southern Australia 2010 the country’s
greatest River Basin the murray-darling
is dying just 200 years after European
settlement global climate change along
with water greedy crops have drained the
basin lagoons wetlands and Forests have
been destroyed a permanent dredge works
just to keep the murray river’s mouth
open in the midst of the worst drought
in history an aboriginal group decides
it can wait no longer make you feel
sorry to be sad
see state of the river seeing it like
that is it makes us feel see it makes us
feel bad inside
led by major Sumner elder oven oven
Jerry people a United group of
Aboriginal nations is spending nearly
two weeks traveling the length of the
darling and Marie rivers it’s a thing
that’s been gone for thousands and
thousands of years where our people came
and visited with each other they visited
and they traded but they also danced and
and sang songs about the creation of
this country but this time the gathering
is a bit more urgent each night they
perform the maroon Dhiru way pan gari
ring Valen translated literally River
country spirits ceremony
they hope to dance the spirit back into
the land to heal the waters and the
people I think the idea of healing the
river and the spirit of the river is not
a new one it was something that was done
traditionally where water people where
River people and when we have water we
we just embrace it we embrace it because
it’s who we are you know it makes
everything it makes us who we are
as the driest inhabited continent
Australia’s always had its share of
water challenges the Murray Darling
Basin is Southeast Australia’s lifeline
the basin generates 39 percent of the
nation’s agricultural production income
the precious water is also harnessed for
energy production and for cities and
tribal communities alike each night area
leaders perform parts of the Rainbow
Serpent creation story at sacred places
along the river and it pays off too much
with the largest flood surge in 100
years
for some the drought merely exposed the
wounds of the critically ill watershed
even though the rains have returned the
Australian government is forging ahead
with a courageous undertaking asking
farmers and communities to adapt to a
thirsty future in order to restore
failing rivers lakes and wetlands
Craig Knowles is heading up this tricky
but vital initiative there’s been some
terrific work done to try and build a
cohesive framework for the management of
the entire River and basin system that
is a little bit bigger than the combined
area of Germany and France and it’s put
a lot of folks on edge very often you
get diametrically opposed views everyone
feels as though they’re right and I
argue that you can’t have a healthy
economic and social base in the basin
without a healthy environment and we see
them as being necessary to work together
major Sumner and Cheryl Buchanan are on
the move again supported by the
murray-darling Basin Authority
this year’s ring balan culminates with a
ceremony at the current a unique estuary
it’s a part of who I am it’s a part of
my life it’s a part of my parents life
when I grew up when people got sick they
bring them to the Quran and bathe them
in duck in the water because to the Nara
knew Quran was a was a healing to
understanding the landscape has a
spiritual element but it also it’s a
very practical element these indigenous
communities have a lot of teachers and
we have a lot to learn at the mouth of
the Murray River there’s plenty to cheer
about in 2010 there was no water here oh
wow you know what can you say just
magnificent and you look at the country
and it it’s it’s just this freshness and
this intensity about it now it’s just
amazing with like the trees and
everything was just you know more alive
than though they’ve like they’ve got
their youth back again you know I feel
that the people that’s been controlling
everything for the last couple hundred
years they need to step back and let us
as as Aboriginal people from along that
river let us get that back to how it was
and let that River flow down
you
greatest River Basin the murray-darling
is dying just 200 years after European
settlement global climate change along
with water greedy crops have drained the
basin lagoons wetlands and Forests have
been destroyed a permanent dredge works
just to keep the murray river’s mouth
open in the midst of the worst drought
in history an aboriginal group decides
it can wait no longer make you feel
sorry to be sad
see state of the river seeing it like
that is it makes us feel see it makes us
feel bad inside
led by major Sumner elder oven oven
Jerry people a United group of
Aboriginal nations is spending nearly
two weeks traveling the length of the
darling and Marie rivers it’s a thing
that’s been gone for thousands and
thousands of years where our people came
and visited with each other they visited
and they traded but they also danced and
and sang songs about the creation of
this country but this time the gathering
is a bit more urgent each night they
perform the maroon Dhiru way pan gari
ring Valen translated literally River
country spirits ceremony
they hope to dance the spirit back into
the land to heal the waters and the
people I think the idea of healing the
river and the spirit of the river is not
a new one it was something that was done
traditionally where water people where
River people and when we have water we
we just embrace it we embrace it because
it’s who we are you know it makes
everything it makes us who we are
as the driest inhabited continent
Australia’s always had its share of
water challenges the Murray Darling
Basin is Southeast Australia’s lifeline
the basin generates 39 percent of the
nation’s agricultural production income
the precious water is also harnessed for
energy production and for cities and
tribal communities alike each night area
leaders perform parts of the Rainbow
Serpent creation story at sacred places
along the river and it pays off too much
with the largest flood surge in 100
years
for some the drought merely exposed the
wounds of the critically ill watershed
even though the rains have returned the
Australian government is forging ahead
with a courageous undertaking asking
farmers and communities to adapt to a
thirsty future in order to restore
failing rivers lakes and wetlands
Craig Knowles is heading up this tricky
but vital initiative there’s been some
terrific work done to try and build a
cohesive framework for the management of
the entire River and basin system that
is a little bit bigger than the combined
area of Germany and France and it’s put
a lot of folks on edge very often you
get diametrically opposed views everyone
feels as though they’re right and I
argue that you can’t have a healthy
economic and social base in the basin
without a healthy environment and we see
them as being necessary to work together
major Sumner and Cheryl Buchanan are on
the move again supported by the
murray-darling Basin Authority
this year’s ring balan culminates with a
ceremony at the current a unique estuary
it’s a part of who I am it’s a part of
my life it’s a part of my parents life
when I grew up when people got sick they
bring them to the Quran and bathe them
in duck in the water because to the Nara
knew Quran was a was a healing to
understanding the landscape has a
spiritual element but it also it’s a
very practical element these indigenous
communities have a lot of teachers and
we have a lot to learn at the mouth of
the Murray River there’s plenty to cheer
about in 2010 there was no water here oh
wow you know what can you say just
magnificent and you look at the country
and it it’s it’s just this freshness and
this intensity about it now it’s just
amazing with like the trees and
everything was just you know more alive
than though they’ve like they’ve got
their youth back again you know I feel
that the people that’s been controlling
everything for the last couple hundred
years they need to step back and let us
as as Aboriginal people from along that
river let us get that back to how it was
and let that River flow down
you
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