Harnessing The River Murray

Harnessing the River Murray

This book celebrates the lives of those who were involved in the works which flowed from the River Murray Waters Act of 1915. The focus is on the first nine locks and weirs which were built by South Australia over a period of twenty years. Combining oral history and archival research, Helen Stagg shares stories of the construction communities whose itinerant lifestyle led to them being referred to as 'the great wandering class'. However, the communities are shown to have been relatively settled with their own school and with an active social and sporting calendar. Dances, silent movies, horse races, carnivals and occasional visiting entertainers provided a balance for the difficult living and working conditions. Health care was precarious and hardship affected many; work-time was reduced, accidents were common and tragedy took a toll but the people faced these issues together. The second part of the book consists of the memories of seven people who were children of lock builders. In addition, there are details of over 500 accidents, petitions signed by the lock families for services and a chronology of events. Today, irrigation and a reliable water supply sustain towns and cities along the Murray River and scores of riverboats enjoy ready transit through the locks. This book provides an insight into the life and times of the resilient people who harnessed the River Murray between 1915 and 1935.

Harnessing the River Murray

Murray

The Murray River is in crisis, and faces an uncertain future. In this evocative book, Paul Sinclair explores the reasons why the river has become degraded, and what these changes have meant to Australians. This in-depth study of the Murray River examines the changing cultural meanings of the river: the practical forgetfulness which has eroded the Aboriginal presence; the triumphant narratives in which a supposedly empty land is made purposeful by the life-giving powers of the Murray; the passion to make the river's flow predictable and to replace 'primitive' forces with a domesticated and balanced landscape. The focus is on shifts and changes. Sinclair describes the brief heyday of the riverboats and their transformation into a tourist attraction; the decline of the mighty Murray cod and the rise of the European carp; and the changing fortunes of the river towns. He demonstrates that 'progress' is often a myth, and that ecological degradation always has cultural costs. This is an innovative cultural and environmental history, about landscape and fish, memory and concepts, imagination and desire. Through a complex interweaving of history, analysis, poetry, art, and individuals' recollections, Paul Sinclair has created an original and subtly conceived work, offering imaginative space to think about land and water in new ways. Fishermen, farmers, tourists, environmentalists, lovers of the Australian landscape—all these people will want to read this beautifully written book. It will be an essential resource for those directly involved in the future of the Murray River, contributing to the larger debate about Australia's threatened environment.