When the Children of the Moon met the Children of the Stars

When the Children of the Moon met the Children of the Stars,







I wish they had followed traditional protocols and waited for an invitation to enter into the sacred lands of the Ngarrindjeri...












I wish the Children of the Moon, the Malcolms who set up Poltalloch Station in 1839, could have introduced themselves and stood beside the Children of the Stars, the Ngarrindjeri, First Peoples of the lower River Murray, lakes, Kurangk (Coorong), and southern coastal regions of the continent now called Australia.








I wish they had sat down together in 1839, the 18 laklinyeris (clans) of the Ngarrindjeri and agents of the Malcolms of Poltalloch estates in Kilmartin Valley, Scotland.









I wish the immigrants had sat and listened to Ngarrindjeri elders as they explained their sacred connection since Creation with the Land-Mother.











I wish their children and their children's children had sat and played together.









I wish they'd lit a fire of friendship together.
Instead Neil Malcolm 13th laird of Poltalloch, Scotland, British Member of Parliament, who'd made his fortune out of slave-worked Jamaican plantations, paid a mere £4000 for the stolen traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri, renamed them "Poltalloch Station,"and became an absentee landlord.


Since 1836, foreigners have flooded uninvited into Ngarrindjeri lands, lands never sold nor ceded to any foreign power. Places now bear the names of the British occupiers: When you travel from Adelaide, after the consort of King William IV, the route is named Princes Highway, after the Prince of Wales' visit in 1920.

South Australian Tourism recently took it upon itself to put up a "Welcome To the Coorong" sign. "Coorong" is the English version of the Ngarrindjeri "Kurangk."
I wish that when people enter Ngarrindjeri Country, they would pause by this sign and respectfully request permission from Ngarrindjeri ancestors and elders to enter these traditional lands.



I wish that we who are immigrants would acknowledge that we are guests in Ngarrindjeri Country.





Shortly after the "Welcome to the Coorong," the signpost points to Poltalloch Rd and Pt Malcolm lighthouse. These perpetuate the names of the absentee pro-slavery landlord who made a fortune, while First Peoples were robbed of their ancestral Lands. The sign-post also points to Narrung, Meningie and Tailem Bend, but not the major centre of population on the Narrung Peninsula: Raukkan. Is this omission because Raukkan is an Aboriginal Community?







Poltalloch Rd follows the edge of Lake Alexandrina, named for another long dead British royal. Bare paddocks replace original forests of she-oak, native pine, eucalypts and grass-trees. In 2007 at the request of the present incumbents of Poltalloch Station, the Coorong Council began re-routing the road without the permission of Ngarrindjeri Heritage, thus breaking the Aboriginal Heritage Act. Native vegetation which is scarce in these parts was also needlessly destroyed by the roadworks.



The Ngarrindjeri are a federation of 18 laklinyeris, peoples represented by the 18 dots on their flag. Capt Sturt recorded in 1830, that this area was densely populated. He saw no fewer than 200 people a day as he journeyed down the river. Yet the SA 1834 Foundation Act said the land was "waste and unoccupied." In 1860, a SA inquiry noted the desperate plight of the Ngarrindjeri, starving because barbed-wire fences and guns kept them from their traditional hunting grounds and food sources.


Continuity of Ngarrindjeri culture is depicted on the flag with the "traditional fishing spears," the "Sacred Boomerang," and ochre for "our Mother - Mother Earth." When thrown, the Boomerang circles the laklinyeris, calling them to gather at the Tendi, the law/governing body of the Ngarrindjeri. [Ngarrindjeri Nation Yarluwar-Ruwe Plan, p5] The SA Foundation Act which stole Ngarrindjeri lands was written by the lawyer of the South Australia Company which profitted from land sales. The British Government tried to protect the rights of the Ngarrindjeri by delaying the departure of the SA Co ships until they signed agreement to the Letter Patent and the Order-in-Council which both clearly ordered that the Ngarrindjeri rights to their lands be protected. Once in South Australia, the SA Company disregarded these Orders from the Crown.

The Blue of the Ngarrindjeri flag is for the Sacred "Waters of Ngarrindjeri Country" where the "Sun gives life, says designer & elder Matt Rigney. [Information used with permission.] "These were once healing waters," explained a Ngarrindjeri elder. Now they are so polluted a sign at Narrung Reserve warns people not to drink the water.






In the Yarluwar-Ruwe Plan, Ngarrindjeri elder Tom Trevorrow says:
"The land and waters is a living body. We the Ngarrindjeri people are part of its existence. The land and waters must be healthy for the Ngarrindjeri people to be healthy...." [Yarluwar-Ruwe Plan, p5]





The Ngarrindjeri have maintained a sacred connection with the waters "since Creation." In the Yarluwar-Ruwe Plan: Caring for Ngarrindjeri Sea country and Culture, p13, the elders say:
"We know that many of our Ngartjis (totem or special friend) travel to other countries during certain times of the year and therefore we have a cultural responsibility to care for each other's Ngartji, and to care for each other's lands and waters."


But...
"We are hurting for our Country. The Land is dying, the River is dying, the Kurangk (Coorong) is dying and the Murray Mouth us closing. What does the future hold for us?" asks Ngarrindjeri elder, Tom Trevorrow. [ 2002]





The waters of Lake Alexandrina in 2005 lapped the green rim of the lake. This pic in 2008 shows how much the water level has dropped. Where once abundance of swans, pelicans, darters, ducks and cape barren geese lined the water's edge, landholders now let their cattle foul our precious water supply. Ngarrindjeri elders say: "...if Yarluwar-Ruwe dies, the waters die, our Ngartjis die, then the Ngarrindjeri will surely die."



Overlooking the lake, is "Katangk," Ngarrindjeri for "place of smoke." This cliff is ideal for the lighting of sacred signal fires and watching the changing sky-world. Ngarrindjeri elders say:
" The Creation ancestors taught us how to respect and understand the connections between the land, waters and sky." [Yarluwar-Ruwe Plan] No road or tourist sign names this sacred place.



Occupying foreigners built a lighthouse on Katangk in 1878 to guide paddle-steamers through the Narrows between Lakes Alexandrina and Albert. A forest of she-oaks was felled to fuel the steamers, and "clear" land for farming. "Cream, eggs, pigs, calves, lambs, sheep, cattle, oats, wheat, barley, fish, poultry, etc" were shipped to Adelaide from the district. [The Story of Narrung, compiled by E Leta Padman, p19] Farmers made a good living while the Ngarrindjeri were severely disadvantaged by lack of access to their Land.


Point Malcolm lighthouse, the only inland lighthouse in Australia, closed on 30th Sept, 1931. It honours the name of the 13th laird of Poltalloch of Argyllshire, Scotland. Malcolm, the pro-slaver, was unpopular in his home-lands and lost his seat in the British Parliament by humanitarian reformists. He bought Poltalloch Station in 1839 to evict his tenants from his Scottish estates. I've heard local Ngarrindjeri people talk of their ancestors, used as "slave labour" on Poltalloch Station, and put in chains when they protested at the harsh treatment. Ngarrindjeri elders today remember some happy times of working at Poltalloch Station, but these memories include sadness at the pittance they were paid compared with other workers. Malcolm sold his estates for £175,00 in the late 19th century, not including £30,00 worth of cattle. Profiteering from the Ngarrindjeri loss of lands, he built a mansion in Scotland in1854. It burnt to the ground and today lies in ruins.


In 2007, the lighthouse glass was smashed, making a home for doves. The Dove "Colm" guides the dead home across the waters, in Gaelic tradition. In 2007, drought began taking a terrible toll on the flora and fauna region. "Colm" is "Columba" in Latin. "Colm Cille" or St Columba converted the Picts to Christianity and founded a centre for learning at Iona, Scotland. "Mal-colm" means "devotees of the Dove" for the early Malcolms were devout followers of St Columba. But not the 13th Malcolm of Poltalloch. He was loathed for evicting his tenants by force in 1842 as part of the Highland "clearances."


Lake Alexandrina is home for many sacred Ngarrindjeri objects , tossed away by foreign occupiers who thought them the things of the Devil. In 1859 Pint McLeay mission was established at Raukkan. German and Scottish missionaries saved the lives of many Ngarrindjeri from the lawless shootings and poisonings perpetrated by "pioneers" and "settlers."
However, the process of converting the Ngarrindjeri to Christianity involved taking children from parents and raising them in dormitories, and banning Ngarrindjeri language and cultural practices.



Now the land has been so exploited and damaged that the local Council has applied for disaster relief. Farmers sell and move on, or just leave, letting their constructions weather and ruin.






Yet the shores of the sacred waters remain home for the Ngarrindjeri, and the waters recede to once again reveal what is sacred.






The Narrung Peninsula would be an island but for a narrow strip of land between the Coorong and Lake Albert, named after a long dead British royal. The Ngarrindjeri crossing point at Ruwakangk between the lakes once evoked sacred connection with the Ruwe: living body of lands and waters. It's now known as the Narrows. The first Narrung Punt opened on 23rd July 1928, records E Leta Padman. [The Story of Narrung, the place of large sheoaks, p 94]


After the '56 flood, the Highways Dept built a causeway across black mudflats and raised the road on the western approach to the ferry. Experts predicted the punt "should never again need to be closed because of flood-water." [Padman, p94] In 2008, the ferry has been closed periodically in order to lower the approaches due to reduced flows from the River Murray. It may soon need to be closed indefinitely.



Here follows a series of photos between 2005-2008, showing the difference in water levels, :




Ngarrindjeri elder Matt Rigney has commented on the oddity of English. What English-speakers call "swamps" and "wetlands," his people refer to as "nurseries" for the diversity of life in their Country.


I am deeply sorry that the Lands and Waters, abundant for thousands of years under the care of the Ngarrindjeri are now seriously degraded by just two centuries of inappropriate European farming methods. May we now show a collective will to care for this Country. I wish also that the Children of the Moon, the Malcoms and those who followed in their wake in this region, would return the stolen wealth to the Children of the Stars, the Ngarrindjeri. The very least we can do is repair the damage to their traditional Lands and Waters.