‘This painting is about camping the other (western) side of Illari Springs – there’s a camping ground in the creek. All the time water, never dries, that waterhole. Nice and clean, that one. Family – we always camp there, even for meeting with Land Council. Crows hang around all the time looking for food when we camp there. Galahs, other birds, this is their waterhole too. That’s the main camp ground west side of the Tempe Downs homestead. There’s a place we never go, on the eastern side, but that’s alright. We know where we can go. That one creek (Illari Creek also known as Conway Creek) comes from Areyonga – you can drive between Tempe Downs and Utju – it’s not far.
That’s my Country! We go every weekend. Go with another cruiser. My grandkids and son in law love that country. It’s so beautiful.’
Betty catalogues the sites moving down the creek from Areyonga (also called Utju). She explains that the creek has lots of water – that there are various waterholes along the creek’s winding path through the mountain ranges. Some sites Betty refers to are Kungka Kutjara, and Conway Waterhole, and Illari Rocks. Each of these is a Sacred Site and a powerful link between Betty, her family past, present, and future.