MACQUARIE PARK AUDIO WALK : 11 Stories from the River Dyarubbin

Listen to stories of Dyarubbin / The Hawkesbury River and original music and song they have inspired as you walk along the river at Macquarie Park in Freeman's Reach, NSW, Australia or from the comfort of wherever you are... Dharug students Lyra, Jayden & Indiana & Dharug educator Rhiannon Wright are our guides as we hear about the Dharug relationship with the river and Aunty Edna Watson's engraving here. We learn about colonisation & frontier war, it's ongoing impact on Dharug people and culture, and Governor Macquarie. We listen to stories of farming, flooding and riverbank erosion; Windsor Beach and the safety of swimming here; eels and fishing; regattas, rowing and boating. We hear about sand dredging, the river’s health, riverbank ecology, vegetation, micro-plastics and the Hawkesbury-Nepean Water-keeper Alliance. We learn about the meandering nature of rivers and the path of Gurangady the Great Eel / Creator Being.

Students from Windsor High share the inspiration the river gives them and some of their work.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Listeners are advised this audio walk contains stories of historical violence, Aboriginal people now resting in the dreaming & the voice of a recently departed Dharug community elder. DIRECTIONS: Starting near the second car park, just beyond the children’s playground, we walk down to the big Jacaranda tree, then downstream (left) into the stand of Casuarinas to Aunty Edna’s engraving. We then head up the bank towards the concrete path outside the park’s entrance that takes us to the viewing platform over the river. We follow the path under the new bridge then head back into the park returning to the Jacaranda tree. From there we walk upstream towards the steps that take us down to the jetty. We walk either along the beach or at the top of the river bank before returning to where we started. GUESTS: (in order of appearance:) Leanne Mulgo Watson, Dharug artist Grace Karskens, Emeritus Professor of History UNSW Aunty Edna Watson, Dharug elder & the late Uncle Allan Watson Tony Thoms, local resident and grandson of 1950s Boat hire proprietor Bruce Thoms Hon. Kevin Rozzoli, Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 1973-2003, representing the Hawkesbury Dr Ian Wright, Associate Professor in Water Science, Western Sydney University Jen Dollin, Head of Sustainability Education, Western Sydney University Michael Kemp, Hawkesbury local, rower and descendant of Regatta Champion Peter Kemp Erin Wilkins, Dharug educator Gil Jones, Geologist and author “Wasteland Wilderness Wonderland” The late Ron Males, Hawkesbury local Darron Blanch, Hawkesbury local Arthur Parkes, Richmond Lowlands Farmer, from archival interview recorded 1992 by historian Sue Rosen, author “Losing Ground: An environmental history of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment” Dr Michelle Ryan, Lecturer Ecology and Environmental Science, Western Sydney University and Hawkesbury Nepean Water keeper Art and Music students from Windsor High School years 8-10, 2019 ARTWORK: Marri Badu Muru © Leanne Mulgo Watson 2022 MUSIC:

“11 Stories from the River Dyarubbin” © Oonagh Sherrard, with Dharug songs © Jasmine Seymour and © Stacy Jane Etal. Musicians: Dimitri Vouros, Gary Daley, Jess Ciampa, Jasmine Seymour, Stacy Jane Etal, Oonagh Sherrard

ABOUT: A collaborative public art work led by composer/ producer Oonagh Sherrard with Hawkesbury Regional Museum, Dharug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation, WSU Sustainable Futures and Hawkesbury Historical Society. Created with support from the NSW Government through Create NSW, Museums & Galleries NSW and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its Arts funding and advisory body. FURTHER INFORMATION: ⁠https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/museum/historical-walks/11-stories-from-the-river-dyarubbin⁠⁠

WATCH EPISODE ON YOU TUBE:

⁠https://youtu.be/-blgOraUuNs⁠