Upper Condamine: Oral History of Sam Bonner
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85048775' target='_blank'>Fishes--Identification</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/1353' target='_blank'>Crustaceans</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/1504' target='_blank'>Birds</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85102861' target='_blank'>Plants--Identification</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/5197' target='_blank'>Trade routes</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/15435' target='_blank'>Connection to Country</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/githabul' target='_blank'>Githabul people</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh95001501' target='_blank'>Traditional fishing</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/1234' target='_blank'>Wildlife conservation</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2003006652' target='_blank'>Traditional ecological knowledge</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/10464' target='_blank'>Camping</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/260' target='_blank'>Dreaming (Spiritual)</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/266' target='_blank'>Aboriginal history</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2008008351' target='_blank'>Water--Symbolic aspects</a>
An interview in three parts with Sam Bonner.
Sam Bonner is a Githabul Elder who lives near Emu Creek, which is a tributary of the Condamine River. Sam speaks about his childhood experiences of the river, his love and passion for the river, its history, and his traditional and environmental knowledge about the river.
The interview was recorded at The Canoe Tree and water hole on the Condamine River, Queensland. Sam shares his extensive knowledge about his Indigenous culture and history and outlines Indigenous customs and practices of conservation. He is passionate about the Condamine River, and keen to pass on his traditional and environmental knowledge on to the next generations, to show them what the river means to him and his people.
Mentioned: white ants, porcupines, casuarinas, willy wagtails, finches, double bars, swallows, doves, blue wrens.
Heather Goodall
Jodi Frawley
Hamish Sewell
University of Technology, Sydney
2010-09-21
Murray-Darling Basin Authority
NSW Department of Primary Industries - NSW Fisheries
Copyright University of Technology, Sydney
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English
Upper Darling: Oral History of Feli McHughes
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85048775' target='_blank'>Fishes--Identification</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/9962' target='_blank'>Billabongs</a>
<a href='http://dharmae.research.uts.edu.au/items/show/397' target='_blank'>Cultural flows</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/973' target='_blank'>Water quality</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2003004809' target='_blank'>Riparian restoration</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/15435' target='_blank'>Connection to Country</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/9862' target='_blank'>Native plants</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2015000120' target='_blank'>Clean energy</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85048655' target='_blank'>Fish stocking</a>
<a href='http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/ngemba.htm' target='_blank'>Ngiyambaa / Ngemba language</a>
Feli McHughes is a Ngemba man from the Upper Darling region of Brewarrina. His passion about the Brewarrina Ngemba Billabong and the wider river system has seen him involved in a number of projects with numerous organisations. His visions for the environment are intertwined with the Aboriginal cultural and environmental values that he holds, and his personal views explore further the wider social issues facing Aboriginal people today.
Feli believes that the root of social issues facing Aboriginal people is the lack of culturally appropriate employment. He reflects on his personal experiences where he recalls having to adopt another identity and therefore understands the difficulties this entails. He says that Aboriginal people as instinctive custodians possess valuable skills that are transferable to specialised areas of employment.
Feli’s vision for billabongs, that he says are the antibiotics for the damaged systems, include the revegetation of native bush tucker and restocking the waters with native fingerlings. He is working with scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Industry & Investment (now Department of Trade and Investment), and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to help realise these goals.
Feli also discusses the Native Fish Strategy for the Murray-Darling Basin (2003-2013) and the Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) in which these billabongs are located.
Heather Goodall
Jodi Frawley
University of Technology, Sydney
2010-12-01
Murray-Darling Basin Authority
NSW Department of Primary Industries - NSW Fisheries
Copyright University of Technology, Sydney
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English
Upper Darling: Oral History of Phillip Sullivan
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85048775' target='_blank'>Fishes--Identification</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/6272' target='_blank'>Floods</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85145985' target='_blank'>Weirs</a>
<a href='http://dharmae.research.uts.edu.au/items/show/401' target='_blank'>Aboriginal fish traps</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/250' target='_blank'>Aboriginal art</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/973' target='_blank'>Water quality</a>
<a href='http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/ngemba.htm' target='_blank'>Ngiyambaa / Ngemba language</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/8797' target='_blank'>Silt</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/15541' target='_blank'>Totems</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/3340' target='_blank'>Rock paintings</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/paakantyi' target='_blank'>Paakantyi / Paakantji / Barkindji people</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/muruwari' target='_blank'>Muruwari / Murrawarri people</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/wiradjuri-0' target='_blank'>Wiradjuri people</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/gamilaraay-gamilaroi-kamilaroi' target='_blank'>Gamilaraay / Gamilaroi / Kamilaroi language</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/15435' target='_blank'>Connection to Country</a>
<a href='http://dharmae.research.uts.edu.au/items/show/400' target='_blank'>Aboriginal kinship systems</a>
Phillip Sullivan grew up on the Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission in the 1960s with his immediate and extended family. For Phillip, life on the river as a Ngemba man revolved around the Barwon River with fishing and swimming being favourite pastimes for the entire family.
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.
Heather Goodall
Jodi Frawley
University of Technology, Sydney
2010-10-18
Murray-Darling Basin Authority
NSW Department of Primary Industries - NSW Fisheries
Copyright University of Technology, Sydney
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English
Upper Murrumbidgee: Oral History of Adrian Brown
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/1511' target='_blank'>Places of significance</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/581' target='_blank'>Community cooperation</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/280' target='_blank'>Land custodianship</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/255' target='_blank'>Aboriginal culture</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/wiradjuri-0' target='_blank'>Wiradjuri people</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/Walgalu' target='_blank'>Walgalu / Walgal people</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/ngarigu#' target='_blank'>Ngarigo / Ngarigu people</a>
<a href='http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/communities/Ngunawal' target='_blank'>Ngunawal / Ngunnawal people
</a>
<a href='http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/kurnai.htm' target='_blank'>Kurnai / Gunai people</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/2955' target='_blank'>Burial sites</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/6865' target='_blank'>Sacred sites</a>
<a href='http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2003006652' target='_blank'>Traditional ecological knowledge</a>
<a href='http://vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/scot/15435' target='_blank'>Connection to Country</a>
An interview in five parts with Adrian Brown.
Adrian talks about growing up along the River (around Queanbeyan River, Jumping Creek, and Wanna Wanna Creek) and the way that he and his brother learnt the land by walking it and fishing the river with their Dad. He talks about historical sites and significant sites; expressing continuity with Country; making Coolamons; the significance of Country; traditional ceremony; initiation rites; right of passage; the duty of care for different animals as part of an interconnected environment; and recognising law and responsibility for Country. He also discusses the interaction and movements of peoples along the catchment (relaying the history of the Ngunawal and their responsibility to the Murrumbidgee corridor and their relation to coastal peoples); trading; and shared vocabulary across language groups from the top of the Murrumbidgee to Lakes Entrance.
Adrian covers the effects of housing developments on cultural practice; weeds; variance in fish population according to river flow; lighting fires; cultural burns; site management; discrimination; ignorance; and work with the ACT government to promote the recognition and understanding of Indigenous Australian interests.
Adrian also shares his experience as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer with the ACT National Parks and Wildlife Service and his sense of pride and belonging. He talks about efforts to refocus the connection to Country of Indigenous Australians employed as rangers, and to promote a cultural mindfulness among them. He speculates how Indigenous people could again be welcomed by the Ngunawal as National Parks officers - all learning and walking the land together.
Adrian discusses how fish travel up the river when it floods; mixing traditional and modern fishing methods; sources of sediment (sand from Tharwa, dirt from Cooma, Bredbo and Numeralla Rivers); clay baking fish; mussels (saltwater and freshwater); abalone; native plants.
Heather Goodall
Jodi Frawley
University of Technology, Sydney
2010-10-05
Murray-Darling Basin Authority
NSW Department of Primary Industries - NSW Fisheries
Copyright University of Technology, Sydney
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audio/mpeg
English