Stories from across the Basin

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Angela

“Rivers are our life source and we need to protect them. My family have always been drawn to rivers for their calming effect. One of our happiest family memories is camping on the banks of the Murray in Mildura when our kids were only 3 and 5 years old. Now we live on Steele Creek which runs into the Maribyrnong. We volunteer for our local sustainability group and regularly clean up the Maribyrnong and its surrounding creeks. We are deeply committed to regenerating our waterways and ensuring there is biodiversity and balanced ecosystems for future generations.

This photo was taken on the Barwon River in Ocean Grove with a group of dear friends. We have spent many holidays together on rivers around Victoria and South Australia.”

Mel

Ruby

“The Murray creates and defines Albury-Wodonga. She sustains me daily. Backstroke, looking up at the river red gums and the sulphur crested so-australian cockatoos, the sky… is better than any hospital medical treatment. or, if I have to go to hospital, the Murray is my first port of call when i get out. Home.

End of March, I was sitting next to my tree-ramp where i usually swim, back of the Hothouse theatre, watching a turtle, the apex of it’s shell poking thru the surface of the water. I watched for a good 10 minutes, wondering why turtle wasn’t swimming. Eventually they poked their head out enough for me to see that a fish-hook was caught it their cheek! and wrapped round the neck. I jumped in and brought the turtle out, and with the help of a mate working at theatre, and pliers, was able to unhook the turtle. Turtle promptly swam off into the deep, once returned to the river. … big lessons for me about getting unhooked from unhealthy emotions or behaviours.”

John

Nicole

“I grew up on the Broken and the Goulburn Rivers and spent many long summer evenings learning how to swim, identify plants and beasties and fishing. A river is magical. In this photo, my father teaches my daughter to fish on the beach where I learnt to swim. Some of my happiest memories are of that place in the summer as a child in the 70’s. Our family along with aunties and cousins would all go down on hot summer nights just to lay about in the water and wade upstream.

Nowadays you cannot access the spot from Benalla Road, we go around from Kialla. Benalla Road no longer has sunflowers but fields of Canola. Much of what I remember is there, however in the recent floods the beach has changed shape and it’s a bit less swimmable. However its incredibly special to me that in essence, its much the same when after 40 something years so much else is almost unrecognisable and I can share this with my child.”

Peta

Nicki

“I grew up swimming in the Murray River at Mildura. We moved there when I was 10, and I’m now 54. Every summer, my brother and I would swim down at Lock Island, down from our house.

As a parent now, I take my son down to the Lock Island, and this summer he swam while I marvelled at the beautiful old eucalypt trunks sculpted into the island, and wished I could live there once again. We walked through the peace and beauty of Kings Billabong, watching the birdlife. I miss that river. I want it to be protected for generations to come, for those children, who now swim in pools because of the blue-green algae, to have the same love and connection to the lifeblood of the Mallee.”

Jono

Hayley

“Water is the lifeblood of our rivers, our landscapes and our very existence. When rivers are starved of flows, all those who depend upon those rivers suffer; the birds, animals and fish, from the mighty Murray Cod to the tiny invertebrates; the First People’s, over 40 Nations who have cared for and been cared for in turn by this great sustaining force; and all those whose livelihoods and lives are now entwined in the meandering flows of the great Murray Darling.”

Jane

“The Murray-Darling evokes fond memories for me. I love it when I visit a new place on the Murray River and think of how this water and landscape is connected with other places on the river which I know. When our children were young, we spent a delightful holiday in the magnificent river red gum forest of Barmah State Park. We saw spoonbills, egrets, herons, and myriads of native ducks flying low over the floodplains.

Recently we went walking in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, where we heard the delightful songs of the scrub and forest dwelling birds and were lucky enough to see endangered wrens unique to this area. The Murray-Darling is one of the largest waterways in the world. It needs to be protected, for its natural beauty, for the many species which call it home, and because its water is the precious lifeblood of our dry continent. The government must deliver the water it has promised for rivers and wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin.

This is a photo I took of a magnificent old red gum by the river near Mildura.”

Monica

“I lived for thirty years in Shepparton on the Goulburn River. The river is the heart of the area and I know how important it is to the land and the culture. Please protect our water and rivers.

This is me with my daughters on the Goulburn, in the Mooroopna area.”

Angela

Laura

Liz

“I spent many childhood holidays on the banks of the Loddon river in Central Victoria. As an adult the Ovens and King Rivers have been an important part of my life. They are all part of the Murray – Darling basin which is critical to the health of so much of our country. Please ensure all these rivers receive enough water to secure the life which depends on them.”

This photo is a polaroid from 1970, of me fishing in the Loddon river near Serpentine with my cousin and my brother.”

Tuesday

Nanette

“As a child my father would drive us in the old Triumph Renown down the highway from Sydney to visit family in Melbourne. My mother and younger sister would stay overnight in accommodation but my father and I would camp out on the river banks with the mist rising in wreathes in the early morning and the smell of breakfast cooking over a fire. Crossing the bridge was always a highlight.

One year we had a breakdown and being very short of cash as a result of the repairs we stopped in Albury where my father went to play billiards, at which he was something of a star, to earn enough money to get us the rest of the way.

As an adult my husband and I made a special trip to see the great red river gums of the Barmah forest. Again magical memories. So I live in hope that the damage that has been sustained along this mighty waterway can be restored so that all Australians have the privilege of enjoying its bounty into the future.”

Marie-Louise

“I grew up on the Murray at Mildura. I remember picnics at Psyche Bend and water skiing. Even back then I was aware that Murray Cod were not often found. I want the Murray preserved so that new generations can enjoy the calm of the river.”

Mario

“The Murray Darling System is one of Australia’s most environmentally crucial waterways. When I was a boy living in Morwell West I would often go with the family and local community to swim in the Morwell river. Eventually the river was diverted for the expanding open cut. If we had politicians with foresight they would have prepared to transition from fossil fuels many decades ago and the idyllic paradise of my childhood might not have been destroyed.

There is still hope for the Murray Darling Basin if we put the environment ahead of greedy landholders and unsustainable crops. The waterway and the ecosystems it sustains are sacred to our First Nations People.”

Monica

“I am originally from Albury-Wodonga, and grew up with the Mighty Murray. It was a constant in all our lives, cooling us on hot inland days, & providing fascinating wildlife in the wetland areas beyond the rivers flow itself.”

Liz

“I live at the mouth of the Murray in a Ramsar protected area and feel myself to be a sort of custodian to the migratory birds of this place and the Coorong beyond. I am very concerned that the Murray Darling Basin Plan - which so many of my friends and I fought so hard for- for so many years - will be implemented under your stewardship in the way it was intended. It is absolutely vital that enough water is released along the river to maintain its health. With climate change well underway we will have extreme weather events and after the floods will probably be another drought. Without the wetlands and healthy water, the river will die - and I guess we will die with it.

Here is a pic taken a number of years ago at the Murray Mouth, around the corner from where I live. For years now the Mouth has been kept open by dredges as there isn't enough flow left to keep it open naturally. It is a spawning place for baby fish, birds, crabs, etc - called piccanini waters by the Ngarrindjeri - meaning baby waters. Without enough water flowing here the mighty 190 km Coorong will die, migratory birds that are supposed to be protected by Ramsar will not have enough feed to migrate to the north of the globe, and I'm told the river will die from the mouth up. I live on a lagoon around the corner from the Mouth where, if the river is flowing well, there are sometimes huge flocks of swans, pelicans, cormorants, ducks, waterhens, egrets, spoonbills, avocets and many more species. A healthy river does indeed mean a healthy community which includes all life.”

Fiona

“The Murray-Darling Basin takes each witness on a unique journey. This life-giving force must be protected. I've been privileged to experience the Murray-Darling Basin in many beautiful locations and it means so much to me for so many reasons. I've narrowed it down to a few:

-Living and working along the Darling, near Mendindee. The Darling watered our veggie patch, provided the local goanna a drink and washed the dust off and the end of a hot summers day. -Camping under the red-gums near Echuca, watching the sun shine through the leaves at sunset. -Boating on the Gunbower wetlands, marvelling at the Azure Kingfisher's bright colours. -Cooling off in the Murray at the end of a hot summer day in Mildura, pelicans floating by and kites whistling. Amazing! - Paddling along the wild beaches of the South Australian Coast, where the river reaches the sea.

Like many locals, visitors and downstream consumers, I'm honoured to have had the opportunity to experience the Murray-Darling basin. A healthy Murray-Darling Basin is essential to the future of our beautiful country.

Ruth

“I live in the Murray-Darling Basin. I am devastated to see what is happening to not only the rivers but to native plants and animals that call this area home. Please step up to take responsibility for the protection of this vital area and its threatened species.”