marked with three flat stones

What stands here

THE TIMBER HUT — on the grass meadow. House-sized, about 6 m. Timber, reed, stone. On the ground.
"A stout timber hut roofed with reed, set low out of the wind with a central hearth"
A roof of reed atop the top: pitched low to shed rain and heavy gusts. A hearth of stone inside the centre: set with flat stones to hold the embers through the night. A doorway of timber facing the south: fitted with a heavy latch on the leeward side. A storage rack of timber along the north side, hung with dry provisions, cordage, and spare gear.
Of this land: timber, reed, stone.

THE FIRING KILN — beside the marker stone. Small, about 4 m. Timber, rope. On the ground.
"A thick-walled timber kiln with a low draft tunnel and a sheltered fuel rack"
A chimney flue of timber atop the top: daubed tight to draw a steady draft. A fuel rack of rope along the east side: stacked with dry kindling under a narrow eave.
Of this land: timber, rope.

The story, as Jago T tells it

Of the place

• Upper Flat was laid out by Jago Trevithick, who marked the grass meadow first and set the timber hut to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber hut and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the grass meadow. (heard when a people lives here)
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the firing kiln and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF DUST BOWL RETREAT — hunters and gatherers, wandering, in bands.
Names from the land they stand on. They hold the sky sacred.
They keep: names from the land; marks on the great tree; burial in the sand; the stranger eats first; night travel.
They like earth, kangaroo, clear, and dusk. They dislike frost, storm, and brick. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth waari, river or sea winnaaliw, winter or the rains duwulwaarim, the dead duumad, home muumnguuw, stranger nguumma, feast uuttaanguwwu, child lunguul, old one litriw, the place Nuntaamaam, the beast duuraan, the sky minandum.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

hunting, gathering

Settlement

wandering

Kinship

bands

Marriage

either

Naming

from the land

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the sky

They keep

names from the land; marks on the great tree; burial in the sand; the stranger eats first; night travel

They like

earth, kangaroo, clear and dusk

They dislike

frost, storm and brick

Founders

4

Counted

3 named folk, a household of 0, 0 born here, 0 died here

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth waari, river or sea winnaaliw, winter or the rains duwulwaarim, the dead duumad, home muumnguuw, stranger nguumma, feast uuttaanguwwu, child lunguul, old one litriw, the place Nuntaamaam, the beast duuraan, the sky minandum.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber hut and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the grass meadow.
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the firing kiln and sing the names of the first four who came.

Named folk

The chronicle

Every line is a record the land wrote; the names in quotes are the owner's words. What the chronicle does not say did not happen.

Year 1

The annals: 2 beast raid; 2 beast seen; 1 founders; 1 people founded; 2 tracks; 1 ways changed; beasts: the young hyena of the flats.

• Late spring, the first year of Dust Bowl Retreat: fresh vulture tracks at the marker stone.
• Late spring, the first year of Dust Bowl Retreat: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• Late spring, the first year of Upper Flat: the young hyena of the flats broke into the timber hut. kept
• Late spring, the first year of Upper Flat: the young hyena of the flats broke into the firing kiln. kept
• Late spring, the first year of Upper Flat: vulture tracks across the marker stone.
• Late spring, the first year of Upper Flat: the young hyena of the flats was seen at the grass meadow.
• Late spring, the first year of Upper Flat: the young hyena of the flats was seen at the grass meadow.
• Late spring, the first year of Upper Flat: four came to Upper Flat and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Stone-ward", the potter "Stone-foot", the fire-keeper "Meadow-born", the first who came "Stone-born". kept
• Late spring, the first year of Upper Flat: Jago Trevithick called a people to Upper Flat: the people of Upper Flat. kept

Here now

the potter "Stone-foot" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Meadow-born" (folk) · the first who came "Stone-born" (folk)