Hurry Save The Murray!

What a day! The Embassy staff was up and at it by 8.00 a.m. Embassy Head Quarters was bedecked with banners; under the green turtle umbrella, the tube-worm encrusted turtles were dramatic evidence of the high salinity levels of the Lakes; the flag poles were secured, fires set, display boards finalised and, by 8.30am, the first visitors had arrived - one by boat with the message that we had support in Goolwa. The Ngarrindjeri arrived by bus and car: aunties, uncles, grandparents and grannies (grandchildren). The crowd gathered at the Look Out on the cliff at Clayton Bay. They came from around the lake, from Meningie and Narrung, from up river from Mannum, from Adelaide, Milang, Langhorne Creek, Strathalbyn, the Adelaide Hills and Germany. The wind came up. No rain, just a sign we should start.

Ngarrindjeri welcome: We counted 250 people on a windy cliff as Ngarrindjeri elder Major Sumner, in full ceremonial mode, clicked the boomerangs, called to the ancestors of the Ngarrindjeri and the settler population to come down and to join us. Elder Tom Trevorrow spoke of our need to stand together and the Ngarrindjeri opposition to the construction of more weirs. The ti-tree smokey fire enveloped the crowd and then, at the invitation of Tom Trevorrow, we walked through the healing smoke.

Flag raising: Next we raised the flags: the Ngarrindjeri flag for the traditional owners of the land; the Australian flag to emphasise that we were at the end of Australia’s River; and the Lower River Murray flag. Framed between the Ngarrindjeri flag and Australian flag, the approach road on Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) was a scar on the landscape.

Why an Embassy?: Diane Bell invited the crowd to help build the Embassy.  “It’s a Community project,” she said. “We needed to feel we could do something together. The pain, sorrow, anguish and loss of those who live here, care for and love this country is palpable. We see the changes on a daily basis. We see the consequences of decades of mismanagement and over-allocation. We are asked to watch and listen as the bulldozers edge forward on Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) and next week begin to dump rocks and clay into this stretch of water.  Then the pumps will start. We need to be able to say this is not OK. We are watching. This is not being done in our name. We need you to understand what is happening.” Continue reading the welcoming speech…welcome-june-28

Building an Embassy: The Embassy staff, who had worked on the “Sea of Statements” set out the corflutes along the cliff edge and extended an invitation to those present to write their own messages.

Establishing diplomatic relations with others: The Fresh Water Embassy was acknowledged and diplomatic relations were sought and accepted: Mayor Kym McHugh, Alexandrina Council, David Winderlich, Democrat, MLC, Mark Parnell, Australian Greens, MLC, Trevor Hammond for Adrian Pederick, MP. Peter Smith brought greetings from the Murray-Darling Basin Association and Peter Laffin from the Salt Water Friends of St Vincent’s Gulf.

The Ambassador arrives: Ngori (the pelican) had been sighted earlier in the day in Clayton Bay and over the water, but as the speeches were being made, Ngori swooped low over the assembled group, flew through the smoke and headed off to visit the fresh water of the tributaries.

Tea and scones at HQ: The crowd walked down the hill and were greeted by Gloria and Henry Jones’ hospitality. At HQ people were able to explore the information of the display boards, learn more of the turtle project run by the school children, heard from Keith Walker, fresh water ecologist, and Carole Richardson, Bioremediation Project Officer. Then we planted native grasses of the local region on the foreshore. This will be part of the educational function of the Embassy and we will be monitoring the growth.

More photos posted June 30.

WE HAVE AN EMBASSY!