Dharmae: Upper Condamine River Oral History Collection (Talking Fish project)

This item represents a Study Region in Dharmae, the UTS Data Hub of Australian Research on Marine and Aquatic Ecocultures.

The data from this study region includes 12 oral histories (audio as mp3s, and transcripts) and 7 image galleries, as well as a georeferenced hand-drawn map of the area.

The Condamine River is one of the major tributaries of the Darling River System. It rises in the Border Ranges then makes its way along the eastern part of the Darling Downs region in Southern Queensland, becoming the Balonne River near Glenmorgan. It waters one of Queensland's richest agricultural regions. Intensive land use and development has resulted in a very different river to that of years ago. The floodplains are easily eroded and with the arrival of hoofed stock the Condamine River changed and now the catchment is degraded significantly. Over 60% of the aquatic habitat is now considered in poor condition.

Twenty thousand years ago, the Barunggam, Bigambul, Giabal, Kambuwal, Githabul and Jarowair people knew a different Condamine River that flowed year round. With much of the water in the Condamine River flowing underground, spring fed creeks and waterholes were permanent water sources utilised by fish and traditional owners alike.

(Source: Sarac, Z., Sewell, H., Ringwood, G. Baker, E. and Nichols, S. 2012. Upper Condamine: Talking fish, making connections with the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin. Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Canberra. )