The Lower Darling River and Great Darling Anabranch are located in southͲwest New South Wales. Muddy waters meander over the grey soil floodplains past red dunes, spiky saltbush and gnarled red gums. These are the traditional lands of the Paakintji people. But the land and the river are no longer what the Paakintji once knew and fished.
11 000 years ago, the Darling River changed its course just south of Menindee Lakes, leaving the Great Anabranch’s 460km channel to dry and flow into the Murray only during big floods. Since its discovery by Europeans, the Great Anabranch has been the focus of dreams to use the ancient river channel to deliver water for irrigation. The Darling itself was once a busy transportation route, with paddlesteamers carrying wool and other goods between Bourke and the rest of the colony.
(Source: Frawley, J., Nichols, S., Goodall, H. and Baker, E. 2011. Darling and the Great Anabranch: Talking fish, making connections with the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin. Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Canberra.)]]>
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http://geonode.research.uts.edu.au/layers/geonode%3Afrawley2012page058]]>
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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]]>
Paakantyi / Paakantji / Barkindji people]]>
Fishes--Identification]]>
Crustaceans]]>
Indigenous foods]]>
Cotton]]>
Weirs]]>
Land custodianship]]>
Aboriginal history]]>
Cultural flows]]>
Connection to Country]]>
River flow]]>
Cotton]]>
Droughts]]>
Water allocations]]>
Traditional ecological knowledge]]>
Nations Committee (NBAN).
Born in 1956, Jenny talks about families and growing up on the river at a camp on the Darling at Menindee; living, working and playing together. She discusses the drought years from 1985 and the blue-green algae bloom that ran from Mungindi to Menindee. Jenny also speaks about what cultural flows are, and how they are important as they are the inherent water entitlements of Indigenous Nations.
Mention of perch as a significant part of diet however species is undefined; Witchetty grubs, turtles, eagles, porcupine, kangaroo.]]>
Electronic records have been made private as per the request of Jenny Whyman. As part of our data access requirements, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Data Archive (located at the University of Technology, Sydney) requires an applicant to sign an undertaking before access to material can be approved. These undertakings may include a request for information about the intended use of the data. The depositor and/or family may be informed of the application.
Preliminary applications may be made to:
atsida@lib.uts.edu.au.]]>
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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CC BY-NC]]>
Paakantyi / Paakantji / Barkindji people]]>
Floods]]>
Boats]]>
Riparian areas]]>
Trish Johnson, a Paakintji woman, was an executive on the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) commitee, however, she resigned in order to care for her family. Trish moved back to Pooncarie to re-establish ties to her Paakantji Country.
The State Library of New South Wales holds the original photographs in the Talking Fish Collection. Many are annotated on the back with names and places.
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