Cultural Times ISSUE 1 APRIL 2019

I S S U E 1 | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
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W H E R E D I V E R S I T Y T H R I V E S
TIMES
CULTURAL
G E N D E R D I V E R S I T Y A T B H P
" N O D O G S , N O A B O R I G I N A L S ! "
M I L L E N N I A L S I N T H E W O R K F O R C E
W H Y Y O U S H O U L D S T O P T E A C H I N G C U L T U R A L D I F F E R E N C E S

C O N T E N T S
02
ON THE COVER
Gender Diversity at BHP
We ask experts in the
fashion industry how to
compromise being
fashion-forward and
comfortable at the same
time.
"No Dogs, No Aboriginals"
04
Why You Should Stop
08
Teaching Cultural Differences
20
Millennials in the Workforce
PEOPLE
A poignant sketch of
being a 'brown boy',
setting up an engineering
firm.
Letter from the Editor
01
13
That Freo Vibe
35
Lucky Child: The Secret
12
WORKPLACE
of a Safety
The Importance
Culture
Bias
Unconscious Managing
Millennials are often
penalised for their lack of
experience and some may
say loyalty. A deeper look
into understanding
Millennials
17
How Diversity Fosters Innovation
23
Delivering Effective Relocation
25
Support
29
MORE
Food, Glorious Food!
Cultural knowledge is not
enough. What does the
research say about
teaching cultural
differences.
Exotic India
31
36
Roots TV
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9

is with great pride and enormous gratitude that I’m
It
this magazine. I was lucky in growing up
launching
nomadic; I lived and worked in many countries
very
truly submerge myself in cultures whenever I
and
a great believer that violence, misunderstandings
I’m
stereotyping stems from fear; fear of an
and
a misunderstanding of another’s value
unknown,
and culture. I believe if we can have a better
system
of other people and what drives them,
understanding
automatically get on better and have less
we’ll
Hence the birth of ‘Cultural
misunderstandings.
Times’.
showcasing some good practice examples, a
By
dive into human behaviour and the culture
deeper
drives it – these collective articles are meant to
that
you a snapshot and a deeper understanding of
give
is also an open invitation to get in touch and let us know what you want to see in future or
This
by sharing a snapshot of your own experiences or good practice examples. The first
contribute
covers the personal journey of a women in Engineering, cultural snapshots from around the
edition
and sketches of the prejudices so many of us hold. The truth is, intercultural contact is
world,
new, but as our world becomes more global and as a result complex, so do relationships
nothing
nations and people.
between
L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R
travel.
the cultures around us.
Tanya Finnie
Want to get in touch? Have an amazing story to tell? Write to us at editor@cultural-times.com
MEET THE TEAM!
from left to right:
Magan Hurrelbrink - Creative Director and
Social Media Manager,
Arjun Bhugra - Research,
Jordan Phoebe - Copy Editor.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9

Feature Article
G E N D E R D I V E R S I T Y A T B H P
“Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less” John Maxwell.
Lydia Gentle’s pathway to success, her
journey into leadership and her story behind
becoming Australia’s youngest Engineering
Executive, started from very humble
beginnings.
Lydia grew up in far north Queensland and
was raised by her parents who migrated to
Australia from Italy in the 1960’s. Growing up
in the country, Lydia spent her childhood
mainly outdoors on cane farms or playing
chess with her father. Lydia’s parents’
schooling was limited to Grade 5, however
they always made a point that Lydia was to
attend university. When it was time for Lydia
to submit her university applications, her
Grade 12 Maths teacher suggested that she
become an engineer, as Lydia had one of the
best Maths brains he had ever seen. Lydia
has been an engineer ever since and has
never looked back.
Fast forward to the present day, Lydia is currently the Engineering Manager at BHP. She is
the youngest Australian to be awarded the prestigious post-nominal of Engineering Executive,
a Chartered Civil & Structural Engineer, and she holds a Masters of Engineering Science
from The University of New South Wales.
Married with two children, Lydia enjoys the innovation and opportunities that come with being
an engineer, as well as the challenges and achievements that come with working full time and
raising two children under four. Engineering is one of the oldest professions in the world –
think of the engineers who were involved with building the Pyramids in Egypt or the
hydrological systems of the Angkor Complex in Cambodia.
However, despite the economic importance of engineers, enrollment in engineering studies is
declining and the uptake of women studying engineering has remained stagnant since 2001.
Ask Lydia if she would choose a different career path, however, and her response is: “No way,
the word 'engine' is derived from the Latin ‘ingenium’ for ingenuity of cleverness. Engineers
are clever and get to use scientific knowledge and mathematics to create technologies and
infrastructure that address contemporary issues. The satisfaction that comes from solving a
problem far outweighs the hurdles that come along the pathway”.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 2 |

G E N D E R D I V E R S I T Y A T B H P
In a world that is moving through the fourth
industrial revolution, skills in engineering,
science and technology are in short supply.
To be successful and
relevant, a diverse
workforce is needed.
The future of engineering is exciting. Never
before has there been this level of access
to new technologies and the opportunity to
turn imaginations into real-world innovative
solutions.
Engineers work with the smallest items
(some that can only be seen with a
microscope) to space stations and
everything in between. Engineers work on
the everyday (mobile phones, cars, planes)
to the once in a lifetime (space shuttles,
ocean liners).
However, while the number
of women studying
engineering is increasing,
men still vastly outnumber
women in the field.
We have Women in Engineering, Girls in
STEM and yet, there is still significant work
to be done in achieving gender parity.
There are some companies exceeding the
norm. In 2017, BHP Engineering had 9%
female engineers and acknowledged that
something needed to change. Today, they
have 16.7% and plan to increase to over
22% by 2020. This is double the national
average of female graduating with
engineering degrees.
As the demands on humanity’s knowledge
and needs increase, the demands on
engineering grow. Engineers respond in
emergency situations, in reconstructing
infrastructure and bridging the knowledge
divide and promoting intercultural
cooperation.
Lydia shares that ‘We need to focus on the
achievements of engineers, the innovation
and the technologies’.
To the upcoming engineers, Lydia’s tips for
success are” ‘be innovate but have
perseverance and grit. Approach each day
with the same enthusiasm and passion that
you had when playing with Lego as a child
and always choose a positive attitude”.
Lydia Gentle
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 3 |

DOGS, NO ABORIGINALS"
"NO
By Chelinay Gates
Imagine the Northwest of Western
Australia one hundred years ago.
The Sale-Asians were pulling into
Broome from West Timor, Malaysia
and China, to ply their trade and
supply pearl divers for Thangoo
Station. The Afghans’ camel-drawn
caravans were setting off on arduous
journeys, taking food and other
goods to isolated inland and coastal
communities.
My grandfather, juja (old man) Jack,
was Karrajarri, born in La Grange
(Bidyadanga) long before it became
an Aboriginal Mission in 1924. He fell
in love with Rosie, the green eyed,
ginger haired, daughter of a Kurdish
cameleer. Rosie was a Russian
Coptic and spoke Chaldean.
Although these two ancient cultures
had come together by extraordinary
means, it was the Government’s
simple catch cry, ‘half caste' (1910 –
1970) that tore this family apart.
In 1921, Jack and Rosie traveled to
Broome and made the difficult
decision to put their two little boys in
the arms of a trafficker who went by
the name of Dombie. Satisfied with
the fee, Dombie took the boys by boat
through the Straits of Malacca to
Burma, to be raised by their Aunty.
Grieving Rosie was struck down by
tuberculosis and died.
She was never mentioned again.
The kids were now ‘brown boys’ in a
‘brown nation’. I believe that for
them, their removal from the ‘White
Australia’ policy, was the single
most important factor in getting an
education and the opportunity to be
seen for ‘who’ they were and not
‘what’ they were – Aboriginal.
My dad stepped out of every 'White
Australian' stereotype fired at an
Aboriginal person.
The call of destiny is a strange thing.
Unbeknownst to my dad, his
mother’s twin sister sent her
daughter from the growing strife in
Assyria to live in Burma.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 4 |

"NO DOGS, NO ABORIGINALS"
Maybe it was the memory of his
mother’s ginger hair and green eyes
that drew Dad to Barbara, like a moth
to the flame. Dad was probably
seventeen and she was now fifteen,
with child.
Having shamed his Auntie’s family,
Dad was beaten mercilessly and
thrown onto the streets. Their baby
was given away and Barbara married
off to an old man who took her to
England to get away from my dad. At
that point in time, they could not have
imagined that twenty-one years
later, their paths would cross again
and they would give birth to me and my
twin sister (whom I have never met ...
that’s another story).
Although, ‘persona non grata’, Dad’s
skinny black legs had given him a
reputation playing hockey and soccer.
So the Somerset Light Infantry signed
him up to play for the British Army. He
was trained as a Mechanical and Civil
Engineer and served in Burma,
Afghanistan and India, earning four
medals, including the Star of Burma.
Being a maverick, for him, ‘the
battle’ was always close at hand, be
it floods famine, earthquakes or
war. He designed dozens of ‘rebuild
templates’, for the first pop-up
villages/cities in Burma. Simple bolt
together structures, (houses,
hospitals and schools) that could be
built in hours, but last decades.
"Dad was beaten
mercilessly and thrown
onto the streets."
The withdrawal of Japanese troops
from Burma was the perfect
opportunity for him and his brother
to reinvent themselves. They
generated birth certificates and
passports; along with ninety
percent of the population who’d had
theirs destroyed. Officially,
Dad was born on Jan 19, 1921, in
Rangoon, the date and place his
new life began.
Even though Dad was at his peak,
living in the hotel he owned in
Leister Square, London, and
designing aircraft for de Havilland
and setting up large scale
infrastructure in the Middle
East, he felt a strong need to return
home to Australia.
So he bought a ticket home to WA.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 5 |

"NO DOGS, NO ABORIGINALS"
In a finely tailored suit, with me on
one arm and his white wife on the
other, an impressive resume,
enormous wealth, and a refined
English accent, on arrival, he was
met with prejudice and ignorance.
Catching a bus, our family sat
separated by skin tone.
A dark cloud descended over him. He
could only get work as a labourer. I
remember my mum going into a
souvenir shop in Perth to buy gifts for
Dad’s Chinese staff, while he and I
stood outside near the sign –
‘NO DOGS
&
NO ABORIGINALS
ALLOWED’.
He took medical supplies to remote
villages and started the first ‘trading in
artefacts’ where
the artist actually received the money.
He trained the locals in his emergency
tactics, as PNG is prone to natural
disasters. Dad was instrumental in the
Bougainvillea uprising and went to jail
for his beliefs.
Unfortunately, his experiences as an
Aboriginal in his homeland were
sobering. He’d seen poverty in the
poorest countries on Earth, but at
home in WA, he felt sadness like
nowhere else. He believed that the
destruction of the family unit and the
disconnection to culture, land
and opportunity to prosper, would take
five generations to heal.
To his dying day, he was visibly
affected by the subtle daily judgements
based on the colour of his skin.
Frustrated, he set up his own
engineering company in Singapore.
Branching out into Papua New
Guinea (PNG), Dad’s fervour as a
human rights activist, consumed his
every waking hour.
He campaigned for equal pay, for
equal qualification, and he demanded
that natives be given the right to
open bank accounts and be allowed to
own their own businesses.
He put together the manifesto for
independence and tutored
Michael Somare at our breakfast and
dinner table every day.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 6 |

"NO DOGS, NO ABORIGINALS"
Dad demanded, ‘don’t admit to
being Aboriginal, it’ll amount to no
good!’ Only after his passing have I
had the courage to raise my hand
and say, ‘I’m Aboriginal’.
" I'm Aboriginal "
However, I don’t tell people when I’m
looking to rent, or when I advertise
that I am a Doctor of Traditional
Chinese Medicine. I am also an artist
and author and used to be an auditor.
My Dad gave his family the
permission to imagine and manifest.
My eldest son is a Western Doctor,
and my second son is an Industrial
Designer and Stylist.
My daughter is an International
Model, working in London and my
youngest son is at school.
But because he is the
darkest skinned, he gets abused on
busses and trains or punched for no
reason, even when walking with us.
He, like my dad is a maverick and has
a way of defusing aggression and
turning those moments into
memories of gold.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 7 |

WHY YOU SHOULD STOP TEACHING
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
David Livermore, PhD
If you’ve paid any attention
to our work in cultural
intelligence, you know that
we’ve been saying for a
while that cultural
knowledge isn’t enough.
You need more than a
seminar on how to do
business in India or how to
work with Millennials to
work successfully with
those cultures.
But now, a mounting body of research suggests it would actually be better to not
teach cultural differences at all, if that’s the only thing you’re going to do.
Studies find that cultural knowledge leads to stereotyping and perpetuating
bias rather than building Cultural Intelligence (CQ).
H O W ?
K n o w l e d g e w i t h o u t
C u r i o s i t y = S t e r e o t y p e s
Once you learn characteristics about
Indians or Millennials, there’s a
tendency to start putting any Indian
or Millennial in a box.
Then, when inexplicable behaviour is
encountered, you fill in the blank with
a crass stereotype rather than
suspending judgment and seeking to
understand more.
K n o w l e d g e w i t h o u t S k i l l =
I n e f f e c t i v e n e s s
If knowledge was all we needed to
work successfully with diverse groups,
we should have it figured out by now.
Still, some of the individuals with the
highest levels of knowledge about
different cultural groups can’t for the
life of them figure out how to actually
get along with people who are
different from them.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 8 |

W H Y Y O U S H O U L D S T O P T E A C H I N G C U L T U R A L D I F F E R E N C E S
K n o w l e d g e w i t h o u t C u l t u r a l
H u m i l i t y = A r r o g a n c e
Once you get some insight into a
culture, you may end up
being over-confident about your ability
to understand
what’s going on.
It may actually be better
to remain open-minded and
culturally ignorant
than to go on thinking
that your cursory understanding
about another culture means
you “get them.”
K n o w l e d g e w i t h o u t
I n t e r s e c t i o n a l i t y = I r r e l e v a n c e
The groundbreaking work on
'intersectionality', referring to an
individual’s overlapping identities
(race, gender, social class, sexual
orientation, function, etc.) illuminates
the danger of reducing someone to any
one part of their identity.
An Indian woman is not only an
Indian, she’s also influenced by her
gender, social class, professional role,
and much more. How will you know
which part of her identity will be most
relevant when you interact with her?
If knowledge was all we needed to
work successfully with diverse
groups we should have figured it
out by now
Still, some of the individuals with the
highest levels of knowledge about
different cultural groups can’t for the
life of them figure out how to actually
get along with people who are different
from them.
I could keep going on but the point is,
after several decades of courses, books,
and videos teaching people about
cultural differences, it’s time to stop.
Of course, the best choice is to teach
cultural knowledge along with the other
CQ capabilities that are proven to predict
one’s effectiveness in working with
people from diverse backgrounds.
However, it would honestly be better to
do nothing at all than to only teach
cultural awareness and sensitivity.
A More Strategic Approach
1. Start with the CQ Drive:
Over the last decade, we have surveyed
nearly 100,000 professionals from over 100
countries and there’s only one consistent
characteristic among every culturally
intelligent individual.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 9 |

WHY YOU SHOULD STOP TEACHING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
It’s not where you grew up, how many
languages you speak, whether
you’re part of an under-represented
group or how far you’ve traveled.
It’s your curiosity - something we call
your CQ Drive.
This is your interest and openness to
other ways of doing things. Moreover, it’s
your confidence and ability to persevere
in the midst of intercultural challenges.
Then, within those broad archetypes,
you can talk about the tendencies of a
particular cultural group.
In other words, don’t talk about
Millennials or Chinese as a stand-alone
topic; be sure the discussion is rooted in
a broader taxonomy of cultural systems
and values, so that people are equipped
for the intersectionality of individuals’
identities, and the diversity that exists
within any culture.
2. Teach Archetypes first, then Cultural
Specifics:
I don’t really think you should fully stop
teaching about cultural differences, but
my overstated title was intended to be
more than just an attention-grab.
We really must understand that if you
only teach knowledge about different
cultures, it can actually be far worse
than doing nothing at all.
However, when combined with the other
capabilities of cultural intelligence, the
most valuable piece of knowledge is
learning broad archetypes that help
when comparing one group to another.
Examples might include:
- Key Historical Differences,
- Family Systems (Kinship, Extended,
Nuclear)
- Religious Context,
- Cultural Values.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
3. Analysis and Strategy:
Based on a meta-analysis of dozens of
academic studies on CQ, we’ve
discovered that CQ Strategy, or Metacognitive
CQ, is even more important
than we originally thought.
CQ Strategy strengthens the effects of
the other CQ capabilities. It’s allows
you to drive your knowledge to make
sense of culturally diverse experiences,
which can help you plan accordingly.
With the objective in mind (CQ Drive)
and a broad understanding of cultural
tendencies (CQ Knowledge), what plan
is going to work best? Meta-cognitive
CQ, the more precise concept behind CQ
Strategy, is a more sophisticated,
nuanced approach to relating and
working with people from different
backgrounds.
This is the preferred approach to
blindly assuming that all Boomers want
to be treated the same way.
Driven by Difference is almost entirely
devoted to CQ Strategy, with specific
application to leveraging diversity to
drive innovation.
| 10 |

WHY YOU SHOULD STOP TEACHING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
4. Equip for Adaptive Performance (CQ
on the fly!):
I’m often asked for advice about how
to handle a specific intercultural
dilemma (e.g. “Our partner in Brazil
consistently misses agreed upon
deadlines, what should we do?”).
CQ predicts adaptive performance, but no
single CQ capability leads to adaptive
performance. All four are needed -
otherwise you end up with an insufficient
approach.
My first response to most of these
questions is, “It depends!” It sounds
like a cop out and it’s fair to expect me
to offer some additional guidance. But
working and living in today’s
multicultural, globalised world
requires a much more situational,
strategic approach that is informed by
understanding cultural differences,
without over applying them to every
situation.
We’re doing a lot of work currently
with the special forces community in
the U.S. military. Their leaders
consistently tell me they have to find
ways to equip their officers with
“adaptive performance”- the ability to
learn on the fly and figure things out
as you go.
Closing Thoughts
Information by itself rarely solves
anything. We know that, yet it
becomes the easy default as soon as
we encounter a need to work better
with a different group. Clearly,
there’s a place for teaching cultural
differences, but resist the urge to
build knowledge too quickly. There
are far more important components to
developing cultural intelligence.
About the Contributor:
David Livermore is a social scientist,
President of the Cultural
Intelligence Center in Michigan, published
author of several books and engages audience
around the world around all things culture.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
Dave averages 35 international speaking
engagements annually, addressing an average
of 7500 leaders over a year. He also serves on
several non-profit boards.
| 11 |

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T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F S A F E T Y C U L T U R E
B y M a r k S m a l l
Safety culture is something that we seem to
intuitively understand to be important. The very
nature of the words seems to indicate that it should
be important. It is therefore understandable that
safety culture has received so much focus and
attention.
Surprisingly, there is not a great deal of evidence
that demonstrates a relationship between safety
culture and safety performance.
To further complicate the issue, there exists a range
of definitions of what a safety culture actually is.
A common thread when describing a safety culture
is around an organisation that places a high level of
importance on shared safety beliefs, values and
attitudes.
Unfortunately, it is possible for an organisation to be
considered as having a good safety culture and, at
the same time, inadequately control health and
safety risks.
Controlling health and safety risks is more than
beliefs, values and attitudes; it is also about the
application of the body of knowledge of
occupational health and safety to the specific
organisation.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
Rather than focusing on safety culture alone,
greater results can be achieved by improving
organisational culture and management practices
and taking an evidence-based approach to health
and safety.
Most importantly, we need to understand if and to
what extent the health and safety risks within our
organisations are being controlled.
Organisations need to incorporate health and
safety into all aspects of the business, placing the
same level of focus and attention to health and
safety as it does to finance and governance or any
other aspect of the business.
Leaders influence health and safety performance
by what they say, what they do, and by what they
pay attention to.
It is through leadership and improving
organisational culture and management practices
that an organisation can improve its safety
performance.
Mark Small is the Director of Elect
Training and Consulting, who
specialises in workplace health
and safety. He believes achieving
a safe workplace is critical for
business, not only to survive but
to thrive
| 12 |

T H A T F R E O V I B E
The haunting allure of Fremantle
Words and Photography by
James Kerr
What is it about Fremantle? The second city of Western Australia draws a crowd every
weekend — local visitors and tourists alike flock to the port city and crowd the Cappuccino
Strip to have a coffee, people watch, and generally soak up the atmosphere. Visit one of
the art galleries? Maybe a lunch of fish and chips? Check out the Art Centre, listen to the
buskers playing on the streets. There’s something about the place.
I’ve lived in Fremantle — Or Walyalup as it’s
called in the Aboriginal Noongar language — for
a long time now, and yet the place still inspires
me, even after all this time.
Why? Maybe it’s the mix of old and new, the
safely preserved West End architecture on High
St. heading for the Roundhouse coexisting with
the new, funky bars that have appeared in
recent years.
The grim history of Fremantle Prison just up the
hill from the bustling vitality of the Markets,
crystals and chakras and the New Age lifestyle
happily existing in a place steeped in Colonial
history.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
Opened in 1831, the Roundhouse served
initially as a police lock-up, and is the oldest
building still standing in W.A. The Roundhouse
is open from 10.30 - 3.30 daily, and the
volunteer guides there are friendly and helpful in
answering any questions you may have about
the place.
The cramped cells and stocks give an insight
into the harsh conditions of the early days of
settlement, and notions of crime and
punishment in those times.
British settlers first arrived in 1829, naming what
would become Fremantle 'The Swan River
Colony', and establishing the area as a free
settlement. | 13 |

T H A T F R E O V I B E
Fremantle initially struggled, and soon came to
rely on the assistance of convict labour to
.
properly develop. Beginning in 1850, over
9,000 convicts arrived and expansion was rapid
thereafter.
The gold rush of the 1890’s, and the
consequent influx of prospectors and growth of
trade, saw the port of Fremantle firmly
established as the gateway to Western
Australia. Those early pioneers, hardy and
industrious, were but the first in a series of
arrivals who, over time, would largely shape the
distinctive character of the place we know as
Freo.
I f e l t a y e a r n i n g t o r e t u r n
t o w h e r e I h a d a r r i v e d i n
A u s t r a l i a .
Full circle. I've been here ever since. And
those same reasons resonate for the many
people who choose to live in or visit
Fremantle, and for whom it has a special
place in their hearts.
Those waves of migrants all left an imprint on
the place, be it in the architecture, the food,
the social traditions, and that very eclectic
mix is a part of what defines Fremantle.
If you happen to watch the Fremantle Festival
parade you can’t help being struck by the
incredible variety of people and cultural
groups, happy to be on display in their home
town. Or the Blessing of The Fleet parade. Or
the Street Arts Festival. Celebrations of
diversity, tolerance and creativity.
My family arrived in Australia, in Fremantle, in
1968. We arrived by boat, as did many of the
migrants in the years immediately following
World War 2, and then in waves thereafter:
displaced persons, refugees, “10 pound
poms”, Italians, Yugoslavs, English,
Vietnamese, Burmese, and all the others.
We moved to Carnarvon, then Geraldton, and
after high school there I returned to Perth for
tertiary study. A story similar to many others, I
imagine.
I lived in South Perth, North Perth, and
Queen’s park, but ended up in Fremantle
again. Why? Personal connections, the
photography/film-making/music scene, the
thriving arts community, the cultural mix, and
because I wanted to be near the ocean.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
.
| 14 |

T H A T F R E O V I B E
The America’s Cup yacht race off the
coast of Fremantle in 1987 was a major
event that focussed attention on the port
city, and led to it being 'spruced up' for
the world’s media.
The place was abuzz, and packed with
tourists of a nautical flavour. Afterwards,
Freo returned to its own ways, albeit with
a slightly more upmarket appearance.
Current re-development in St. John’s
Square in the heart of the city will again
bring changes, hotly debated by the
passionate local population in the
ongoing argument about Preservation Vs
Progress.
Whatever the outcome, I don’t think the
essential character of Fremantle will
change greatly.
The port is still operating, the container
ships come and go, ocean liners and
tourists arrive at the newly revamped
passenger terminal, buskers and street
performers do their thing. A large
macchiato at Gino’s coffee shop on a
sunny day is still one of life’s
pleasures. Watching the sunset at
South Beach. Fishing at the North Mole
or checking out that exhibition at the
Moores Building. There’s something for
everyone.
That Freo vibe.
James Kerr is a Fremantle based photographer. He has published 2 black and white photography books about Fremantle: “Mono
Freo” and “Mono Freo 2”.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 15 |

STRENGTH LIES IN
DIFFERENCES,
NOT
SIMILARITIES.
S T E P H E N R . C O V E Y

H O W T O M A N A G E Y O U R U N C O N S C I O U S B I A S
By Tanya Finnie
We all bring unconscious bias into the workplace. These learned stereotypes are automatic
and unintentional. They are part of your belief system and will affect your behaviour on a
daily basis. Just because they are triggered without your knowledge does not make it right
or even an excuse for bad decisions. For example, if you did not appoint someone because
of their surname, gender, sexual orientation etc. it certainly is not favourable for the
organisation or the individuals concerned. Your brain is predetermined to certain
predispositions in order to survive. Unconscious thinking is effortless and swift. It is
activated in your brain long before your explicit system can kick in and override it.
However this is no excuse.
There are many types of unconscious bias, and you are most likely guilty of
at least some of them.
Affinity Bias
Here are a few:
Conformity Bias
When you like people you are like yourself.
This, for example, might include having an
affinity for someone who went to the same
university as you, grew up in the same town,
is of the same background etc.
When you tend to listen more to information
that already conforms to our preconceived
notions. You often see this in discussions
around big issues like climate change; you
see this daily when two people walk away
from the same discussion with different
interpretations of the same concept.
Halo Effect
You see one great thing about someone and let
that influence every other judgement about
that person. For example, this could take place
in the recruitment process - looking at a
particular university and seeing everything
else about that candidate glow as a result of
this “great” university.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 17 |

H O W T O M A N A G E Y O U R U N C O N S C I O U S B I A S
Horns Effect Perception Bias
The opposite of the halo effect. Your
judgment is clouded because someone, for
example, might have been late once to a
meeting or said something that you didn’t
agree with.
Believing one thing about a group of people
based on stereotypes or assumptions. For
example “all Asians drive badly.”
There is evidence that shows, although people
believe they make impartial judgement, they
are often influenced by perception bias
There are many more types of biases, but these few hopefully reminded you of decisions you
made in the last week based on these biases.
Simply knowing you are bias will not automatically alert you to take any
different action.
For exactly all of these reasons you need a strategy. The more you practice coming up
with alternatives the easier it becomes. Not keeping your biases in check, will end up in
you solving the wrong problems and creating homogeneous teams. How can you minimise
the impact of these cognitive biases and minimise their negative effect on innovation?
Ask yourself
Where is there unconscious bias in my company or what biases do I hold as an individual — and
what is the impact of it?
Pay particular attention when you are tired. When we are tired we revert back to our automatic
thinking patterns and unless you have a practiced strategy prior to this time, you easily revert
back to your 'comfortable, habitual' way of thinking.
The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.
Jim Hightower
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 18 |

H O W T O M A N A G E Y O U R U N C O N S C I O U S B I A S
To avoid bias, the above question may need answering by a 360 review.
Here are a five tips to manage bias:
1
Get out of Denial!
If you want to manage your biases, you first need to admit to them. It’s harder than you
may think, but ask yourself: What are my biases? How do they impact my decisions?
What actions can I put in place to manage them?
2
Start at the Top
There is no doubt that it is easier to drive change from the top. This is not only a verbal
agreement, but needs to be followed by measurable actions, policies, and norms. Let
everyone reveal their perceptions of your company’s diversity and inclusion strategies
in a safe environment. You may be surprised by the outcome!
3
Get to the top
I often see middle managers stuck to influence and disillusioned to what they may
influence. Come up with a strategy, make a suggestion to your superior and run with it
(Else you’ll one day inherit a culture much harder to change so start addressing it now).
4
Focus on Individuals
& Evidence
Rather than generalising the team, build individual relations. Yes – this takes time, but
you’ll see the returns it yields in terms of productivity and motivated staff.
5
Create Accountability
Unless you can measure it and continuously check in, you’ll easily fall back into old
patterns and behaviour. Awareness alone is simply not enough to create change.
Business leaders have a unique power to create a more inclusive world. Use
your power well!
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 19 |

M I L L E N N I A L S I N T H E W O R K F O R C E
By Robbie Packer
A quick Google of ‘Millennials
in the workforce’ will bring up
countless damning articles
telling you that millennials lack
social skills, are needy, and come
with unrealistic expectations.
So, as a millennial myself,
naturally I wish to propose a
counter point to the internet’s
defamation of my generation.
In a time where job applications
are first read by software
programs before even making it
onto a human’s desk, it is
understandable why we as a
generation are critiqued for
poor social skills.
We now live in a time so heavily
dominated by digital filters that
my fellow millennials have
received job interviews by
submitting plagiarised poems as
cover letters by merely inserting
buzzwords or catchphrases that
companies seek within an
application.
The only quirk being to
successfully identify the
relevant buzzwords and
catchphrases the filtering
software is searching for and to
sporadically include these
throughout your application.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 20 |

So yes, while our social skills
may not be as vibrant as those
who came before us, our ability
to achieve tasks is strengthened
by our comprehension of digital
systems and ability to manoeuvre
into positions via our in-depth
understanding of a growing
digital world.
We are sick of workplace
discrimination, we are sick of
lethargic attitudes to global
warming and most of all we are
sick of having to make a song
and dance about these issues
before corporations undertake
any form of responsibility.
It is commonly said that we
belong to the mollycoddled
generation. While this may be
true, it does not come without its
perks. We are a generation
constantly seeking achievement,
whether it be big or small, just
the quantitative measure that we
have progressed is often enough.
Typically, these achievements do
not come fast enough for us and
we are forced to endeavour for it
even more.
We are a generation
constantly seeking
achievement.
Whether this stems from our video
game childhoods, striving to pass
level after level, or our baby
boomer parentage and having
grown up through a global
financial crisis and knowing to seek
job security, it is true that our
generation strives for achievement
and wishes to be notified when we
have done so.
We are often heralded as the
generation of change, and we are
proud of that. It defines our
generation and our ability to
achieve.
While it may be said that we are
the generation of instant
gratification that causes us to be
lazy if not instantly gratified, we
are also the generation that has
taken the lead on these social
changes in the workplace and
society which we will continue to
strive for.
In a complex society made up of
distinctly different generations
due to the vast social changes that
have occurred over the last 50
years, we as millennials may be
the current target of criticism,
but we are also the most
innovative and change-defining
generation of the present.
Robbie is a 3rd year
Commerce and
Engineering
Undergraduate at the
University of Western
Australia with a
passion for problem
solving and creating
innovative inventions
in his spare time.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 21 |

H O S P I T A T L I T Y A N D D I V E R S I T Y
According to the Australian Industry and Skills
Committee Employment in hospitality will grow by
12.1% in the next five years.
The top generic skill in demand for the hospitality
industry is communication skills. What does this
mean for such a diverse industry? It doesn't matter if
you are a waitress or a CEO in hospitality, being able
to adapt across different cultures will be a huge
benefit, that puts your establishment ahead of others.
Overseas visitors are increasingly
turning to Australia for holidays.
In 2017 there was a 7.1% increase in international
travellers. We know this is driven by premium
quality and diverse food options as well as focussing
on customer service.
With many new hotels, there may
however be a fall in occupancy
rates.
Reach out for a cultural audit on how well your team
is doing or do a full scale Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
assessment and see where your gaps are.
Unless you drive a culturally
smart establishement, you'll fall
behind.
www.redheadcommunications.com

W H O E L S E C A N H E L P ?
W H O E L S E C A N H E L P ?
How Diversity Fosters Innovation
By Matt Browell-Hook
The 2015 oil and gas downturn left a lasting effect on
the industry globally, and while many negative effects
continue to be felt, abrupt change can bring about
new opportunities.
This has had a significant impact on the supply
sector. Clients are demanding new approaches, new
ideas, and input from wide reaching, non-obvious
places. While the oil and gas industry of old could be
accused of a very internal focus, new approaches
reward and actively seek out other industries and
experiences to meet the challenges of the oil and gas
industry, at a level commensurate with the
commodity price.
The real difficulty, not necessarily unique to oil and
gas, is that clients expect innovation and creativity at
a low cost. It’s uncomfortable enough asking teams to
deliver complex scopes at half to a third of what they
are used to, but then pushing them for new ideas can
be too much.
So, with precious little profit to invest back
into technologies and methods, how do we
continue to innovate in a sustainable way?
Fortunately, there is a low-cost, effective way to
achieve this goal that lies in your teams, your
recruitment strategies, and the people around you.
We have all had the situation where a client calls
with a difficult problem; they’ve come to you with
sky-high expectations, no budget, but a real need.
You take the problem, call your trusted leaders and
teams into a room and brainstorm an answer. But ask
yourself, is that team the same team you always use? Of
course it is—you have developed trust, respect and
ownership in that team over years of experience and
track record. Having a team of trusted people may be
valuable, however, the downside to this familiarity is
that the team often comes up with an expected
solution.
The key to avoiding this
issue is diversity.
The same old team isn’t always going to cut it, even if
they have achieved success in the past. If you look at
your team and they all have the same experiences,
background and outlook, then it’s likely that they
reflect you, particularly if you lead the group, and that
you may already know what they are going to come up
with.
Studies have shown that seeking opinions from people
with a diverse backgrounds – race, religion,
experience, industry and other factors – can produce
improved results. This is because everyone is
examining the same problem through a different lens
and that’s a powerful tool for generating a broad
range of solutions. Furthermore, if your staff is
already made up of a culturally diverse selection of
people, imple11menting this solution will not add any
costs.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 23 |

W H O E L S E C A N H E L P ?
How Does Diversity Foster Innovation?
At SNC-Lavalin Atkins the WISE 10 steps Model staff are encouraged to challenge themselves daily and
make sure they have a team and work environment that reflects diversity. Matt says: He wants to see it
reflected in the ideas he put forward to their clients. His very useful advice is:
"The next time you stare into the abyss of a blank sheet of paper,
why not ask yourself - ‘Who else can help?’ and discard the first
three names you think of."
Matt is based in Aberdeen, Scotland and has
worked for SNC-Lavalin Atkins for 11 years
currently as a Director for Asset Lifecyle Services
and Consulting in the oil and gas business.
He has a young family with two boys under 3 and
a passion for all things mechanical and especially
the history of engineering.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 24 |

D E L I V E R I N G E F F E C T I V E
R E L O C A T I O N F A M I L Y S U P P O R T
By Sue Pember and Yvonne McNulty Ph.D.
Relocation family support
has never been more
important than it is today,
and has emerged as critical
across many different
domains, including those in
corporate, military,
missionary, academic,
foreign service, and Non-
Government Organisation
(NGO) communities.
Numerous studies attest to
the importance of family
members’ adjustment as a
significant factor in overall
relocation success. Yet,
industry surveys show that
critical relocation challenges
continue to be ‘family and
personal circumstances’ and
‘partner’s career’ as the top
reasons for refusing to accept
relocation.
Additionally, the three main reasons for failed relocations continue to be family
concerns, partner dissatisfaction, and an inability of the spouse to adapt.
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D E L I V E R I N G E F F E C T I V E R E L O C A T I O N F A M I L Y S U P P O R T
“In global transfers, the spouse has the most
difficult role of any a family member.
Whereas employees have the organisation
and job structure that continue from the
home to the new country, and children have
the continuity and routine of school, spouses
often leave behind many of the most
important aspects of their lives, including
friends, relatives and meaningful activities
... the challenges of adjusting successfully
are therefore both different and greater.”
Undoubtedly, the trailing spouse plays a key
role during relocation in terms of their
overall willingness to go, completing the
project or assignment successfully and ontime,
adjusting to the new location, and
supporting their partner’s performance at
work. However, recent surveys have found
that just 29% of respondents rate
organisational support as ‘good’ or
‘excellent’.
Every relocation affects a family
differently and in multiple ways.
In an ideal family situation, relationships
between family members exist in a state of
balance or equilibrium, where each
reciprocally impacts on the psychological
state of the other.
During relocation, families invariably go
through a variety of stressful states while at
the same time attempting to maintain a
sense of equilibrium – sometimes the
balance can be maintained, but mostly
things get ‘out of whack’ quite quickly and
for reasons that often seem small and trivial
to outsiders, but have deep significance for
those involved.
Family relocation stress can be
exacerbated, for example, by unemployment
and the loss of a career for the trailing
spouse, along with a corresponding loss of
social networks and financial independence.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
Losing extended family support can also be
extraordinarily difficult, particularly for
families with children who may be entering
new schools.
For men who assume the trailing spouse
role, life can be equally tough. Adjusting to
new family roles and responsibilities
coupled with shifts in relationship
dynamics within the family unit can send
stress levels sky high.
‘Normal’ relocations (if there is such a
thing) typically involve ongoing
adjustments as family members strive to
maintain equilibrium by offsetting a
change in one area of their life (e.g. family
life) with a corresponding change in
another area of their life (e.g. increased
organisational support to cope with the
demands of the relocation). This is where
effective organisational support can have
a major impact.
Given that family members have no official
employment status within a company but
are nonetheless greatly affected by its
relocation policies and practices, the role
of organisational support is critical. In
fact, for some companies it may act as a
proxy for their direct involvement in the
personal lives of family members to
address some of the challenges noted
above.
| 26 |

D E L I V E R I N G E F F E C T I V E R E L O C A T I O N F A M I L Y S U P P O R T
E F F E C T I V E P O L I C I E S F O R T O P
O R G A N I S A T I O N A L S U P P O R T
DECEMBER 2016
Although the issue of relocation support is a
complex one, a recent survey found the
following types of organisational support to
be the most valuable.
1
F I R S T - H A N D E X P E R I E N C E
Employ HR staff with personal
relocation experience as a
necessary prerequisite for
working in this field
IMPRINTMAGAZINE.COM
5 A H E L P I N G H A N D
TRENDS
Assist the trailing spouse in
finding a job (e.g. obtaining
work permits, using a career
coach, updating a resume), or
helping them stay connected
remotely to their career (i.e.
through paid subscriptions,
associations); help them to
build a new career or provide
a sense of meaning and
purpose via appropriate
volunteer work
Establish a direct
communication link between
the company and the trailing
spouse, irrespective of their
non-employee status;
funneling important
documents about a relocation
through the employee is risky
as the information often does
not make it home.
2 C O M M U N I C A T I O N
S O C I A L S U P P O R T
To reduce the stress of
isolation, sponsor
memberships of local social
clubs and provide training in
networking skills.
Alternatively, organise
introductory social events at
the new location.
6
T R A N S P A R E N C Y
7
Give employees sufficient
time to settle-in with their
families upon arrival in the
new location before
inundating them with work
commitments and extended
business travel.
3 T I M E T O A D J U S T
4
E D U C A T I O N
If employment is not an option
or not desired, help spouses
with the reimbursement of
education-related costs to
compensate for the loss of
spousal income, or childcare
to facilitate attendance at
courses
Provide realistic overviews
prior to and during a
relocation to help trailing
spouses accurately identify
the challenges they might
face and as well as the
personal attributes they may
bring to their situation to
overcome some of these
challenges; this can be
facilitated through coaching,
counseling, or the provision
of books and other reading
material in combination with
knowledge of, and access to,
appropriate online resources
Source: McNulty, Yvonne. "‘Being dumped in to sink or swim’: an
empirical study of organizational support for the trailing spouse."
Human Resource Development International 15.4 (2012): 417-434.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 27 |

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Contact us today
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positive from the start.
info@aussieos.com.au | 0497 799 977 | www.aussieos.com.au

F O O D , G L O R I O U S F O O D
By Gugliemo Placanica
Food glorious food! We all love to eat fresh, delicious and vibrant food. Just imagine if we
went on a culinary journey tasting the exotic dishes of the Middle East, to the delectable
treats of Europe, to the hot and spicy delicacies of Asia, not to forget all the places in
between. Their individual and distinctive cuisine would not make only our mouths water, but
introduce us to different cultures.
As Australians, we are fortunate we can walk down any city street and explore an array of
varying eateries, each displaying their unique flavours and customs.
Recently I had a meal at an Indian restaurant. From the moment I stepped into the dining
area, I was transported to India. The aroma of enticing spices filled the air, the background
Bollywood music, the Indian decor and artifacts all attributed to creating a wonderful Sub-
Continental ambiance. The food was visually stunning with its vibrant colours and the
flavours of food enriched and satisfied my taste buds.
India was served on a plate!
My visit to the restaurant gave me an opportunity to experience a different culture through
its cuisine.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 29 |

F O O D , G L O R I O U S F O O D
I am fascinated by the way different
cultures prepare and handle food. I am
interested in how varied and specific
ingredients are used to cook appetising
meals. From my observation, one
attribute that all cultures have in
common is that they take pride in the
culinary process and have a passion for
their gastronomy.
My family background is Italian and I
grew up in the South West of Western
Australia. I recall when my boyhood
Australian friends visited, they were
surprised by the meals that they were
served. Until then, they had never
tasted nor seen Italian cuisine. Today
these dishes including lasagne,
focaccia and affogato are accepted as
mainstream, and are readily available
everywhere.
I have witnessed Australian children
experience and accept Italian food and
culture, and as an Australian/Italian I
experienced and accepted Indian food
and culture.
Food can bring different cultures
closer together and in doing so
can open a door of acceptance and
tolerance.
My final thought; what is on the menu for
tonight? Will it be Italian, French, Chinese,
Malaysian or maybe Columbian?
Guglielmo Placanica is a
creative individual who loves
to write and speak publicly.
He has published short
stories and poems in the
magazine “Showcase” and
has won speaking contests at
Toastmasters International.
Guglielmo’s life experiences
have provided a wealth of
knowledge and are a
wonderful resource where he
can write from a unique
perspective.
Have a story to share about
food or cuisine? We want to
hear it! Write to us at:
food@cultural-times.com
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 30 |

EXOTIC INDIA
A F I R S T T I M E R S F I R S T H A N D E X P E R I E N C E
By Cheryl Hogg, SWAG (Senior Wag)
In 2010 I met and fell in love with Brad Hogg, raised
as a sheep and crop farmer, turned Australian First-
Class Cricketer. At that time, he had been three
years retired from all forms of cricket, so he was a
former Australian Cricketer to be precise. He
hadn’t touched a bat or ball during that period and
had been in and out of office jobs trying to find his
new groove. He was a fish out of water and he was
drowning.
As an event and entertainment manager, and in an
emerging digital era with Facebook and Twitter
offering new opportunities, I had a few ideas about
how he could benefit more from his profile and
develop his own brand, but my first
recommendation was that he go play cricket. He
was hesitant as his passion for cricket had been
pinpointed as the reason for his prior marriage
breakdown. He wasn’t too eager to make the same
mistake with me.
Farmers farm. Artists art. Cricketers cricket.
It was a no-brainer. He had to go back to cricket to
be his true self. And he did. Ten months later, the
first Big Bash hit town, and as the West Australia
Cricket Ground (WACA) had quietly been keeping
an eye on Hoggy’s performance in his local
Willetton A Grade Team, they gave him the call-up
to fill the last spot in the first ever Perth Scorchers
squad. At a novelty price. But he didn’t care, he
was just thrilled to be back in the fold of having
team-mates, locker-room singing, and facing quality
competition again.
Soon, we were travelling to the far-flung cricketing
nations of the world — Hoggy specialised in the T20
format of the game, and the tournaments were
plentiful. He was in high demand with his unique, leftarm
wrist spin bowling, at that time a dying art, and he
was officially the Worlds (current) Oldest
Cricketer. And so, I found myself in countries I had,
and had never, put on my ‘wish list’ to visit. India,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the
Caribbean.
Prior to meeting Brad, I was fortunate to enjoy holidays
in Europe, Asia, America and even Mexico which
offered some eye-popping experiences, but nothing
could prepare me for my first trip to India.
After a 24 hour journey and a chaotic taxi ride through
the dark and noisy streets of a hot Mumbai night, I
swanned in to the majestic foyer of The Taj Hotel in
Mumbai (its so famous and beautiful and I was
pinching myself that I got to stay there) to meet my
man who had been there for two weeks already.
By the second season of Big Bash League (BBL), at
39 years of age, Hoggy was recalled to the
Australian T20 World Cup Team, with a few extra
warmup matches thrown in against India in Sydney
and Melbourne. He was back, in more ways than
one.The cricketer, crickets. His smile was radiant.
SWAG (Senior Wag*) - WAG- A term referring to wife/girlfriend of high profile Sports person

I felt a vapour wash over me. That sent me straight to bed with a
Panadol Forte and water. Within two hours, Brad called the hotel
doctor. And again, two hours after that. Within 5 hours I was
bundled up in the bedsheet and rushed to hospital in a taxi, in the
piercingly bright and noisy daybreak of a Mumbai weekday.
Although I was fading in and out of consciousness, it was the first
time I had the opportunity to ‘see’ India, so my curiosity, and to
some larger extent, my personal need to understand and control
what was happening to me in a foreign land, saw me take in the
stabs of sharp light, the pungent smells, the incessant motion, the
cacophony of noise.
U T T E R C H A O S .
It was impossible to make sense of, let alone predict, as nothing
resonated with anything familiar to help base practical thoughts on.
Traffic lights were suggestions, nay decorations, not rules
demanding obedience and safety. Pedestrians were actual
residents of the roads, living in makeshift huts of cardboard and
tin. Animals roamed freely through busy city streets, while peddlers
of fruit and water bottles competed with beggars – poor shoeless
children, the elderly, the disfigured and disowned, poor women with
babies strapped to their backs, all clamouring on car windows for
the occupants to respond with money. No lanes, no rules, no
adherence to signs, police line the streets with their rifles proudly
on display … it was utterly unfamiliar.
Mumbai Public hospital with the
Mumbai Public hospital with the
intravenous menu for the week
intravenous menu for the week
The only understanding I came to was that I did not understand any
of it, so I gave myself up to Brad having a clue how to negotiate all
this. Mumbai Public Hospital was the closest to the hotel and just a
15 minute car ride, and that was where I met my first real cultural
challenge. Alighting from the cab, the path to the emergency
entrance was lined with more homeless, sometimes disfigured,
crippled beggars. It was surreal, like a bad dream where the
characters come at you but disappear to the background quickly
just when you work out what you are seeing.
Kolkata. Shanties like these, fringe many
streets throughout India
B R A D I S A C L E A N F R E A K .
He was holding it together for me and because he needed
answers, but every fibre in his being was screaming to get out of
there, and fast. We were met by our hotel doctor and after trying to
complete reams of paperwork, we were ushered to a First Class
Private Room. Ahem. It had marble floors, I will give it that. It was
called First Class because it had its own adjoining bathroom and
just the one bed. The aircon was rusted and broken and looked
like the sole reason for every illness within the hospital. So
although airflow was an issue, lucky for me, the bathroom window
glass louvres were half missing, so the pigeons roosted and
pooped there, dripping down the internal walls, but I had fresh air
and company, so all was not lost.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
The devastatingly beautiful women in
Mumbai in traditional dress

Exotic India
In an outstanding performance of Cultural Awareness and Guest Experience, The Taj Hotel swooped into
action and whilst I was getting tested for allsorts, the hotel had taken over my hospital room and my bed
was made in their linen, their pillows, western magazines and sweet treats were placed on the visitor table,
and a female Guest Relations employee from the hotel was placed in my room every day to keep me
company while Brad went to cricket. I could hear the loud cheers and chanting of the cricket loving Indians
at the stadium nearby, the sounds floated through my broken bathroom window, so I had a sense of what it
must have been like, just not an actual experience.
It turned out, I had picked up Streptococcal en route
to India in (get this) the cleanest airport in the world
— Singapore. My throat had completely webbed
closed and it was travelling fast to block my nasal
passages. I was minutes away from an emergency
tracheotomy, a procedure in which doctors would
stab a hole in my throat, to keep me breathing.
Panicked calls from Brad to my family to get
authorisation, no authorisation granted, try
something else. I don’t remember any of this, and
it’s not important now, as they found the right dose
and the right medication to stop it in time. The team
of doctors were amazing, they didn’t stop at good
enough, they tested for every possible complication
and I took so much comfort in their ongoing forensic
attention.
I couldn’t eat, though. I could barely open my mouth
and conversation for my poor sitter was limited. She
would just stroke my forehead and hands to let me
know she was there. I was tube fed and would not
be discharged until I could take broth by mouth, at
the very least.
On my 6th day in hospital, I determined to face that
challenge.The Taj Hotel bedside buddy duly arrived
with plain old boiled chicken broth, no seasoning. I
imagine the chef must have been going out of his
mind to dispatch such a meal. Most days I would
observe the hospital cleaners, mostly elderly
women, crouching in the long communal corridor
outside my room, taking a meal break.
There would be a group of them, noisily chatting as
they ate. None of them spoke English. One of them
would come into my room sometimes and in her
gestures to me, I figured she was trying to tell me
she thought I was beautiful. She’d look at me with
such love and squeeze my hand so warmly.
The hotel issued regular intervals of broth in round
plastic containers for the next few days, ensuring
what food I could take would be fresh and healthy. I’d
take a few sips and a few more with the passing of
each day as I got stronger.
On the 7th day, the lovely cleaner came to my room
but backed away quickly when she saw the Taj Hotel
attendant sitting with me.
She seemed embarrassed and my attendant
explained she was of a low class (caste) and it
wasn’t appropriate for her to mix with either of us. My
heart sank a little, but I somehow understood her
world and that it was very real for her. I inquired
further.
We discovered that amongst her genuine love and
concern for the patients of the hospital, she had been
retrieving my soup leftovers to share with her cleaner
friends as they had to bring their own food for their
meal breaks, and many are so poor, that these
scraps may be their only meal for the entire day.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9 | 33 |

Exotic India
They saw me, a Western, blonde, white woman,
being attended to by The Taj Hotel, and the
opportunity to enjoy such quality of food from this
famous hotel, so far out of their reach, was a
much-coveted opportunity.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I think I did
both. I recalled how I’d listen in to their animated
conversations over their meal breaks, but now I
know they would have been questioning what all
the fuss was about “rich people food” and how
they’d rather a cheap bowl of dahl and naan from
a street cart instead! We were all laughing so
hard.
P E R C E P T I O N I S S I M P L Y A N
I L L U S I O N , A N D C L A S S
D I S A P P E A R S W I T H L A U G H T E R .
The next day I was discharged, but I ordered a
few of the Chefs dishes as a parting gift to the
gaggle of cleaners I had come to know, and the
hotels reputation was restored to its natural place
and order.
Swollen from over a week of intravenous liquid
feeding, I blimped my way out of the Mumbai
Public Hospital on my own two feet, fully aware of
the caste and class system, ready to adapt to
anything that came my way, and determined to fall
in love with the real India – come what may. And I
did.
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R
Cheryl had no interest in cricket prior to meeting
Brad. She has a cricket crush on Dale Steyne,
South African fast bowler. She is known to lurk
behind pot plants to observe him over breakfast
while on tour.
Between 'managing' the Worlds Oldest (current)
Cricketer, she delivers corporate entertainment
solutions for blue chip clients through her business
GURUS Entertainment.
Nobody knows exactly how old Brad Hogg really
is, will have to cut him open and count the rings on
his expiration.
A boutique hotel inside the Palace walls. Our most favourite holiday destination in India.
THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN .... FATEH PRAKASH
PALACE, UDAIPUR, RAJASTHAN. OUR MOST
FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION IN INDIA.
The Jewel in the crown...Fateh Prakash
palace, udaipur, rajasthan.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9 | 34 |

L U C K Y C H I L D :
T H E S E C R E T
"Like the striking of an ancient gong, I heard my name,
'Lucy Lucky-Child.' "
Answering her dying great grandmother’s call, Lucy sets
off on an epic life-changing journey into the dark red
heartland of Australia’s Great Sandy Desert.
Lured into the desert with Lucy, we hear the tones of
Indigenous mother tongues, Mangala and Wajarri,
exquisitely mimic the landscape and evoke a
timelessness as vast as the heavens where the first
mama (sacred sound) emerged eons ago, and to where
we all return.
Join us for the exciting launch of the
brand new Cultural Times magazine
from RedHead Communications, and
the amazingly talented Dr Chelinay
Gates AKA Mumtaz Malhardy on the
release of her new book Lucky-Child:
The Secret.
Be the first to get your hands on a
hard-copy of Cultural Times and meet
the team behind the magazine. You'll
also have the opportunity to view and
purchase some of Dr Chelinay Gates'
Indigenous artwork, as well as her
book.
A spellbinding tale seamlessly weaves together the
seen and unseen, exposing family secrets and
revealing Dreamtime prophecies. An incredible chain of
events leaves Lucy changed; she is now mabarnyuwa
(sorceress/healer). Found by a search party of women,
who are now isolated in the desert, enacts The Finishing
of the ancient Dreamtime battle between the Great Twin
Serpents. Their actions will save the planet from global
warming and will restore peace to the human condition.
Lucky-Child is intriguing, intense and in typical blackfella
style, politically incorrect. It handles confronting themes
like stolen generation, alcoholism, drug abuse, police
brutality, family dysfunction, tribal lore and whitefella
governance over Country and its people.
Deadly themes are matched with a humour and
sweetness that will melt the most hardened heart. Lucy is
the hidden heroine who’s afraid of the future, but wants
to save the planet. She’s been unfairly judged, unloved,
abandoned and abused. She’s the day dreamer who
can’t live the nightmare anymore. This Lucky-Child
invites you to come and stand on Country between the
past and the future, with the earth beneath your feet and
the stars above. Come and see, hear feel and taste this
Lucky Country.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 35 |

Roots TV puts the tools of digital media production in the
hands of youth with guidance from skilled artists, enabling
them to express their voice and create positive change in their
lives and their communities. Roots TV is an intensive hands-on
program, based in Perth, Australia. It is designed to empower
youth aged 14-20, by teaching them the technical and creative
aspects of digital.
The primary mission of Roots TV is to work with diverse
groups of young people from communities that have been
historically under-served and in need of opportunities for
training and engagement in emerging media technologies.
Roots TV develops leadership, creativity, and critical thinking,
through the collaborative process of digital film making and
media production. Their young filmmakers create
documentaries and short films that are a reflection of their
worlds.
Your Opportunity to Mentor a Young Dragon
Roots TV is hosting the 'Young Dragons 2019', where young people will pitch their ideas. It is open to
15 to 25-year-olds looking to start up a business, or who has an existing business trading for less than
a year. Three finalists will get to pitch their business idea to a LIVE audience and the chosen winner will
receive a $5,000 grant and $10,000 worth of mentoring and accountancy advice. The two runners-up
will receive $5, 000 mentoring and accountancy advice.
Want to be a part of it? Roots TV is looking for judges and investors to invest $2k each. Find more
information at www.rootstv.org and head to the Young Dragons tab or let them shoot your next
corporate video.
C U L T U R A L T I M E S | A P R I L 2 0 1 9
| 36 |

CULTURE EATS
STRATEGY FOR
BREAKFAST.
P E T E R D R U C K E R