Goulburn: Oral History of Geoff Brennan

Title

Goulburn: Oral History of Geoff Brennan

Description

An interview in three parts with Geoff Brennan.

Geoff was a construction contractor but has been working with water management for twenty years. He talks about his understanding of the cross over from recreational fishing to management of water, and about Lake Makoan being decommmisioned 2009.

Geoff grew up on the Broken River. He shares his earliest memories of learning to fish with his father and sister; camping on the Murray River; his desire to pass on a sense of ownership of the rivers to his children and grandchildren; what to look for in the river when fishing for trout and Macquarie Perch; fly fishing; which parts of a snag different fish prefer; lake fishing compared to river fishing; fish behaviour depending on temperature and time of day; and what he likes about fishing. He discusses the benefits of fresh bait; where to collect scrub worms; catching yabbies; attracting shrimp with orange peel; decline of Catfish; changes to the Broken Rivers structure (de-snagging programs, the construction of the Nillahcootie 1967, the floods of 1974); fish migration and fishways; changes in fishing technology; the opening cermemony of Lake Nillahcootie; the changes in water quality due to the introduction of Carp; the Broken River Irrigators and their advocacy that a dam be build on the Broken River; the dams effect on the local ecology; Lake Mokoan water turbidity; and how the Broken River earnt its name. He goes on to discuss community engagement and the future of the River.

Mention of "Barragunda" a place at the head of the Broken River (Vic), "Green Swamp" or "Green Wetlands" near Winton Wetlands (VIC).

Mention of scrub worms, mud eyes, black crickets, grasshoppers, bardie grubs, shrimp, yabbies

Mention of Sedges, ribbon weed

Creator

Heather Goodall
Jodi Frawley

Publisher

University of Technology, Sydney

Contributor

Murray-Darling Basin Authority
NSW Department of Primary Industries - NSW Fisheries

Rights

Copyright University of Technology, Sydney

Date

2010-11-18

Access Rights

Open access

License

Provenance

Originally organised by researchers in sub-collection 'MDB Extra'. The Broken River is a main tributary of the Goulburn River.

Interviewer

Jodi Frawley

Interviewee

Geoff Brennan

Location

Benalla, Victoria, Australia

Duration

Part 1 00:16:33
Part 2 00:19:10
Part 3 00:17:38

Item Relations

This Item Is Part Of Item: Goulburn River, Victoria
This Item Was Created By Item: Prof. Heather Goodall
Item: Dr Jodi Frawley
This Item Has Provenance Information Item: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive (ATSIDA)
Item: State Library of New South Wales
This Item References The Subject Item: Macquarie Perch
Item: Freshwater Catfish

Position: 123 (89 views)