REQUIEM FOR THE LAKES AND COORONG?

At Raukkan the sands are strewn with old leather heels, presumably from the boots of Ngarrindjeri wool-washers. Along the lake's rim, five thousand year old stone circles of Ngarrindjeri fish-farming are being scattered by grazing cattle. “What pretty rock formations,” said a local, ignorant of Ngarrindjeri heritage. Grimmer is the exposure of remains from Ngarrindjeri burial grounds around the lakes. The cultural and economic impact on Ngarrindjeri communities is profoundly distressing.

In the 12 years I've lived at Narrung, the church has closed, then the general store and petrol pump, and then the school. It's likely the police station will close soon, and also the ferry too, adding 70 odd kms on the journey to the nearest major centre. Loss of viable habitat, loss of livelihoods, loss of relationships has impacted severely on this community. Instead of the gentle sound of swans of an evening, I hear the mechanical drone of pumps: artificial life support for Lake Albert.

"This peninsula must have been a Paradise for the Aborigines of long ago," observed E. Leta Padman, "with all the variety of food so readily available." "Those who are here today can never realize the condition of this country in the early days. Kangaroos abounded in the thousands," reminisced a Mr Hacket. The "numerous tortoises" Padman describes around 1987 "trundling across the roads and paddocks from the water to higher ground," are now a rare sight and even then they are likely to be encrusted with killer marine worms. "Today the travellers through Narrung can feast their eyes on a great variety of birds," wrote Padman. [The Story of Narrung: the place of large she-oaks, c1987, p24] No more. There has been an 85% reduction in the number of seasonal migratory birds, said Dr Arlene Buchanan of the Australian Conservation Foundation recently.

“Over ten years ago ... a group of us Aboriginal people took the people right through the old waterways and showed them the courses where the water came ... and they suggested to us that they didn't have any time to listen to old Aboriginal stories and that really crushed us way back then. And ever since then, it's been receding ever since,” observed Ngarrindjeri Rupulli George Trevorrow.

"Irreversible ecological collapse,"says the Australian Conservation Foundation, is the "only option" to not bringing flows down the river. Without urgently needed flows it will be "a toxic waste dump." [Josie Taylor. "Govt says the Murray's Lower Lakes can't be saved."06/08/2008. http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2008/s2326382.htm]

The state of the Lower Lakes and Coorong is "an act of monumental environmental vandalism without precedent in Australian history," observed Greg Hunt, SA's opposition Environment spokesperson. He pointed out that Australia is perilously close to becoming "only the second Government in the world to have presided over the destruction of a Ramsar listed wetland." The first was led by Iraq's Sadam Hussein.

Upstream Dr Jennifer Maharosy warns of “a potential economic and social catastrophe” if measures are not implemented to “keep the river full of water.” Maharosy claims that if "a permanent weir" were built "just upstream of the lakes at Wellington,” there could be "water savings in the order of 750,000 megalitres a year.” She advocates that barrages be opened, allowing the Lower Lakes and Coorong to be flooded with sea-water. [“Barrages Block Sense.” http://www.jennifermarohasy.com/articles155.html]

But local expert Dr Muller suggests that tidal flow through the mouth would not have enough energy to flush the lakes, "leaving vast areas of acidified wasteland." She also warns that "rapid conversion to salinities of seawater" might result in the contamination of "some 100,000 ha," making the region "uninhabitable" and "requiring the permanent retiring of productive land, both irrigated and dryland, and possible evacuation of lakeside communities."

According to a lower lakes irrigator and the Australian Conservation Council a 10-15% reduction of all water allocations in the Murray Darling Basin would let enough water flow down the River for both consumptive needs and restorative environmental flows.

It has been hard to write this without feeling overwhelmed by distress. In 2008/9 are we writing arequiem for the Coorong and the lower lakes?

The recent winter rains have been an answer to prayer and the drought-grey sands have sprung alive with green. Whether the lower lakes and Coorong survive, and the Murray-Darling too, is dependent not just on water flows, but on people behaving better towards Mother Earth and Her waters than they have in the past two centuries.

A Ngarrindjrei elder guided our craft up the Coorong. Although it was deep night, we could make out the curves of the tea-tree and coastal wattle on the dunes. An oyster-catcher called from the south, a shrill “Peep-peep. Peep-peep.” Another joined in: “Per-peep, per-peep.” “Come here! Come here! This way,” it seemed to say. Above us, the veil of cloud thinned. We caught a glimpse of the moon and a handful of stars, and as if waiting for us, the black and white form of our haunting feathered songster. The water around us sparkled. “Put your hand in,” Paul directed. We did and were surprised with an electric shock. How? Why? In and out, we playfully dipped our hands and every time got zapped. This stretch of the water looked the same as anywhere else, and yet it held, 'scuse the pun, a shocking secret. Further on, Paul told us to jump out of the boat. We rolled up our trouser-legs and hoisted ourselves overboard. Splash! Black water came alive with sparks of light: another magical surprise. “Phosphorescence,” our Ngarrindjeri guide explained.

I don't want experiences like this to be lost to our children. Let's put aside our private interests and invest in the Life and Health of the River.

In the words of Storm Boy's author Colin Thiele:

“It is good that some people have known the Coorong and loved it for what it once was -for its untouched beauty, its light, its elemental naturalness,its peace and isolation,for it may soon be destroyed, is already in danger of being destroyed – trampled to death by the modern sacred cows of tourism, development and recreation. [excerpt from“The Coorong”]

If Australia allows this region to die, the consequences, the shame of it, will hang around this nation's neck like a dead albatross. But better, much better is to revitalize the Swan the Ngarrindjera know in the form of the Lower Lakes and Kurangk; so Swan can sing us all to thrive.

"May our Spirits find rest and peace within our Lands and Waters." [Kungun Narrindjeri Miminar Yunnan]

HEALTH, WEALTH, WORDS AND THE RIVER

Words are a mirror to human experience. The meaning of the English words such as “health” and “wealth” have altered over time, reflecting changes in society.

Today a healer is largely thought of as some kind of charlatan. However, “heal” comes from the Old English hælan, to make whole, says John Ayto. Health professionals are realizing that getting people healthy isn't a matter of treating symptoms, but of balancing a whole series of inter-relationships: family, work, lifestyle, environment, exercise, nutrition. Healthy behaviour takes account of the needs of the whole body, physical, economic, cultural, and spiritual.

“Health”comes from the Old English hælþ “wholeness.” "Health" is "heal" with the addition of þ (th), the Norse þurisaz or Anglo-Saxon þorn rune of transformation. Þurisaz is a very ancient name for Thor, says author Freya Aswynn. [Leaves of Grass, a synthesis of runes, gods, magic, feminine mysteries and folklore] In Norse accounts of Creation, Thor kept giants, representing "the forces of chaos," in their place. In the Norse tradition, Thor, also known as Jord, son of the earth goddess, cares for the land, brings life to the frozen Gerd, earth, and defends the people of the land. People who care about the environment ‘would do well’ to invoke the aid of þ Thor, suggests Aswynn. Thor, in the form of the þ rune, protected Anglo-Saxon rituals honouring life's passages. Bath, birth, strength, hearth, death: English perpetuates Thor's protection by retaining those Anglo-Saxon þ words. Like water, the þ rune is a carrier. It supplies life force, energy and focus to make things happen, says Aswynn. Add þ and you get ‘action,’ advises Edred Thorsson.[Futhark, A Handbook of Rune Magic]

"Time to Act on River Murray" urged the headline of the 8th August Lakelander, local paper for people living around the Lower Lakes and Coorong. "A river system needs to flow from its head to the sea ..." explained "lakes and Coorong Expert" Dr Kerri Muller. "Action is needed now," was the cry in the next issue. [D John Boundy, "Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink." The Lakelander,15th August.] If we focus on the health of the Murray-Darling, from the mountains to the sea, it is more likely to return wealth to the region, than by implementing more hoarding measures, the dire consequences of which can be predicted by past failures.

In the English word family, “health” “heal,” “whole,” “holy” and “Halloween” are cousins. This word family, which links physicality, spirituality and culture, finds common ground with MLDRIN, the call by First Nations along the River for holistic and respectful actions. And perhaps the drought is healing: the desperate lack of water reminds us that the river is not a “resource” but a sacred “source” of life.

“Wealth” which now is mostly thought of in term of economic value, comes via the Middle English wele "well-being," from the Old English wela "wealth, welfare, well-being." It and the “wealth” of “Commonwealth” ultimately derive from the proto Indo-European base *wel- "to will," says Douglas HArper [Online Etymological Dcitionary] What is needed for a wealthy river is a common will to look after its well-being and welfare.

It is to be hoped that the formation of the single Murray Darling Authority will produce healthier behaviour in the Murray-Darling Basin than the constitutional water right of states and landholders. It is to be hoped that the Federal Government will moderate vested interests. Its $400 million buy-back of water entitlements in the northern basin, including $350million in Queensland, is a start. It is to be hoped that this will encourage the wider community to behave coherently for the health, wealth and healing of the river. And already this appears to be happening: Victoria's Murray River Group of Councils recently supported the MDA in taking "an holistic approach to the national crisis including the whole Murray Darling Basin."[Murray River Group of Councils, July 2008, "Communique," http://www.campaspe.vic.gov.au/hardcopy/111751_188338.PDF.]

As the water dwindled around the eroding crannies of the Narrung Peninsula, local dairy farmers, Cathie and David Harvey, didn't wait for the government to act. They saw the need for an holistic approach and implemented biological farming practices. These work with the "natural processes" occurring on a farm. Rather than treating the symptoms with pesticides and inorganic fertilizers, biological farming addresses the cause of any problems. It pays attention to the biota that makes soil healthy, and prefers to optimize "soil, plant and animal health." And healthy soil produces more nutritious food. ["Introduction to Biological Farming" http://www.bioag.com.au/improving_natural_soil_fertility/biological_farming/]

"Biological farming reduces soil leaching and retains soil moisture," observed Cathie. In a record drought, the Harveys harvested a lucerne crop last year and they milk two hundred cows each day.

The Narrung Peninsula elsewhere is described by reporter Shane Strudwick as a "series of vacated dairies that have been mothballed." He lamented: "Families are leaving the region and quality drinking water needs to be trucked in with no subsidies or support from the government."["Australia’s True Catastrophe happening now." 17.3.08. http://rivermurray.com/petition/drought-tour/] In contrast, the Harvey's health-promoting methods demonstrate a staying power that is to be respected. Producers in Australia's food bowl upstream would do well to follow the Harvey's lead and implement biological farming practices.

"A healthy river is essential to ensure that future generations of Australians can enjoy the same quality of life as past generations," asserts the Indigenous Response to the Living Murray initiative. "The river is a place of healing. It provides a place of balance and relief from stress and sickness," came the consistent response to the question: "What is the significance of the River Murray to you?"

"The river is critical to health and welfare."

"The river has major economic importance. It is a source of food, fibre, water, medicine and other sustenance."

"The river is part of song and storylines."

"The river is a birthplace."

"There are burials all along the river."

"The river should be healthy and free-flowing."

"The whole river system should be respected."

"Everyone should come together to make the river healthy and protect its spirit-Indigenous people, landholders and government."

"It is our Lifeblood."

"It is Life." [http://www.mldrin.org.au/pubs/TLMIndigenousResponse.pdf]

THE NEED TO FLUSH

"18,000 years ago the Murray basin was a salt desert. If we continue to manage as we have for the past 100 years, it will again become one," observed rural writer Asa Wahlquist. ["The Murray in Myth, history and reality." http://asawahlquist.com/content/view/10/11/]

With weirs, locks, barrages, bunds, channels, reservoirs, impoundments, pipelines, dams and diversions, the Murray is not a river. It's a series of pools.

Under drought conditions, it's a chain of puddles. Some call it the longest lake in the world. Some call it a sewer, a cesspit. Stagnant water is not healthy, particularly with Australia's saline soils. In 1977, the Murray River flushed “1.1 million tonnes of salt”out to sea. Only “130,000 tonnes” came from a natural source, 64% deriving from “Victoria and New South Wales,” noted United Nations University researcher Michael Butler. [http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80190e/80190E0d.htm]

In 2002, 5.1m tonnes of salt were “mobilized” annually in the Murray-Darling Basin, 2m tonnes flushed out to sea. This amount is predicted to rise to 6.8m tonnes by 2020. [Michelle Olivier, ”The River Murray: The Big Picture.” http://www.murrayusers.sa.gov.au/big_picture1.php] 850 EC units is the magic figure for maximum safe levels of salinity levels for drinking water. In August 08, the salinity level at the Goolwa Barrage, near the Murray mouth, was 22,990, while at Meninie 5,448. If a weir is built at Wellington, and according to the SA Govt there's a 70-80% certainty it will, what will happen to all those tonnes of salt suspended in the River Murray with no where to go?

"The mouth of the Murray speaks a thousand words about the health of its catchment and its capacity to provide us with the ecosystem services we take for granted," asserts Dr Kerri Muller. Without the lower lakes and Coorong acting as the river's lings and kidneys, "the cancer will spread up to Lock 1 then above Lock 1 then...?" warns Muller.

In 1888, scientist HR Russell stated: “in a new country like this with its local variations in the laws of nature...the fact is forced upon us in a 1,000 ways that we must know or we suffer.”

In 1985, Ralph Jacobi, Federal MP, added: “We, and future generations, will suffer because of our neglect, our ignorance and our abuse if we fail to understand the unique nature of this great river and the fragility of its ecosystem.” Jacobi advocated “impartial and national approaches” to sweep aside “paraochial and vested interests.” He concluded that “Knowledge is the key if we are to solve this...”

[Who Owns the Murray? p280]

Is duilich burn glan a thoirt a tobar salach. It's difficult to draw pure water from a dirty well.

BAD HABITS:A HISTORY OF HOARDING

An car a h' anns an t-seana mhaide is duilich a thoirt as. Straightening the bend in old wood is a difficult job.

"Mother Nature was giving us a clear message about the health of the river system, but it was not heeded," admitted local mayor Kym Hughes. [“Mayor: How we failed to heed the vital warning signs,” http://blogs.news.com.au/adelaidenow/guestblogger/index.php/adelaidenow/comments/kym_chugh/] McHugh organized a march of mourning across that Bridge on August 10th. About 5,000 people stopped in the middle for two minutes' silence to “underscore this 11th hour bid to save the nation's greatest river,” said McHugh. ["Crowds gather for rally at Murray River." http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2008/aug/10/aap-crowds-gather-for-rally-at-murray-river] McHugh's confession must be a bitter pill for the Ngarrindjeri to swallow, for all along they have been making strong statements about the need to protect Ruwi. Ngarrindjeri women's sacred law/lore warned what would happen if the Hindmarsh Island Bridge cast its concrete shadow over Living Waters.

Perhaps the reason Mother Nature and the Ngarrindjeri grandmothers weren't listened to was because decision-makers have been stuck in a medieval mindset: dominion over rather than cooperation with Mother Nature.

The word “weir,” for example, has a warrior ethos. It was derived from the Old English werian, to defend and protect, says John Ayto. [Dictionary of Word Origins, p570] In Britain the first “serious” damming (damning?) of rivers was undertaken by medieval millers. The feudal laws of Norman invaders placed the mill-dam under the tight control of the manorial landowner. The term for such a dam is “impoundment” which has the clear meaning of taking water into formal custody. Medieval laws, such as thirlage, which reaped great profits for the landowner seem to have coupled inextricably economic wealth and water-hoarding. Before the Normans' brutal land grab, riparian water-sharing rights which held that a stream of running water could not be possessed were a feature of a land held in common. The Norman Conquest legitimized water-hoarding and entrenched water injustice in its society to the gain of a privileged few. Seems a habit hard to break.

Behaving badly over water began in Australia with colonization. It is a history of hoarding. The gap between water supply and water demand is as old as the province of South Australia. My red-haired Scottish forebear was a water-carter in 1840. (It's been like deja vu watching the water-trucks at Narrung this year.

"Disputes between the three colonies about the river started as soon as Victoria was declared separate from NSW in 1850," point out Daniel Connell. ["Federation? Managing the Water in the Murray-Darling Basin-a historic perspective." http://www.gardenhistorysociety.org.au/pdfs/Daniel%20Connell%20Paper%20AGHS%20Conf%20Oct%2007.pdf.]

In South Australia, the Rankines, a family of Scottish migrants, probably weren't the first to behave badly over water. But according to Jim Marsh, Barrage Superintendent at Goolwa. they wanted to “try and stop the ingress of sea water into that reach, to hold a pocket of fresh water for their stock for the summer.” So they were probably the first to build a Murray weir: a wooden weir across Mundoo Channel. Marsh didn't say when. Probably around the 1850s. No thought for the First Peoples, the Ngarrindjeri, for whom this area is particularly sacred. Stumps of the weir apparently still remain near the Mundoo Barrage. One of Marsh's stories blames dynamite for its demise. [Rose Geisler, Alexandrina Local History Archive. http://www.stateheritageareas.sa.gov.au/pdfs/stories_goolwa_marshjm.pdf.] Now, the Ngarrindjeri who traditionally used fire technology for environmental renewal, have yarns that hint at pyrotechnics to rid Ruwi of harmful structures.

In 1863, lobbying began to lock up the River Murray . When the river was a major highway, paddlesteamers road-trains, the "inland desert" a prize for land-grabbers, seasonal low flows impeded “progress.” More bad manners: NSW, Victoria and South Australia disputed ownership and failed to reach an agreement, . [“Lock and Weir No 1,” http://www.aussieheritage.com.au/listings/sa/Blanchetown/LockandWeirNo1/10733]

In 1880, upstream water “extractions” due to "desert" irrigation, together with drought, impacted severely on the lower lakes, write researchers Terry Sim and Kerri Muller. [“A Fresh History of the Lakes: Wellington to the Murray Mouth 1800s to 1935,” River Murray Catchment Water Management Board, 2004]

In the 1897/8 Australasian Federation Convention, more drought and depression meant management of the River Murray was debated with "fierceness." South Australia wanted its right to water enshrined in the national constitution. The other states wanted to protect their right to irrigate. Alfred Deakin suggested a formula for retaining state rights with the option for a federal authority. The latter was ignored, while one of the rare rights in the Australian Constitution. Section 100 states: “The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade or commerce, abridge the right of a State or of the residents therein to the reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation or irrigation.” [http://australianpolitics.com/constitution/text/100.shtml] In effect what the Australian Constitution enshrined was the right to squabble over water. The insistence of South Australia that the word "reasonable" be attached to "use of the waters" points to the fears it had about upstream behaviour. The legal battles continue to this day. ["High Court talks on Murray, Coorong." 15/08/2008. http://www.independentweekly.com.au/news/local/news/environment/high-court-talks-on-murray-coorong/1245685.aspx]

In 1902, upstream extractions lowered the lake to sea level, the water turned salty, water grasses rotted, reeking and contaminating both water and air, record Sim and Muller. Conditions were a “disaster,” said Mr F Garnet, Superintendent of the Point McLeay Mission, (Raukkan). He observed: “Despite the long drought, the waters of the lakes have always been sweet at this time of the year.” Wool-washing, the industry that supported the Ngarrindjeri community collapsed. Garnet lamented: “Its destruction means a loss of 200 pound per year to the natives.”

In 1902, a Federal Parliamentary Commission's enquiry into river levels recommended a proportional share of the river for the states in times of drought; the construction of storage works and weirs at the Murray mouth; and a complete system of locks. Vested interests used Section 100 of the Australian Constitution to thwart these measures.

In 1912, the SA Govt hired a Captain Johnson, Corps of Engineers, USA, to report on a scheme for “locking” the River Murray. The first lock was built at Blachetown in 1922.

In 1915, the River Murray Waters Agreement, designed to work with the Interstate Commission, a federal decision-making body, was signed between states. But the river agreement for management of the whole Murray-Darling Basin became a dud when a High Court challenge stripped the Commission of its powers, recounts Daniel Connell.

In 1935 a string of barrages began to be built near the Murray mouth to stop seawater flowing upstream for 250 kms. [“Effects of weirs, locks, barrages and dams,” http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/murray/content/dwindlingRiver/wiersDamsIntro.htm] The barrages destroyed 90% of the estuarine environment. Power for the construction was provided by the paddle-steamer Capt Sturt. (My mum spent her school holidays on board. My granddad took snapshots. Deja vu again.) “Soon after the first locks were built,” the fishing forebears of Henry Jones observed that the freshwater crayfish began to decline. The species is now gone.

In 1967, drought stirred the SA govt to stop issuing Water Diversion Licences to irrigators. [Who Owns the Murray?ed Peter S. Davis & Phillip J Moore, pp 19, 48.] Professor of environmental law at Uni SA, Rob Fowler, has criticised licences as “a private property right” granted “over a public resource.” He asserted: “It was a market economy solution that just hasn’t worked.” [http://www.independentweekly.com.au/news/local/news/environment/high-court-talks-on-murray-coorong/1245685.aspx] Today, existing water licences are a complicated matter. The SA govt varies their conditions in order to control water allocation. Licences are divided into "a Water Access Entitlement, a Water Allocation, a Site Use Approval, a Water Resource Works Approval and a Delivery Capacity Entitlement." [http://www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au/licensing/swr/index.html] Each state has implemented different water allocating processes. In 1983, South Australia introduced water licence trading.

Due to reduced river flows, in 1981 the Murray mouth closed. The solution in 2002 was to dredge it open. It was supposed to be a $2m nine-month “Sand Pumping Project.” In 2005, Melissa Fyfe from The Age reported that dredging costs taxpayers $7m a year. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/More-help-to-keep-Murrays-mouth-open/2005/03/23/1111525218662.html.] Today dredging continues.

In 2008 the lower lakes reached record low levels. Here at Narrung, to prevent Lake Albert from collapse a $6m bund was built and pumping began at a cost of $600,000 a month. And recently, while the Federal govt announced a $50m pipeline for the Narrung Peninsula, the SA govt announced $30m for a weir at Wellington to secure Adelaide's drinking water.

Recent reports of upstream irrigators stealing water have emerged in the media. "Eight times the volume of Adelaide's drinking water" was being diverted from the Murray through unmetered pumps, claimed the SA Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith. ["Murray 'water theft' pumping angers SA Oppn." Aug 7, 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/07/2327092.htm?section=justin]. “60 cases of water theft “ are being investigated “in the Goulburn-Murray region of Victoria, Australia’s largest irrigation district, says researcher for the Water Integrity Network, Mark Worth. [“Crime and Drought in Australia’s Murray River Basin,” http://www.waterintegritynetwork.net/page/431]

Then, last week alleged illegal dams and irrigation channels on Qld's Paroo River, the healthiest tributary of the Murray-Darling, were condemned by SA's premier as “an act of terrorism against the nation.” [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/15/2336850.htm?site=local] A moratorium on new dams and diversions had been put in place in 2001 by the Qld and NSW governments.

This week rural writer Asa Wahlquist reported that over the past years Queensland irrigators have been taking "record amounts of water from the Murray-Darling Basin," while "other state governments wound back irrigator allocations." ["Murray River drained by Queensland," August 21, 2008, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24215665-5013871,00.html] "This sort of behaviour, it is putting entire regions along the Murray-Darling Basin on their knees," said spokesperson for South Australian Murray Irrigators, Tim Whetstone. "At the moment, for the people who are up the top of the basin, it is first-in, best-dressed, showing no concern for anyone down lower. It is un-Australian."

Meanwhile, the river is losing its vital signs. The Murray Darling Commission states that public storages are holding 4,800 gigalitres of water: 21% of capacity. But the amount of water available to flow down the river can't be determined accurately, because of water diverted into the ownership of states and private landholders. This needs to be rectified urgently.

Cha bhi fios aire math an tobair gus an tràigh e. The value of the well is not known until it goes dry.

MAINTAINING A HEALTHY RIVER, BEGINS AT BIRTH

Namawi rawul-inyeri thulun-ar. Our footrpints come from the past. [Kungun Ngarrindjeri Miminar Yunnan, Listen to Ngarrindjeri Women Speaking,

Life lessons are written in Ngarrindjeri Ruwi. Here in waters now known as Loveday Bay, Spiritual Ancestor Nurunderi taught Creation-time fishers not to be greedy, but to share the Thukeri from the waters. At first the fishers took no notice, then they made excuses, and the consequences were dire. Nurunderi changed forever a favourite fish into a bony bream. For tens of thousands of years, the Ngarrindjeri have taught their children not to hoard. For thousands of years the river's waters flowed, Ruwi was healthy and people thrived. This region supported the densest population of First Peoples on the continent.

“You are one with the Earth and the Water. So you're connected through both: Mother Earth and our waters, because the waters are the lifeblood. They're the veins in our bodies in fact, and what's been happening is we've been damaging and blocking our arteries up by building all these locks and weirs and all sorts of other things which has made the system sick,” Matt Rigney, chair of MLDRIN, Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations, explained to SA's Stateline. [Leah MacLennan, “Coorong Drought,”30/05/2008 http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/sa/content/2006/s2262266.htm]

“I think people have to wake up and understand the difference between need and greed and I think there's been far too much greed has been overtaking common sense in regards to managing our waterways,” chided Ngarrindjeri Rupelli George Trevorrow. He warned: “It is an old saying, that once our totems go, we go. So it's a very big concern to us at the moment.”

The Ngarrindjeri are not alone in their concerns. The Murray Darling Basin is home for 75,000 First Peoples, most Traditional Owners. In 1998, as an initiative of the Yorta Yorta, First Peoples all along the river gathered to form MLDRIN (Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations). It's “an expression of the way the Indigenous Nations have always done business.” First Nations have been keeping the rivers healthy for thousands of years by “caring for country and talking to their traditional neighbours upstream and downstream on the Murray and its’ sister Rivers, Creeks, Lakes, Billabongs and waterways.” [MLDRIN - http://www.mldrin.org.au/about/stratplan.htm]

“The Indigenous vision for the river system is holistic – it incorporates spiritual, cultural, economic and social values. All are inter-related. All the issues need to be addressed together,” stated MLDRIN's Report to the Murray Darling Basin Commission in 2003. Thousands of years of respect for the river makes Traditional Owners “best placed to talk for Country,” but the decision-making has been dominated by immigrant, non-Indigenous “stake-holders.”

George Trevorrow pointed out to Stateline: “Every other group has been engaged, particularly irrigators and dairy farmers, rice growers, cotton growers. You name it, they've all been engaged. Aboriginal people have been a tack on. We don't want to be seen as a symbolic symbol or a gesture of symbolism. We want to be a part of the whole process and we want to engage in a proper way."

Ngarrindjeri knowledge of the river's bounty is ancient. In Ngarrindjeri accounts of Creation, Nurunderi chased a great fish Pondi down a little stream and the fish's frantic movements carved a great waterway down to the lakes. There Pondi was cut up, filling the lakes with a diversity of fish. The food supply supported an abundance that amazed Captain Sturt in 1830. From the cliffs at a bend in the river, now known as Tailem Bend, three thousand warriors watched and readied as Sturt's crew rowed downstream. Despite breaking traditional Law of entering Country, Sturt was allowed to pass by circumspect elders.

According to oral history, Ngarrindjeri old people welcomed the British foreigners to Country in their usual way, asking them to look after it. But the foreign Occupiers disrespect for the River over the past two centuries has broken the law of Caring for Country.

“Does anyone have a solution?”

A government minister or two and invited stakeholders had met to discuss the water crisis for the Lower Lakes and Kurangk, my Ngarrindjeri raconteur explained. Giving me a prime-time re-play of proceedings, he shot up his hand and said eagerly:

“I do. All you convicts and hangers-on go home. Then there'd be plenty of water for us blackfellas.”

Those assembled laughed, said my friend, but I could read something very serious in his face. And I realized that Steve Walker, the Chair of Raukkan Community, had said in a few words what it has taken me weeks to write in over 6000!

The Ngarrindjeri spoke up all the way to the High Court but few listened. The River's slow creeping death is now strangling businesses. Fair cop for us. We are not helpless. We can can change from water hoarders to healers. We as a community have to be prepared to pay the repair bill. But not warranted is the cruelty inflicted upon the turtles, the fish, the wading birds, the Australian otters, the water grasses and the mussels which strew the lake-edge in their thousands, their last gasp for life immortalized in the now toxic mud.

An intimately connected web of Nature, the once wealthy delta of the River Murray, is so torn it will be soon impossible to repair.