Washer woman Photo

Photographer’s Note

A woman washes her clothes at Naduri village which is at about the midpoint of the 96km Kokoda Track.

In 1942 the Kokoda Track was the battleground of one of the bloodiest campaigns in WW2 and it was here that young Australian Diggers repelled a much larger and better equipped Japanese Army. The Kokoda Track was difficult to conquer as neither side could maintain a supply line over the rugged terrain. 600 Australians and 3000 Japanese lost their lives here.

Today this challenging trek is undertaken by several thousand Australians each year - they remember the Diggers and the Papua New Guinean Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who supported them.

trekks, fanni, holmertz, tomi1, fritzi007 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

holmertz (9636) 2008-12-18 7:10

Hello Marlene,
I'm surprised to be the first one to comment on this. I like how the woman is placed inside a kind of bow and how the flowers to the left balance her clothes, especially her skirt. An interesting glimpse of daily life in an area which may be well known to Australians but not to me.
Regards,
Gert

fanni (8737) 2008-12-18 13:46

Hello Marlene,
having observed TE well enough, with everyday close watching and looking through so many photos, I have come to the definite final conclusion: so often the best photos get no comments at all (or very few comments)!
So I'll be the second to express my opinion :)
Very colourful photo, very good composition! The flow of water over the woman looks funny, and it is curiously juxtaposed to the sticks ( sorry if I chose a wrong word?) supporting the water pipe. In any case I agree with Gert about an interesting combination of the flowers (on the left) and the woman's clothes!
I like such natural ("daily life") photos: they help us get to know the world better!
best wishes!
Elena

trekks (14306) 2008-12-19 2:27

hi Marlene

Interesting view of the rural way of life, where most people live nearby (perhaps at times not so near) and have to travel a bit to get to source of water. In Sarawak, it means they walk to the river.

Your picture shows the piped water being shared (I believe so) by the community and it is normally free for the rural people. I am not sure if there is a tap to turn it off here?

Imagine the scene when it rain! Merry Xmas and Happy 2009 New Year to you.

tfs, bill

jmdias (19225) 2008-12-22 6:18

marlene

beautiful scene of the daily life. I liked the framing, with the woman perfectly put in the scenery. good light and colors. well done

hugs

jorge

tomi1 (1242) 2008-12-22 16:51

Oeiras,23-12-2008
Marlene
The wars and memories that still are commented on. On television sometimes I watch documentaries about but later every details tend to be forgotten. As it was a war with the Australia participation the impact is another to the Australians. I will be more attentive to some T.V. program about this. All I want is that the nations find pacific ways to avoid sceneries like this. About this photo the water pipe certainly comes from some natural water source, from the wide watered plots, perhaps! Some river can be flowing nearby. ( I lived near a river and saw lots of women washing coths, beating coths on the boards and they usually sang aloud. This happened in my childhood because later appeared the washing machines. So that women who come to work in farms during the grapes`cropping perhaps still do the same. But now I live in an urban place and haven`t go there ). Merry Christmas and happy New Year. Warm regards.Domingos

danbachmann (1684) 2009-05-30 14:05

I bet this one would have looked different if you took it in the 1970s... the clothing is very Western here.

Anyway, it is still a glimpse into a fascinating place.

fritzi007 (2531) 2009-09-11 17:03