Flowing Loops

Dan Koop
Flowing Loops

www.flowingloops.com Dan Koop & six artists have been walking & talking looking for flows, loops and lines while following the route of the Suburban Rail Loop through suburban Melbourne from Cheltenham to Box Hill. This podcast traces our journey and highlights some of the amazing locals we encountered who have shared special insight and knowledge of these places. We acknowledge we've been walking Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country of the Kulin Nations where sovereignty was never ceded nor treaty negotiated and pay our respects to Elders and knowledge holders of past, present and future.

  1. 6B - Box Hill - Surrey Park Dive with Ria Soemardjo and John from the Surrey Park Model Boat Club

    MAR 19

    6B - Box Hill - Surrey Park Dive with Ria Soemardjo and John from the Surrey Park Model Boat Club

    The final steps of Dan & Ria’s journey towards Box Hill pass through Surrey Park, near Elgar and Canterbury Rds, where an old clay quarry is now filled with water and life. The Surrey Park Model Boat Club meets at Surrey Park Lake every Wednesday and Sunday to sail their incredibly detailed hand made model boats. We talk to Vice Commodore John about the Club community, their boats and his personal history at The Dive. www.spmbc.org.au The Surrey Dive was the antecedent of the swimming pool that’s now next door, providing a place to cool off and swim after the clay quarry and the brickworks had closed. The chimney of the Surrey Brickworks still looks over the lake and the Box Hill Standard Brick can be seen all over Box Hill and features heavily in the landscape design at Box Hill Gardens where our walking journey concludes. www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-12/curious-melbourne-history-of-surrey-dive-veritable-death-trap/9285176  www.vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/154  www.bricksinvictoria.blogspot.com/2013/11/box-hill-standard-brick.html Listen to the end to hear Ria Soemardjo’s sonic response to her time walking and talking, following the flows, loops and lines of the Suburban Rail Loop East. Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com  This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

    34 min
  2. 6A - Box Hill - Gardiners Creek Trail conservation with Ria Soemardjo and the Urban Guerrillas

    MAR 19

    6A - Box Hill - Gardiners Creek Trail conservation with Ria Soemardjo and the Urban Guerrillas

    Ria Soemardjo joins the final leg of the Cheltenham to Box Hill journey, starting just north of the Burwood Highway beside Deakin University. We walk along the KooyongKoot via the Gardiners Creek Trail, pausing to talk about conservation and community building with the Urban Guerrillas.  Ria Soemardjo is a musician with a passion for collaborating with artists across a diverse range of genres and artforms. Her distinct, haunting vocal style reflects her Australian / Indonesian cultural heritage and she draws on her fascination for Indonesian musical traditions in her song writing and collaborative projects. www.riavoice.com The Urban Guerrillas have a ground-up approach to environmental engagement to bring about change for the environment. They strive to reintroduce and restore Indigenous biodiversity back into urban landscapes and while doing so, invite and encourage young community members, of all ability and background, to take part and learn about their local environment. See what they're up to next via social media… www.linktr.ee/urbanguerrillas www.instagram.com/urbanguerrillas.official  www.facebook.com/groups/1675307332814276 The Urban Guerrillas and Friends of Gardiners Creek Reserve are both members of the KooyongKoot Alliance. www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofgardinerscreek  www.kka.org.au/about-us/members/friend-groups  Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com  This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

    29 min
  3. 5B - Burwood - Local History Park with Emily Bowman and Yin Paradies (Wakaya)

    MAR 18

    5B - Burwood - Local History Park with Emily Bowman and Yin Paradies (Wakaya)

    As Dan and Emily approach Deakin University we pause to consider time at the Local History Park alongside the Gardiners Creek Reserve south of Burwood Highway, where we walk, talk and drift between timescales with animist-anarchist-actionist Yin Paradies.  Yin is a Wakaya man who is Chair in Race Relations and Professor at Deakin University where he researches the effects of racism, anti-racism theory, Indigenous knowledges and decolonisation. Yin is also a custodian of the Anam Cara Homestead in the Yarra Valley. www.experts.deakin.edu.au/1159-yin-paradies www.crisconsortium.org/yin-paradies www.anamcarahomestead.com.au  We mention how Green Bee, led by Rebecca Jensen & Caitlin Dear and hosted at Dancehouse, inspired us with their series of working sessions to create and take climate action through a mix of art, advocacy, action, discussion, and practical support of local campaigns. www.dancehouse.com.au/programs/the-green-bee The Local History Park is worth a walk and can be found along the Gardiners Creek south of the Burwood Highway. Geosculpture (1993) can be found just north of Highbury Rd and is by Building Artists - Kirsten & Eric Hoak, Stone Mason Jim Charlwood, Fabrication Pizzey Engineering. www.monash.vic.gov.au/Things-to-Do/Parks-Recreation/Gardiners-Creek-Trail-Shared-Path www.melbourneplaygrounds.com.au/whitehorse-street-and-public-art  This conversation with Yin about place-time led us to some more fascinating research being undertaken at Deakin University via the The Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab led by Dr Tyson Yunkaporta & Dr John Davis and contributed to by many other researchers and knowledge holders. www.ikslab.deakin.edu.au/2022/07/12/experimenting-with-an-indigenous-model-of-time/  Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com  This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

    31 min
  4. 5A - Burwood - Damper Creek friends & family with Emily Bowman and Di & Rebecca

    MAR 14

    5A - Burwood - Damper Creek friends & family with Emily Bowman and Di & Rebecca

    In the first of our Burwood walks Dan and Emily Bowman venture deeper into the Kooyong Koot catchment through suburbs and school zones, stopping to smell the roses along the way. Amongst this everyday scene we stumble across Damper Creek, an urban oasis nestled between busy roads and suburban houses. Here we chat with locals Di & Rebecca who have had longstanding relationships with this beautiful stretch of creeklands. Emily Bowman is a dance artist, performer, choreographer, teacher, and researcher. While walking from Glen Waverley to Burwood Emily shares insights into her research methods in her PhD with Deakin University that explores how embodied acts of attention and eco-somatic practices can teach us about the world. www.linktr.ee/embowman  Di & Rebecca have lived alongside the Damper Creek for generations and now contribute to the conservation of the area through the Friends of Damper Creek. Di is now the President and Rebecca is undertaking ecology studies after finding lifelong inspiration in the ecosystem of the creek just beyond her back fence - just one more example of the community forged through place and staying connected through the Kooyong Koot Alliance. www.friendsofdampercreek.org.au  www.kka.org.au/about-us/members/friend-groups  Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com  This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

    27 min
  5. 4B - Glen Waverley - Scotchmans Creek with David Sornig and Graham Ross of the KooyongKoot Alliance

    FEB 14

    4B - Glen Waverley - Scotchmans Creek with David Sornig and Graham Ross of the KooyongKoot Alliance

    In this final episode in our Glen Waverley series Dan & David continue a meandering walk alongside the KooyongKoot catchment of the Scotchmans Creek. We pause on the fringe of the Scotchmans Creek Valley Reserve with Graham Ross, the convener of the KooyongKoot Alliance of Friends groups looking to preserve and improve the catchment. See the many community groups working together by checking out the KKA website and lend your hands to the blossoming relationships across the catchment. www.kka.org.au/about-us/members/friend-groups  www.scotchmanscreekfriends.org.au We discuss how the KooyongKoot Alliance embraced local First Nations language in it’s own name, and the curious use of newer Scottish words, acknowledging the deep histories of Country, landscape and more recent histories. We’re big fans of Gary Presland’s writing on the natural histories of Melbourne and surrounding suburbs, so check out his work and see what you can learn about where you live. To see where this community building meets citizen science take a look at the Victorian National Parks Association’s various Nature Stewards programs. www.kka.org.au/kooyongkoot/history www.garypresland.com.au/the-place-for-a-village www.vnpa.org.au/programs/nature-stewards-3  Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com  This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

    26 min
  6. 4A - Glen Waverley - KooyongKoot with David Sornig and Professor Brian Martin (Bundjalung, Kamilaroi, Muruwari)

    FEB 14

    4A - Glen Waverley - KooyongKoot with David Sornig and Professor Brian Martin (Bundjalung, Kamilaroi, Muruwari)

    At the half-way point in our journey we move from sandy saltwater Country of the Boon Wurrung peoples, towards clay freshwater Country of the Wurundjeri peoples around the KooyongKoot catchment. In this episode we are joined by David Sornig to begin walking the Glen Waverley leg, pausing at a confluence of streams to talk with Professor Brian Martin (Bundjalung, Kamilaroi, Muruwari) about his relationships with Country through his incredible hand drawn portraits of significant trees. David Sornig’s writing has always focused upon notions of place, often walking as a way to write. You can read his award winning book Blue Lake (2018) and also listen to an ABC Radio adaptation that delves into the various histories around the West Melbourne Swamp. www.davidsornig.com/blue-lake  www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-history-listen/the-blue-lake/10944060  Professor Brian Martin (Bundjalung, Kamilaroi, Muruwari) introduces us to his Methexical Countryscape charcoal drawings and the ideas of Country and culture that inspire these stunning portraits. His work includes exhibitions with several galleries and research projects with Monash University that explore the connection between Indigenous Knowledges and contemporary research. www.moragalleries.com.au/bmartin/brian_martin-wurundjuri_7.html  www.monash.edu/muma/research/deadly-learning/artists/brian-martin  www.monash.edu/mada/art/people/brian-martin  www.monash.edu/mada/wominjeka-djeembana/academic-research/repairing-memory-and-place  www.museumsvictoria.com.au/media/22702/mtat_catalogue_spread_2023.pdf  Since this conversation Brian was part of a team that made a powerful cultural exchange by returning a Gamilaraay dhulu sacred tree home after 80-plus years in a Swiss museum collection. www.monash.edu/mada/news/2024/tree-of-knowledge-sacred-dhulus-return-to-country-carves-pathways-of-understanding  You can see images of the marked tree from Valley Reserve that we discuss at the Monash Public Library collection. www.flickr.com/photos/monlib/28304840644  Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com  This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

    31 min

About

www.flowingloops.com Dan Koop & six artists have been walking & talking looking for flows, loops and lines while following the route of the Suburban Rail Loop through suburban Melbourne from Cheltenham to Box Hill. This podcast traces our journey and highlights some of the amazing locals we encountered who have shared special insight and knowledge of these places. We acknowledge we've been walking Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country of the Kulin Nations where sovereignty was never ceded nor treaty negotiated and pay our respects to Elders and knowledge holders of past, present and future.

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