The Murray River, or Millewa in Ngarrindjerri language or Tongala in Yorta Yorta language, is Australia’s second longest river; famed for its beauty and poetic impact, it has an enormous cultural, environmental role to play in the Albury region. 

The River Murray is contested space; the depth of cultural and spiritual significance of the river to the indigenous community over time is set against the environmental and social impact of colonisation in the Murray River region. Recent immigration and the growing population of Albury, coupled with the economic significance of the water environment of the Murray River to tourism in Albury region, further complexifies this timely and significant conversation. 

Albury is the largest settlement in the Central Murray catchment area of the Murray River and its frontage encompasses 1200 hectares of open space. Local government are currently developing foreshores and city frontage areas of the Murray River, as presented to the community in the Murray River Experience Plan (MREP). 

The health of the Murray River has declined significantly since European settlement, which is partly attributed to river regulation, or the process by which river water levels or the variability of river flows are controlled, to meet human demands for domestic and industrial water supplies, for irrigation agriculture, for hydroelectric power generation, for navigation, and for flood control and land drainage.

Much of the aquatic life including native fish such as the famed Murray Cod, are now declining or endangered. Introduced fish species, such as redfin perch and carp, have had negative impact on native fish population of the Murray River.

Australian rivers have changed greatly in the past two centuries, and ‘fish from elsewhere’ are both causes and symptoms of this change. The term ‘introduced species’, in the context of redfin perch, describes species from other continents that have been introduced in to Australian river systems. 

Over the last two centuries, technologies, trade and transportation have been able to breach biogeographic barriers that had isolated the freshwater environments of continents and catchments over millions of years. The study of biological invasions has become a theme in ecology, that responds to trends towards globalisation and biological homogenisation. Homogenisation of plant and animal groups is amongst the greatest threats to Earth’s biological diversity and ecosystem function. Climate change and invasive species are two of the  greatest threats to the biodiversity of the Earth. 

Redfin were introduced to Australia by an acclimatisation society in 1860. Acclimatisation societies were voluntary associations in the 19th and 20th centuries that encouraged the introduction of non-native species in various places around the world with the hope of their acclimatisation and adaptation. In the colonial context of Australia and New Zealand, this society had appeal on the basis that nostalgic colonists who desired to find familiar species.

Redfin were chosen for the purpose of recreational fishing, as they are a feisty, fighting fish and once caught, they are widely known to be delicious to eat amongst the freshwater fish species.

Redfin are now widespread across much of NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia and the south-western corner of Western Australia.

Redfin are voracious predators which consume a wide variety of fish and invertebrates, including small native species such as pygmy perch, rainbow fish and carp gudgeon, and the eggs and fry of larger fish such as silver perch, golden perch, Murray cod and introduced trout.

This predation can seriously impact populations of native species and trout, and hence can also affect recreational fisheries for these species. Redfin are capable of rapidly populating new waterways and in stable water bodies (such as lakes and dams) they can form very dense populations.

The Redfin perch is the main host for Epizootic Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus (EHNV), unique to Australia, the virus was first isolated in 1985 on Redfin perch. Native species such as Macquarie perch, Silver perch, trout and Mountain galaxias are among several species found to be extremely susceptible to the disease; as the main host, redfin has the capacity to  devastate native fish populations.

Redfin are considered a serious pest and in December 2010 redfin were listed as a Class 1 noxious species in NSW.

References:

Department of Primary Industries website, https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/pests-diseases/freshwater-pests/species/redfin-perch, (accessed 15th August 2018.)

 Harris J.H.’ Fish from elsewhere’. In: Ecology of Australian Freshwater Fish  (P.Humphries and K. Walker, eds) 32pp. CSIRO, Melbourne.

Dunlap, Thomas R. (1997). "Remaking the land: The Acclimatization Movement and Anglo Ideas of Nature". Journal of World History. 8 (2): 303–319. doi:10.1353/jwh.2005.0062.

Hume Dam, formerly the Hume Weir, is a major dam across the Murray River,  downstream of its junction with the Mitta River, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The purposes of the dam include flood mitigation, hydro-power, irrigation, water supply and conservation.

Hume Dam is jointly managed by Victorian and New South Wales authorities on behalf of the Murray Darling Basin Authority.. Goulburn-Murray Water manages water and land located in Victoria, and WaterNSW is responsible for day to day operation and maintenance.

The reservoir is called Lake Hume and functions as the major storage for the Murray River, it also re-regulates water from the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme. Lake Hume is the furthest upstream of the major reservoirs on the Murray River system and has the capacity to release water at the fastest rate. Irrigation authorities used the reservoir as the storage of first resort. The reservoir typically falls to less than one-third capacity by March each year, but in normal years refills to at least two-thirds capacity before November, though Australia's highly unpredictable climatic conditions cause these figures to vary quite significantly from year to year. 

The enormity of Lake Hume can be measured against its capacity to hold hold approximately six times the volume of water that can be found in Sydney Harbour.  

(reference Albury City Council)

The Murray River makes up most of the border between the states of Victoria and New South Wales. The border between the two states in the Albury/Wodonga region becomes complicated in the area of Lake Hume- it snakes through the river, effectively splitting the river in two.

The border line can be ambiguous, due to the shifting course of the river and also changes to the banks of the river. It has now however been legislated that the border sits along the top bank on the Victorian side, the Southern side. This means that the Murray River is within New South Wales border boundaries. The exception to this is Lake Hume, where the border splits the river down the middle.

The border line was drawn or demarcated as recently as 1980, when High Court of Australia settled the question as to which state had jurisdiction in the instance of the death of a man who was fishing by the edge of the river, on the Victorian side of Murray River.

A conviction was made for this crime, that was deemed to have taken place in Victoria. This conviction was however appealed and later set aside, on the basis that, through analysis and clear understanding of the border, the crime was instead determined to have taken place in New South Wales. This 1980 judgement was the first instance in which this state borders were clarified in colonial history, since 1855.

Numerous accounts of the Inconsistencies and irregularities across state jurisdictions, and the impact this has on the daily life of the residents of Albury Wodonga are known as ‘cross border anomalies’.

 Ward v R (1980) 142 CLR 308. Retrieved 6 April 2018

Further examples:

cross border anomaly 1

cross border anomaly 2

We have visited Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre a number of times. We met with Bernadette Zanet, who has contributed greatly to our understanding of Bonegilla and its function as a primary processing centre for migrants arriving in Australia during post -war immigration, and also the importance that Bonegilla as a place occupies in post-war Australian history.

Bonegilla was a camp set up for receiving and training migrants to Australia during the post World War II immigration boom; it opened in 1947 and was operating until 1971. The‘ national impact Bonegilla has had as a migrant centre. Bonegillawas the first stop in or Australian home for more than 300,000 migrants, from over 50 countries.

 The impact of Bonegilla is indicated by the extraordinary statistic that one in twenty Australians has a link to Bonegilla; or, put another way, one and a half million Australians are descended from migrants who spent time at Bonegilla. 

The site and its history is so well maintained and communicated by a group of volunteers at Bonegilla Migrant Experience, who are often descendants of original residents of Bonegilla. Bonegilla is a former army camp, and a migrant processing centre- it was to Bonegilla that new migrants arrived and waited whilst they were processed and allocated jobs. This huge site functioned as a quasi- village; it had a number of churches, banks sporting fields, a hospital, a police station and a railway platform. Block 19 of the original 24 housing blocks remains at the site; installed with artefacts and belongings, objects that have been left behind by the former inhabitants of Bonegilla, it is a poignant and moving experience to peer into what remains at this site, imagining the uncertainty and resilience of the people that spent time there, in their first few months in Australia.

The site of Bonegilla and its associated oral, written and pictorial records in the Bonegilla Collection at the Albury Library/Museum bring to light post-war immigration policies and procedures that changed the composition and size of the Australian population.

The Bethanga Bridge crosses the border between the New South Wales and Victoria, linking the Victorian towns of Bellbridge and Bethanga with Albury in New South Wales; it has a dual heritage listing in both states,

Bethanga Bridge is a road only bridge, meaning that currently, it is only able to be accessed and traversed by car, or a motor vehicle.

Current redevelopment plans at AlburyCity Council are being developed that have the intention of creating a pedestrian walkway,, one that will allow pedestrians to traverse the bridge and enable greater access between the two states. Crossing the state borders thereby crossing state borders and multiple NSW and Vistorian Council jurisdictions.

The Sentient project is privileged by the participation and influence of Sam Kirby, CEO of Albury & District Land Council, who has operated as a liaison for the project and allowed access to narratives of South East indigenous communities and relationships to the river.

The Wiradjuri nation  is the largest Indigenous Nation within NSW.  The boundary of the Wiradjuri Nation extends from Coonabarabran in the north, straddling the Great Dividing Range down to the Murray River and out to western NSW. Wiradjuri traditional country includes the townships of Dubbo, Condobolin, Orange, Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Narrandera, and Griffith.

The Albury & District Local Aboriginal Land Council is the first established and longest serving aboriginal organisation within the Albury District.

The principal client of NSWALC is a network of 119 Local Aboriginal Land Councils which collectively manage the range of support services delivered at local level to their communities. The Albury & District LALC established as a crucial constituent to that network.

Local Aboriginal Land Councils are autonomous bodies which are governed by boards elected by local Aboriginal community members, every 2 years. LALCs were established under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 as the elected representatives for Aboriginal people in NSW. This role extends beyond representation of the interests of Land Council members, to all Aboriginal people living in NSW.

The network of 121 Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs) is divided into nine regions.

LALCs work for their members and the wider Aboriginal community living in their local area. They assist in matters relating to the areas of housing, legal, employment and other day-to-day matters involving Aboriginal people in accordance with functions detailed under the Act.

The objective of each Local Aboriginal Land Council are to improve, protect and foster the best interests of all Aboriginal persons within the Council's area and other persons who are members of the Council.

reference: http://inttnpreview.wixsite.com/adlalc/about2

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