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).




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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]]> 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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Revegetation]]> Water resources]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Fish stocking]]> Introduced fishes]]> Environmental flows]]>
Brian talks about: the state of the Condamine River over the last twenty years, and the lack of rain; translocating Murray Cod from drying water holes; restocking fish species Golden Perch, Murray Cod, Silver Perch, since 1990s; fishing methods; role of Condamine Alliance negotiating revegetation with private landholders; movement of European Carp through the system, and involvement in Carp Busters; differences in the taste of fish and methods of food preparation; removal of trees in streams by Condamine River Trust, 1960s; changes in water flow and impact on river banks; recent re-snagging; underground water and irrigation bores; platypus sightings.]]>
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Tournament fishing]]> Bait fishing]]> Lure fishing]]> Fishing nets]]> Floods]]> Water resources]]> Water--Law and legislation]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Blackwater]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Riparian areas]]> Fishes--Breeding]]> Environmental flows]]> Water quality]]>
Brian talks about: native fish activity in the Sturt Reserve, in particular Murray Cod and their habitat; the importance of river flow on fish breeding cycles; the changes in baiting methods from live bait to lures; banned fish net practice; petitioning against commercial fishing in South Australia; the changes he has observed in water levels in the Murray River, including vegetation; 1956 flood; blackwater; water salinity; traditional knowledge (pinpointing the birthplace of a Murray Cod from its stomach lining); and the different species of Callop in South Australia.

Mention of a silver fish 'tookeri' and a 'scarfish'.]]>
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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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Fishes--Identification]]> Family life]]> Camping]]> Swimming]]> Weeds]]> Fishing boats]]> Water sports]]> Environmental flows]]> Introduced fishes]]> Floods]]>
Born in 1964, Tracy is Manager of the Loxton Information Bureau. She moved to Loxton when she was about 11, and spent a lot of time at Katarapko Creek. Tracy saw her interview as a way to honour her father Colin Shultz, his love of the river, and the way the river became integral to their life once they moved to Loxton. Tracy’s interview is short but rich in terms of showing how recreational fishing, family life and place making environments are intertwined.

Tracy talks about: camping, fishing, swimming, and skiing on the river; recreational fishing methods from boat and river bank; yabbying methods; changes in water quality (visibility and colour); changes in water vegetation (weeds and reeds); worm farming; observations of change sin water flow and current; snags and debris in the river; an occasion when carp became stuck in wetlands after a high water event; the differences between the river at Albury and Katarapko Creek; floods 1970s.]]>
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Fishes--Identification]]> Plants--Identification]]> Fishes--Breeding]]> Endangered species]]> Fish stocking]]> Droughts]]> Captive breeding]]> Environmental flows]]>
Todd, a landholder in the Murray Bridge area, breeds a variety of flatheaded gudgeon fish species in tanks in his garage, including the endangered Purple Spotted gudgeon. Todd’s broodstock facility includes twenty-five Southern Purple Spotted gudgeons, the last known population in the southern half of the Murray-Darling Basin – removed from a wetland during the 2007 drought. Similar facilities exist in Adelaide, and at a few Adelaide schools.

Todd talks about captive breeding programs; the types of stresses fish suffer; the lifecycle of fish kept at the facility; various methods to ensure fish survival in wild; theories behind their decline; water plant species.

Other fish species mentioned: Midgley's gudgeon.]]>
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Weirs]]> Salinity]]> Family life]]> Diet]]> Floods]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Fishes--Speciation]]> Weeds]]> Environmental flows]]> Wetlands]]> Native animals]]> Water levels]]> Physical characteristics (Animals)]]> Lure fishing]]> Water temperature]]>
Born in 1949, Barry lives in Berri, in the Riverland area. Having worked on a pile driving barge and worked most his life on the river, Barry has extensive knowledge of locks and weirs from the Murray mouth to Euston (Lock 15). He currently monitors and models salinity in the Murray and Riverland area and also grows capers and caperberries.

Barry talks about: fishing in the 1950s as a cheap addition to the family diet; changes in fishing methods and equipment, including the exclusive use of lures; boat designs; professional fishing reaches/areas; yabbying – a ‘historic institution’ post flood event; changes observed in fish species, weeds, river flow, temperature, salinity; salt interception schemes; bathometric data; work with the palaeobotany group at Flinders University tracking floods by tree lines; water retention in wetlands; evaporation and disposal basins; wildlife observed over the years (kangaroo, echidna, bat, owl, possum, snake, birds, water rat), including Emu that swim; records of fish caught between 2002 and 2006. Mention of floods in 1956, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1990s. Other fish species mentioned: garfish (at Coffin Bay).]]>
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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.]]>
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