http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oitgGEYzU0

In this episode of Dining Downunder, Vic Cherikoff visits Echo Point in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and drops in to the neighbouring Blue Gum and Leura Post Office restaurants. Echo Point attracts visitors from around the world and offers postcard views of the Three Sisters and out across the Jamison Valley.

Scientists provide the unimaginative explanation that the Three Sisters at Echo Point were carved from the surrounding sandstone cliffs over thousands of years by erosion which can still be seen in action today during a heavy rainstorm as water gushes down between the cracks between the pinnacles.

However the Aboriginal dreamtime story has it that three sisters, ‘Meehni’, ‘Wimlah’ and Gunnedoo’ lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. The three sisters fell in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe but their tribal laws forbade their marriage. The three brothers did not accept this law and tried to capture the three sisters by force. This caused a major tribal battle and the lives of the three sisters were thus threatened. In order to protect them, a kaditcha man (the tribal magician) turned the sisters into towering stone pillars intending to reverse the spell after the battle. Unfortunately, he was killed in mêlée and the three sisters remain as the enormous and beautiful rock formations until today standing tall at 922m, 918m, and 906m respectively.

After visiting Blue Gum restaurant at Echo Point and delighting in a Wattleseed bread and butter pudding, Vic takes us a short way over to the Leura village and the popular, Leura Post Office Restaurant where chefs Mark and David demonstrate their take on modern Australian cuisine. Drop in for a visit today and enjoy their new menus using native Australian foods. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner daily.

For native Australian ingredients visithttp://www.cherikoff.net/shop

Living Book Shaykh Ibrahim al Ansari with Reader at The Living Library in Lawson 2008.

Harmony Day will kick off in Springwood on March 20, 2009 with an array of multicultural activities and the welcome return of ‘The Living Library’, where people replace the books.
Mayor, Cr Adam Searle, said “Harmony Day provides an opportunity for us to celebrate our successes as a culturally diverse society, re-commit ourselves to harmony and say ‘no’ to racism.”
Since its inception in 1999 Harmony Day has grown into Australia’s biggest annual multicultural event. Harmony Day is held during the month of March and in the Blue Mountains it will be held on 20 March, which coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March.
The third Harmony Day celebration hosted by Blue Mountains City Council will feature the Living Library, which will be open in the Springwood Civic Centre from 1:00pm - 4:00pm (Springwood Civic Centre in the case of bad weather) followed by a free concert in the Springwood School of Arts Square from 5:00pm.
Mayor Searle stated, “The Living Library is a unique opportunity to borrow a person rather than a book and have a conversation about the remarkable lives and learning of local residents.”
Harmony Day activities include an exhibition of art work created by local multicultural residents developed through the ‘Nature Through Fresh Eyes’ and the ‘Landmarks and Keepsakes’ projects. There will be screenings of the ‘100 Women Dancing in The Gully’ project, which was developed at The Gully Aboriginal Place, Katoomba and gives Blue Mountains residents an opportunity to experience and gain a greater understanding of the ancient cultural heritage of the land.
The Harmony Day concert will start with the ‘Welcome to Country’ and the Yarringan Dancers. The Yarringan Dancers, established in 2008 by local Contemporary Indigenous Dance Artist Jo Clancy, perform Contemporary Aboriginal Dance and have toured communities throughout the Central West of NSW and will feature at the 2009 Festival of the Dreaming in Woodford (Queensland) in June.
Also performing at the concert will be Ritmo, the duo of Jane Andino on Latin/jazz piano and Ricardo Andino, a flamenco /classical guitarist and singer.
Ritmo will be followed by the internationally renowned world musicians Mara and Llew Kiek with special guest Jonathon Xue. Llew and Mara Kiek are leaders in the fields of world music and early music in Australia, and are best known for their multi-award winning world music ensemble ‘Mara!’ and Bulgarian style women’s choir ‘Martenitsa’. They have performed, recorded and broadcast in 21 countries across Europe, Asia and North America since 1984, and their long list of CD credits include 2 ARIA winners and 2 ARIA final nominees. Chinese flautist Jonathan Xue is originally from Shanghai and was a director, composer and performer with the Shanghai Peking Opera Company and has performed at Government House, Sydney. Jonathon has been a resident of the Blue Mountains for ten years and performed for our first Harmony Day concert in Katoomba in 2007. This is a rare opportunity for Blue Mountains residents to see these world class musicians in concert.
The final performance will be a fusion of didgeridoo and drums with Aboriginal artist Graham King from the Ngiyampaa and Wiradjuri people on the didgeridoo and Peter Kennard bringing his vast experience of many different musical styles to the drums. This performance will exemplify the spirit of the day.
Mayor Searle concluded, “The aim of both the Living Library and Harmony Day is to build community appreciation and respect for cultural diversity in the Blue Mountains. Promoting social inclusiveness goes hand in hand with the Blue Mountains City Council’s commitment to preserving the region’s social heritage.”
The Living Library is a partnership project between Libraries, Community Outcomes and Cultural Connexions.
For further information on Harmony Day Activities, please contact Ruth Caro on (02) 4780 5653.

The significance of The Gully in Katoomba, a declared Aboriginal Place, and the efforts of those to achieve that declaration, has been recognised with The Gully Traditional Owners recently winning a prestigious award for demonstrating leadership and excellence in indigenous community building.
On Monday 17 November 2008, representatives of The Gully Traditional Owners (GTO) received a Premier’s Excellence Award in the category of Building Leadership in Aboriginal Communities.
The Award recognises the efforts of The Gully Traditional Owners (GTO) in working collaboratively with Council to establish a co-management arrangement for The Gully.
GTO representatives, Merle Williams and Sharyn Halls received the award from the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, The Hon Paul Lynch MP at the Award presentation in Sydney.
Merle Williams, a Gundungurra elder and member of The GTO, said, “This award is for the many people involved in the protection of The Gully, the new cooperative management arrangement and those that have made a valuable contribution to The Gully being declared as an Aboriginal Place.”
On 5 August 2008, Council resolved to form the Gully Cooperative Management Committee consisting of representatives of The Gully Traditional Owners and Council to manage the Gully on behalf of the whole community.
Sharyn Halls, a member of The GTO said, “The co-operative management of The Gully is a great outcome in recognising the significance of the place to the Aboriginal community.
The Gully Traditional Owners are delighted that Council has taken this step to formalise the involvement of Aboriginal people in the management of The Gully, including the decision-making relating to land management activities.”
The Gully Traditional Owners have been meeting with Blue Mountains City Council since 2006 to liaise on issues regarding the management of The Gully. In addition to the Aboriginal heritage values The Gully is valued because of its significant flora and fauna, its recreational, social and cultural values and it’s location in the headwaters of a drinking water catchment.
Councillor Terri Hamilton, who has had a long involvement of supporting The Gully Traditional Owners, said, “The community leadership and respect of the Aboriginal elders involved has led to the first formal management structure involving a local Aboriginal community and local government for an Aboriginal Place in NSW.
The GTO has provided a way forward in partnership with Council to ensure the land is managed consistent with being an Aboriginal Place.”
The Gully, an area of approximately 90 Hectares located adjacent to the residential and town centre of Katoomba, was declared an Aboriginal Place on the 17 November 2002, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, in recognition of its special significance to Aboriginal culture. The Gully is culturally significant for its pre European contact Aboriginal archaeological sites, its physical remnants of post contact Aboriginal settlement 1894-1957.
The Gully Co-operative Management Committee is made up of representatives of the Aboriginal community and key Council staff. The Aboriginal committee members are former Gully residents, or descendants of Gully residents and drawn from The Gully Traditional Owners Inc.
The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Hon Paul Lynch MP launched the Premier’s Excellence Awards Recognising Leadership in Aboriginal Communities in 2008 recognising that Aboriginal community strength and commitment is key to making sustained improvements in health, education and social outcomes for Aboriginal people.
Mayor, Cr Adam Searle, said “The Gully is seen as an example of co-existence of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the past and therefore significant to the ongoing process of reconciliation in the local community.
Given the role of Blue Mountains City Council in the eviction of Gully people, to build a racetrack in 1957, the Gully Traditional Owners have brought the true spirit of reconciliation to the table in the interest of managing the Gully consistent with cultural values.
The co-operative management structure will ensure that the Aboriginal community has an on-going, formal and meaningful role in the management of the Gully and that all residents that have an interest in the Upper Kedumba River catchment, will be consulted on activities and future management of the community land in the catchment.”