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.

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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.]]>
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Fishes--Identification]]> Weirs]]> Dams]]> Fish stocking]]> Introduced fishes]]> Siltation]]> Cotton]]> Overfishing]]> Bait fishing]]> Fishery depredation--Prevention]]> Predatory animals--Behavior]]> Fishes--Cannibalism]]>
Don 'Spider' Cunningham is a recreational fisher who is part of the Narrabri Fishing Club and has resided in Narrabri (NSW) his entire life. He has strong ties with the area with his father also from Narrabri and his mother from nearby Wee Waa (NSW).

In this interview Spider discusses his childhood and youth around the Namoi River and also how the onset of maturity saw his views change toward the river to those of conservation and sustainability. He talks about his involvement with the fishing club and how they have been working for the past 25 years on the river. He discusses the fishing restrictions placed upon fishers, restocking efforts, fish feeding habits, the changes of the fish population and the predatory and cannibal nature of the Murray Cod.

Mentioned: Turtle, bream, trout, sparrow, starling, willow tree, azolla. ]]>
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Fishes--Identification]]> Fishing boats]]> Fishing regulations]]> Licenses]]> Water--Law and legislation]]> Fishing nets]]> Family histories]]> Family life]]> Irrigation]]> Water quality]]> Dams]]> Weirs]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Breeding]]> Floodplains]]> Fishing industry]]> Environmental flows]]>
Born in 1942, John held a commercial licence between 1956 and 1997. He discusses his family history in commercial fishing since 1918, three generations. His grandfather was also a boat maker. He tells the story of how ‘Squabbily Creek’ at Murtho Forest came to be named by his father Raymond Charles ‘John’ Aston. In those days, buying a fishing reach meant buying good will, not the water. John talks extensively about professional fishing as a family business, and gives a sense of the long hours of labour the whole family put into making fishing nets and boats. Professional fishing has an important memory status amongst people who live along the river.

John talks about: fishing licenses, and the licence system introduced in 1922; fishing equipment; fishing practices, since 1920s; changes in fishing materials and the introduction of synthetics, 1960s; changes in water levels from irrigation; impact of Dartmouth Dam on River Murray flow; Hume Dam levels; flows from the Darling; water colour and clarity; three distinct water colours (in the Murray, Lachlan/Murrumbidgee, Darling); changes to water levels with the building of weirs and locks, late 1920s; objects he has found in the guts of Murray Cod; 1956 flood; 1992 flood – ‘a complete change of fish’; Chowilla Floodplain, 1991-1993; movement of wildlife in floods; salt from irrigation. (Mention of 'bream' fish, unspecified).
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Fishing industry]]> Fisheries]]> Ecological sustainability]]> Sustainable fisheries]]> River engineering]]> Water quality]]> Water resources]]> Fishes--Breeding]]>
Born in 1941, Henry is a sixth generation commercial fisher, and also ran a yabby restaurant for thirty years. He talks about learning to fish from his father, a commercial fisherman at Renmark, in the Riverland; and his grandfather, a First World War veteran. Henry is a member of the Community Stakeholder Taskforce for the Murray-Darling Basin Native Fish Strategy. His commercial licence covers Lake Albert, Lake Alexandrina, Coorong, and the Great Southern Ocean three nautical miles out from Goolwa to Kingston.

Henry talks about: his fishery's World First Environmental Management Plan and Marine Stewardship; the difference between fishing methods/equipment in the Riverland compared with the windy conditions of the Lakes, Coorong and ocean; sustainable fishing practice; effects of water over allocation (upstream); the lack of intermediate floods from the Murray and Darling, affecting the breeding cycle of fish; salt from irrigation; hypersalinity of Coorong, and possible solutions; the closure of the Murray mouth in 1981; counting bird species; and the increase of seals, sting ray, barnacles, and tube worm in the Coorong (now a marine environment); 1992 flood; plant species.

Other fish species mentioned: 'bull nosed mullet'.
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Fishes--Identification]]> Crustaceans]]> Native animals]]> Plants--Identification]]> Weirs]]> Dams]]> Floods]]> Water quality]]> Aboriginal history]]> Local history]]> Livestock]]>
Born in 1932, Ned grew up as a child on the property Warroo, a sheep and cattle station on the banks of the Balonne, owned by his grandfather since 1890.

In the interview, Ned describes how the river was a significant part of his life growing up - like a playground, swimming and fishing. He recalls what the river was like prior to the E.J. Beardmore Dam being built downstream and how it increased the river level along much of their property; the turbidity of the river; and the history of the station as a site of importance for the Aboriginal peoples of the region - recalling stories of tribal warfare, and several locations with remains of shell middens.

Ned has kept records of flood locations and heights, which have been helpful in predicting how flood waters might affect the local area. He also discusses 'gilgais' - an Aboriginal word for small water hole or lake, thought to be formed in vertisols.

Mention of Warroo Station as a sacred Aboriginal site.]]>

In this interview Ned describes how the river was a huge part of his life growing up. He remembers learning to swim there, visiting there after mustering with his brother, Dick, and fishing - he says it was like a playground.

Ned also delves into the history of the station mentioning a shepherd who previously resided at the property whose personal diaries are being held by the University of New England that describes the local Indigenous tribes at war with one another, and the relationship between the Indigenous peoples and the farmers.]]>
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Fishes--Identification]]> Crustaceans]]> Floods]]> Dams]]> Water quality]]> Cotton]]> Introduced fishes]]> Environmental flows]]> Grazing]]>
Born in 1933, Pat talks about fishing in the Dirranbandi area and the changes he has noticed over the last 60 years. Having fished since he was a boy, the biggest changes have been a reduction in the smaller, regular floods since E.J. Beardmore Dam was built. These small floods used to wet a large area of the country, which were essential for grazing purposes. He notes the effect of the dam on river flow, and how the water does not clear up like it used to.

He also talks about: the impact of European Carp on fish populations over the last 30 years; a flood in the 1890s; floodplains and the effect of river water levels on trees; fishing techniques, such as lures; and the decline in Crayfish since bore drains were removed. ]]>
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Fishes--Identification]]> Connection to Country]]> Cultural flows]]> Dreaming (Spiritual)]]> Aboriginal kinship systems]]> Riparian areas--Management]]> Floods]]> Dams]]> Weirs]]> Cotton]]> Water allocations]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Fishes--Cannibalism]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Yuwaalaraay / Euahlayi / Yuwaaliyaay language ]]> Environmental flows]]> Ecological sustainability]]> Aboriginal spirituality]]> Water--Symbolic aspects]]> Siltation]]> Wetlands]]>
Michael explains the cultural and spiritual importance of the river systems to Indigenous peoples, delving into the history, language and stories of his Ualarai people. The changes in the fish population, and the traditional practices of his people that were implicit in the flourishing of the basin prior to colonisation.

Mentioned: water rat, mud crab.

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Fishes--Identification]]> Crustaceans]]> Birds--Identification]]> Reptiles--Identification]]> Plants--Identification]]> Dams]]> Blackwater]]> Water--Law and legislation]]> Droughts]]> Weeds]]> Fish stocking]]> Billabongs]]> Introduced species]]> Water quality]]>
Born in 1955 at Mildura, Rodney grew up on the Darling. He has witnessed the changes in the native fish population, particularly relating to the arrival of the European carp; the decimation of Catfish; restocking; fish kills at Wakool; the removal of Willow trees; the disappearance of bird life following the wave of the calcivirus; blackwater and its impacts on the region; yabbying; fishing techniques; the way fish behave during droughts; the Darling floods of 1956 and 1976, and the various flora and fauna present in the region.

He also shows the research crew Fort Courage and talks about fishing at the junction of the two systems, including a description of a "mini delta" in the Anabranch when it runs.

Mention of 183 Dam and a fish species 'Minnow' (unspecified).]]>
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Fishes--Identification]]> Crustaceans]]> Weirs]]> Dams--Australia]]> Fishing industry]]> Fishing nets]]> Water quality]]> Fishing regulations]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Floods]]> Droughts]]> Cotton]]> Introduced species]]> Billabongs]]>
Bill, a professional fisher since 1953, resides in the small town of Wentworth in northern Victoria. Born in 1926, his life experiences of the neighbouring areas of the Murray, Darling and the Great Darling Anabranch reveal numerous changes to the region in terms of fish, crustaceans, the fluctuating commercial demand of fish, and the health of the river systems. Bill also discusses his preferred fishing techniques, areas he likes to fish, government regulations, and the impacts on his region that are a result of irrigation and farming further up the basin.

He also talks about: yabbying in the Paroo River; finding large mussel populations in billabongs; drought and flood cycles of the 1960s, 1970s; differences in water quality and its decline since the 1950s; reduction in water quality in the Culgoa River since the St George Weir was built; the impact of European Carp on Catfish, little water snails and mussel beds.]]>
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