Golden Camel (s9)

Living archive - 2

Peter Wills Yard

WA 11th Sept

As I have mentioned earlier this Yard looks like a Kabadi-Khanna* or a junkyard but this is actually an archive almost like “Chor-bazzar” of Bombay.

Disclaimer:

When I say Chor Bazar it doesn’t mean stolen market as it translates. What I mean the collection has a visual weight, which has content and value and reads the time. In Bombay I would rate Chor-bazar as the biggest city archive. Most of the things or articles that come in this bazar are from personal achieves or auctions done in a very localized way.

I have already introduced Peter Hill (the man who now owns and lives in the station masters house)

He has an eye on preservation and has an understanding to value the History, which I call a futuristic vision. He has collected all kinds of things and kept it in his huge yard. Normally he picks up things from people who want to dispose from their house. He picks them up – and whenever people approach him for few things they want – he gives them for re-use. So sometime it is also used like a re-cycling yard. Though as you know the concept of re-use is not at all common here.

He is also responsible for the local Laverton Museum The Great Beyond. He also has a vision for another museum of his collection: old vehicles to milk cans to old railways stuff to animal carriages…, which he is looking for the right space. But then in a small town to have two museums is also a huge question. After visiting his yard I too strongly feel there is a needs of some kind of structure or safety for these precious history lying in an open air. But the point is because of the way it is kept there is an organic element to the display or the installation it has created- it could be seen as a public installation sculpture of Peter Hill. So I strongly see Peter Hill as a local social historian, as a local archivist and as an Artist.

Peter Hill and his family, which is one of the oldest families of the town, have contributed lots of data and photographs to this museum.

As I am moving around the town I can see few more house, which has a personal archive of their own- so I am waiting for the right introduction so that I can peep into their archives.

Yesterday I found – the word “Khanna” is used in Australia, which I am, sure came from S.Asia. One of the pubs in a nearby town I saw few images of local Gymkhanna.

Khanna is my first word found which is associated with Urdu – so did it travel with the British or the Camalees? I am sure it is with the British.

So the list of things I have found are:

1. 5 Afghan graves

2. The use-age of word ‘Khanna’

3. A family in town which has a decent of the camalees: Abdul –who used to run the vegetable garden in Laverton his daughter died few months ago and her son who died few weeks ago – so will meet the family later when the right time comes.

4. saw few horses (Horses also came from India.)

Camel Water can and the Ice cream container from the early 20th century