Sunday 18 August: It All Depends On Who Is Writing The History Of The Ord River

- August 19, 2024

This afternoon Ian, Elizabeth and Gayle sailed on the Ord River, which was dammed in 1963 for what has turned out to be a largely failed agriculture irrigation scheme. The river environment was significantly altered but still has its beauty including its flora and fauna.

Perhaps it's not a smile after all. (Gayle's camera has a very powerful zoom lens)

This is called a Jesus Bird, because it appears to walk on water.

Sea-eagle

Cat Fish

The dam wall that created Lake Argyle

There are two signs at the Kununurra Marina about the damming of the Ord River.

Diversion Dam - Impact on Indigenous Culture: The Diversion Dam was built on a rock bar called Darram in the language of the Miriwoong people, the traditional owners of this land. This site has been of cultural significance to the Miriwoong since the time of creation (sometimes known as "Dreamtime"). According to an ancient story, the white crane (jalareng) was fishing in the river but it was hard to catch the fish, so he built a fish trap using-the rock bar and caught fish by stunning them with marlawarn (river mangrove). Part of the rockbar cannot be seen-any more as the Diversion Dam was built on top of it but the place will always remain important to the Miriwoong people. You can still see the white crane here looking for fish. Before the dams were completed, the flow of water in the Ord River was subject to seasoņal changes. What was an impassable river in the wet season turned into a little stream with crossings and spacious river banks in the dry. The damming of the Ord River had an impact on the lifestyle of the Miriwoong. In the old days, people used to wander all the way up the river over long periods of time. They knew every inch along the river and survived using traditional hunting and fishing techniques and looking for bush tucker.

The construction of the two dams made the seasonal changes disappear. As tracks and camps were inundated, it was no longer possible to walk along the river. Some fish species such as the Barramundi, disappeared from the Upper Ord as well and eventually the Miriwoong people had tó break with their tradition of walking up the river which had been part of their lives for centuries. To find Barramundi, the Miriwoong people now walk the Lower Ord, most of them using less traditional methods - though some people sill go out to catch fish with a spear. (Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre)

Ord River Diversion Dam: The Ord River Diversion Dam, also known as the Kununurra Diversion Dam, was completed in 1963 to supply water to the Ord River Irrigation Area. The dam was built on Bandicoot Bar, a site of cultural significance for the Miriwoong people, who know this place as Darram. The construction of the dam and the channel irrigation network marked the first stage of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme which then led to the establishment of Kununurra as the service centre for the scheme. The structure provides over 758 billion litres of water (the equivalent of over 303,000 Olympic swimming pools) to around 21,000 hectares of prime agricultural land, which is used for horticulture, cropping, forestry and animal industries.” (Water Corporation)