If Nicolas Rothwell is to be believed (‘The Blast Zone’, September 2010), the Aboriginal people of the Western Desert may as well pack their bags and move to the suburbs of Perth (or at least Kalgoorlie) for there is nothing of any substance left in their country. Perhaps when he begins to look for continuities rather than finalities, Rothwell might begin to see that, far from being smothered in a black mist of despair, the desert is a place that continues to breathe much life into its people despite the hardships they must sometimes endure.

Pamela McGrath

Dickson, ACT