Plants--Identification]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Winter solstice]]>
Summer solstice]]>
Moieties]]>
Totems]]>
Kangaroo hunting]]>
Aboriginal calendar]]>
Wurundjeri (Australian people)]]>
Aboriginal history]]>
Woiwurrung / Wurundjeri / Woiwurung people]]>
David Chalmers is associated with the Goulburn River Men's Group Inc. and is interviewed on the site of a Kangaroo farm. Throughout the interview, David identifies the native plants and vegetation present and the history of the area with special regard to the Aboriginal people who are the traditional owners of the area.
David tours the site in the interview, describing the numerous historical Aboriginal artifacts such as tool-making areas, elaborate Kangaroo traps, calendars, caves, and what he believes to have occurred in this time period.
David also speaks about his interaction with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in trying to obtain an assessment of the Aboriginal site and how he sees this site as a significant piece of history.
Plants mentioned: wild oats, senecio, ajuga, kangaroo grass, dianella, isotoma, cypress pine, grevillea, cumbungi, kurrajong, iron bark.
]]>
CC BY-NC-ND]]>
Fishing--Australia]]>
Weirs]]>
Floods]]>
Nests]]>
Riparian areas]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Aboriginal scarred tree]]>
Fishes--Identification]]>
Floods]]>
Weirs]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Aboriginal art]]>
Water quality]]>
Ngiyambaa / Ngemba language]]>
Silt]]>
Totems]]>
Rock paintings]]>
Paakantyi / Paakantji / Barkindji people]]>
Muruwari / Murrawarri people]]>
Wiradjuri people]]>
Gamilaraay / Gamilaroi / Kamilaroi language]]>
Connection to Country]]>
Aboriginal kinship systems]]>
Phillip passionately discusses a wide range of topics that include growing up along the river; the impacts on the Upper Darling and surrounds caused by weirs and restrictions; Aboriginal history; the significance of connection to Country and water; Aboriginal law and personal responsibilities; and the relationships between neighbouring Aboriginal nations. He also points out the cultural shifts he has witnessed; from that of a group-focused, collectivist culture, to a more Western-aligned culture of individualism with its self-focused culture, and its consequences on Aboriginal kinship values, society and the environment.
Mention of: King Brown Snake. Eastern Brown Snake. Long neck turtles.
Quandong. Gum trees. Coolabah trees. Spinifex.]]>
CC BY-NC]]>
Badjiri / Budjari / Badyidi people
]]>
Muruwari / Murrawarri people
]]>
Floods]]>
Silt]]>
Cultural heritage]]>
Connection to Country]]>
Fishes--Migration]]>
Water pollution]]>
Fishing--Australia]]>
Weirs]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Indigenous knowledge]]>
Storytelling]]>
Aboriginal spirituality]]>
Lorna recollects the condition of the Paroo from her childhood, and again upon her return after her absence of a few decades. She discusses the changes in the surrounding environment, the aquatic life and her yearning and love for Country.
Mentioned: Yapunyah trees, swans, swan eggs, ducks, 'bream', crayfish: 'boogalie', cattle/livestock]]>
CC-BY]]>
Fishes--Identification]]>
Plants--Identification]]>
Salinity]]>
Environmental flows]]>
Water levels]]>
Aboriginal culture]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Fishing industry]]>
Floods]]>
Family histories]]>
The group talk about: a wall structure built in 1959 which stopped flows and reduced water levels in Ral Ral Creek; the story behind the naming of Squabbily Creek; Aboriginal rock corrals and cooking places; professional fishing methods; family records of plant species (lucerne, hawthorn, rhubarb, nardoo) created by Bert Stoneham; disappearance of lobster in the 1960s; 1956 and 1970 floods; salt interception scheme.]]>
CC-BY]]>
Waka Waka / Wakka Wakka people]]>
Mandandanji people]]>
Fishes--Identification]]>
Native plants]]>
Land custodianship]]>
Connection to Country]]>
Dreaming (Spiritual)]]>
Kitchen-middens--Australia]]>
Water quality]]>
Erosion]]>
Farming]]>
Deforestation]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Places of significance]]>
Land degradation]]>
Water allocations]]>
Water conservation]]>
Cotton]]>
Water pollution]]>
Salinization]]>
River rehabilitation]]>
Aboriginal history]]>
Farming]]>
Droughts]]>
Introduced fishes]]>
Water wells]]>
Mandandanji (Australian people)]]>
Sacred sites]]>
Activism]]>
Robert Lacey is an Indigenous man who has resided in the St George area in southern Queensland most his life. His people are the traditional owners of the land: his mother is a Mandandanji woman, while his father is a Waka Waka man.
Robert discusses the connection he has with the land and the river, he expresses the honour he feels in being trusted to take care of Country. He discusses the history of the river and its declining health; commercial use of the river; and the work he personally does on recording the sites of cultural significance and heritage sites finding over 100 in just a few years. He says that the river is a source of peace, tranquility, food, leisure - the life blood of the land.
Robert also mentions the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative (GABSI) and his elation at the 1967 Australian Referendum and what it meant for Aboriginal people, and also the political activism by his family.]]>
CC-BY]]>
Fishes--Identification]]>
Crustaceans]]>
Artesian basins--Australia]]>
Weirs]]>
Cofferdams]]>
Floods]]>
Siltation]]>
Turbidity]]>
Aboriginal culture]]>
Introduced species]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Bore water]]>
With over 50 years experience fishing in the region, Keith, George and Robert share their knowledge of the Culgoa-Balonne region. They discuss floods, particularly the 1950 flood; the turbidity and silting of the river; the arrival of European Carp and the resulting impacts on vegetation, Catfish and Black Bream populations; Aboriginal rock corrals; fishing, spinners and their favourite fishing holes.
Mention of the Gapski Scheme (GABSI? Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative?), the replacement of bore drains with 'poly piping', and the resultant changes in the Yabby population.]]>
CC-BY]]>
Fishes--Identification]]>
Plants--Identification]]>
Droughts]]>
Weirs]]>
Paakantyi / Paakantji / Barkindji people]]>
Water allocations]]>
Overfishing]]>
Colonisation]]>
Racism]]>
Traditional fishing]]>
Cotton]]>
Connection to Country]]>
Water quality]]>
Introduced fishes]]>
Environmental flows]]>
Traditional ecological knowledge]]>
Aboriginal fish traps]]>
Born in 1934, William talks about growing up in Wilcannia and Broken Hill in north-western New South Wales. He recalls being taught to fish by his Grandmother and Aunties using hand lines and fish traps. William talks about the effects of colonisation and racism on his life, and how important the river then becomes.
William discusses his work campaigning for change with Northern Basins Aboriginal Nations (NBAN); he compares the 1944 and 2007 droughts and the differences in atmospheric moisture; the impact of the introduction of carp on catfish; the impact of fishing on cod populations; and the changes in water flow and clarity, exacerbated by tree roots, weeds, and chemicals from irrigators.
Mention of: plants River Red Gum, Cumbungi weed; fish perch (species undefined).
]]>
CC BY-NC]]>