Floods]]> Weirs]]> Dams]]> Cotton]]> Camping]]> Aboriginal spirituality]]> Water pollution]]> Introduced fishes]]> Storytelling]]>
Pearl and Joe Trindall are an Indigenous couple who have lived in the Namoi region for most their lives. Pearl was born in Boomi, while Joe was born in Narrabri and they both, along with their children, have spent a lot of time travelling around Australia droving.

Pearl and Joe talk at length about a number of topics including growing up on the river and how it was central to their lives - it was a source of food, meeting and socialising, as well as a means for passing on Indigenous knowledges by the Elders. The Elders told the younger generation that they were to practice sustainable fishing and were only to take what they needed. The Elders also taught language and spirituality, told stories and were respected members of their community.

Pearl and Joe also speak about the changes in the region they have witnessed. They both say that the pollution from cotton farming has had the greatest impact on the deteriorating health of the river, compared to when they were younger when the water was clean enough to drink. They also mention the impacts that the installation of weirs and dams have had.

Mentioned: carp impacts, and 1956 floods.

Animals mentioned: Worms, gudgeon, goanna (neebie), black snake.]]> CC BY-NC]]> Weirs]]> Floods]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Racism]]> Cotton]]> Silt]]> Water quality]]> Water pollution]]> Cultural Flows]]> Coalbed methane]]> Aquifers--Australia]]> Cyanides]]> Riparian areas]]> Ecological sustainability]]> Environmental conservation]]> Salinity]]> Sacred sites]]> Connection to Country]]> Land custodianship]]> Aboriginal spirituality (Baiame)]]> Wiradjuri people]]> Gamilaraay / Gamilaroi / Kamilaroi language]]> Water--Symbolic aspects]]>
Phil Duncan is an Aboriginal man with both Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay heritage. He identifies predominantly as a Gamilaraay man who grew up in Moree in northern New South Wales. Born in 1963, Phil is Chair of the First Peoples' Water Engagement Council and has witnessed a number of important changes in this region regarding cotton farming, weirs and dams, and the water quality.

Phil is knowledgeable in his heritage and emphasises the importance of Aboriginal connection to Country, and caring for Country as an important responsibility for Aboriginal people. He recommends that traditional Aboriginal knowledges be adhered to regarding the conservation of Country as Western land management methods have had a detrimental impact.


Mentioned:

Turtles, sheep & cattle (farming), worms.

]]> CC BY-NC]]> Moree, NSW [populated place]]]> Terry Hie Hie, NSW [populated place]]]> Terry Hie Hie Creek, NSW [stream]]]> Mehi River, NSW [stream]]]> Boomi Nature Reserve, NSW [reserve]]]> Mungindi, Qld [farm]]]> Barwon River, NSW [stream]]]> Narrabri, NSW [populated place]]]> Gwydir River, NSW [stream]]]> Boolaroo, NSW [section of populated place]]]> Copeton Dam, NSW [dam]]]> Namoi River, NSW [stream]]]> Cubbie, Qld [homestead]]]> Keepit Dam, NSW [lake]]]> Narran Lake, NSW [lake]]]> Macquarie Marshes, NSW [marsh(es)]]]> Boolaroo, NSW [populated place]]]> Mungindi, NSW [populated place]]]>
An archival version of the Talking Fish Collection is managed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive (ATSIDA).]]> Dams]]> Floods]]> Cotton]]> Water--Law and legislation]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Introduced fishes]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Taxidermy]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Fishes--Monitoring]]> Aboriginal kinship systems]]>
Robert Horne is an Indigenous man who was born in Boggabri; a small country town through which the Namoi River runs, located in north-western New South Wales.

The interview takes place in Robert's Gunnedah office where he recalls his youth along the Namoi River. He speaks about taking on the responsibilities of an older child by being a provider and catching fish for his single mother and his family. He also shared his catches with other families and relatives; the act of which is common within Indigenous cultures that highlights the importance of family and kinship structures, while also promoting sustainability.

Robert also speaks of being taught how to catch fish and find yabbies in the most inconspicuous places. He also outlines the changes that he has noticed in the river regarding the cotton industry, the far reaching impacts of European carp, the history of the area, and fish tagging.

]]> CC-BY]]> Aboriginal languages]]> Aboriginal peoples]]> Aboriginal Australians]]> Indigenous Languages | Ngarigu (State Library of NSW)]]> Ngarigo / Ngarigu language (S46) (NSW SJ55-04)]]> Aboriginal languages]]> Aboriginal peoples]]> Aboriginal Australians]]> Ngarrindjeri / Narrinjeri people (S69) (SA SI54-13)]]> Indigenous Languages | Ngarrindjeri(State Library of NSW)]]> Aboriginal languages]]> Aboriginal peoples]]> Aboriginal Australians]]> Ngiyampaa / Wangaaybuwan / Wongaibon language (D18) (NSW SI55-02) ]]> Indigenous Languages | Ngiyampaa (State Library of NSW)]]> Aboriginal languages]]> Aboriginal peoples]]> Aboriginal Australians]]> Ngunawal / Ngunnawal language (D3) (NSW SI55-16) ]]> Indigenous Languages | Ngunawal (State Library of NSW)]]>
The Ovens River rises in the Victorian Alps where it is linked to significant freshwater meadows and marshes. At Wangaratta it is joined by the King River and it meets the Murray near the top of Lake Mulwala.

The Ovens River is one of the last largely unregulated rivers in the Murray Darling Basin and is particularly important as a reference against which to assess the state of other lowland rivers in the region. Since Europeanisation, industries including grazing, gold mining, tobacco and plantation forestry, have bought different types of workers with new needs to the river.
There are areas where the riparian vegetation has been replaced by willows, there have been significant water quality issues and there are far too many pest fish.

These are the traditional lands of the Bangerang people and their neighbours the Taungurung and Yorta Yorta peoples. They have fished the river and surrounding waterways and hunted the wetlands and the ebb and flow of water guided their travels and featured in their stories.

(Source: Frawley, J., Nichols, S., Goodall, H. and Baker, E. 2011. Ovens: Talking fish, making connections with the rivers of the Murray‐Darling Basin. Murray‐Darling Basin Authority, Canberra.)]]> Map image attribution: Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Talking Fish Project see details...]]> http://geonode.research.uts.edu.au/layers/geonode%3Afrawley2012page122]]> View or download from publisher...]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Family life]]> Black-and-white photography]]> CC-BY]]>