Brolga Tapestries

Brolga Dreaming Artwork by Stephen Hogarth Copyright Hogarth Arts 2016.

This Brolga had been preening when it lifted its head to look around and I got the shot.

Brolgas seen at the Western Treatment Plant, Victoria, Australia

Long ago back in the Dreamtime there was a very beautiful girl called Brolga. She was very young and the best dancer in the whole land as her dancing was so graceful and her movements so special. Now Brolga hadn't always been such a good dancer. When she was a very little girl she used to get up very early in the morning and creep out of the gunyah and onto the plains around her camp. Once there she would practice swooshing her arms like the Pelican, parading like the Emu and whirling like the wind. But Brolga didn't just do the old dances. She liked to make up new ones about the trees and the wind, dances about the Spirits and the animals. Soon 's dances became so good that other tribes would come from far away just to watch Brolga danc...

The Brolga (Grus rubicunda), formerly known as the "Native Companion", is a bird in the crane family. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia. The Brolga is a common gregarious wetland bird species in tropical and eastern Australia, well known for its intricate mating dance. It is the official bird emblem of the state of Queensland. Canon 450D, Tamron zoom lens. (Featured in International Showcase.)

Male Brolga at Healesville Sanctuary, in Victoria, Australia. This is the mate of the Brolga Lady I photographed earlier. Managed to get a clear shot of him this time! Brighter red patch on his neck shows he's a male.

Burralga Brogla
 Burralga Brogla
As the sun rises over Murruwari country the silhouette of the brolga dances on the dry red plain.
The birds are the totem for the Murruwari people from northern New South Wales and southwest Queensland. Their dreaming transcends generations.

As the sun rises over Murruwari country the silhouette of the brolga dances on the dry red plain. The birds are the totem for the Murruwari people from northern New South Wales and southwest Queensland. Their dreaming transcends generations.

Four fantasy brolgas caught in the rain

Hand-drawn Australian Bird