#Barmera

[speedilydeepruins]

Lake Bonney (the Riverland) SA, never disappoints

[storycityapp]

Mix RPG with Google Street View armchair travel and you have Adventure Hour! Missed #AdventureHour on Fri with Rebecca Dawson? Never fear! You can listen to the episode via our podcast or Youtube feeds. Subscribe here to see if our first top-secret extra-terrestrial mission in the #countrytown of #Barmera was a success! See the link in bio to subscribe. This story was made in partnership with @riverlandyouththeatre #rpg #tabletoprpg #RPGpodcast #podcast #chooseyouradventure #adventurehour #storycity #game #gamepodcast #adelaide #australia #whattodoinadelaide #visitSA #economicdevelopment #econdev #jobcreation #innovation #businessdevelopment #tourism #tourismdevelopment #traveltourism #Renewalsa #barmera #southaustralia #barmera https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNy-oLrwlI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gunelle]

Photos and texts: @everlook_photography

1-. Storm swept at Motukiekie beach on the Wild West coast of New Zealand

2-. Abiqua falls in Oregon

3-. Anzac day 2011 at the boat shed at Dove Lake where a beautiful dawn unfolded

4-. Astride the Pinnacle at the Grampians Wonderland area. Victoria, Australia

5-. Beauchamp Falls in the Otway ranges is yet another beautiful spot on the Ocean Road

6-. Bonney blaze. Barmera jetty on a blustery winter evening that brought snow to South Australia in 2013

7-. Cuillin colours as seen from the amazing location Elgol in the Isle of Skye. Scotland

8-. Drop in birds! Combo of Robe and Mannum in this shot. South Australia

9-. Fjallzarlon in Iceland

10-. Glorious sidelight breaks through on a grey evening at Gibson Steps beach in summer 2014

11-. Half our luck! While we where driving to Skaftafell in Iceland this rainbow hung around for seemingly ages over Lomagnupur

12-. Hopetoun Falls in the Otway ranges

13-. Joffre falls in Karijini national park. Australia

14-. Kawakarpo or Meili Xueshan as seen from the town of Deqin in North Western Yunnan province China

15-. Manapouri Mystery. Kepler Track

16-. Mannum falls yesterday morning was flowing pretty well. I had problems with foggy filters though and forgot to bring wipes grrr. South Australia

17-. Mares Leg cove is beside the more famous Cathedral cove

18-. Milford sound on a beautiful morning in 2012. Bowers falls roaring away after rain the previous day

19-. Mona Vale tidal pool from a quick visit back in 2013 at the tail end of a NZ trip. Australia

20-. Moody morning at Eurobin creek at the base of Mount Buffalo. Victoria, Australia

21-. Motukiki beach on a crazy evening on the west coast of New Zealand in 2013

22-. Mount feathertop as seen from Mount Hotham early winter. Victoria, Melbourne

23-. Murphys Haystacks by night. South Australia

24-. On the edge of light. Grampians. Australia

25-. Palouse falls in Washington state was one of the most impressive scene I have witnessed especially standing near the edge and wandering down below

26-. Robe South Australia on a dramatic morning

27-. Rocks trolls live in Iceland, this one at Hvitserkur

28-. Sail rock at Cathedral cove was one of our favourite spots in New Zealand

29-. Stargate. Standing before two of the apostles on Gibsons steps beach in the darks is a highly recommended experience lol. Light was provided by a faint near new moon. Australia

30-. Stars of the storm. Taken a Motukiekie beach on the Wild West coast of New Zealand

[alexchadwick-abts2030-uq-y2023]

Connection to Country: Aboriginal Artists’ Responses to Climate Change 

I chose to examine Aboriginal artists visual responses to climate change because environmental issues in Australia are inherently tied to systemic coloniality as well as more broadly endured socio-cultural impacts. Indigenous peoples “greater exposure to the impacts of climate change” can be explained both through their “deep connection […] to place and culture” and a “heightened vulnerability owing to entrenched disadvantages and injustices” (Blashki, Bradshaw, Gardner, & Gergis, 2023, p. 36). As such, I want to reflect on four artworks to understand the logic of place in Aboriginal artists’ responses to environmental degradation: Nici Cumpston’s Lake Bonney Barmera – place of large water (2022) (Figure 1), Judy Watson’s string over water (alkurrji kingkarri wanami) (2019) (Figure 2), Megan Cope’s Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (On Country) (2022) (Figure 3) and Brian Martin’s Methexical Countryscape Wurundjeri #3 (2012) (Figure 4). 

I find enormous value in Louise Gwenneth Phillips’ and Tracy Bunda’s Research through, with and as storying (2018), which I imagine as a cross-cultural handbook that informs my ongoing research. The authors come “two-gather” to provide a complex, critical framework to engage in alternative means of knowledge-building through the act of ‘storying’ (Phillips & Bunda, 2018, p. 1). Phillips and Bunda (2019) describe storying as “the act of making and remaking meaning through stories”, as “living and active rather than fixed, archived products” (p. 7). Here, marginalised voices are accentuated by considering intersectional standpoints and unconventional methodologies. As an Anglo-Saxon woman who lives on the unceded lands of so-called Australia, I approach this topic from a largely academic perspective that draws upon first-hand knowledge from the selected Aboriginal artists. I rely upon First Nations stories because I do not wish to make assumptions about, nor impose my own biases upon, an evolving and variable culture(s). However, I would like to take this opportunity to critically reflect upon my unique reception on these works to highlight my potential (mis)understandings. As I will attempt to express myself through a storying research framework, the following text will present as creative exploration. This will demonstrate the development of my understandings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

For me, Cumpston’s Lake Bonney Barmera - place of large water presents as an abstracted, apocalyptic landscape. The long-dead, scrabbly trees almost seem parched as they sink heavily into an expansive body of still water. Cumpston’s multimedia style combines the inherent realism of photography with the intimacy of hand-colouring, creating an eerie presence. Even as the horizon softly blazes, recalling devasting Australian wildfires, it seems almost hopeful too. Perhaps that is the call of flourishing lands, because there seems to be a forest just out of reach. Here, Lake Bonney Barmera - place of large water highlights the conflict that pervades the public sphere: while disaster lies around us, we can still see an attainable future. There still exists trees to be cut down and coal to be extracted. Yet Cumptson foregrounds the destruction of the present moment, the damage that her Country has survived. This immediacy demands the viewer to problematise their worldview throughout closer, more careful reflection. I relate to this image through a comparison of the land around my own home, whose unpredictable weather patterns often leave communities devastated after ‘natural’ disasters. I think this is a powerful strategy to approach the highly contested and emotionally conflicted issues of climate change. She offers an adaptable access point that individuals can engage with, inviting audiences to reflect on their own story. Yet this personal exploration remains mediated by the artist’s visual stimulus. This keeps one’s reception grounded by one’s relation to Cumpston’s worldview. As such, further critical analysis of the artwork should take into consideration the coloniality of Australian landscapes. 

Watson’s string over water (alkurrji kingkarri wanami) follows a different pathway: this artwork traverses the concept of memory as a link between matrilineal ties and lands. The artwork positions audiences underneath a rippling surface that emphasises the ephemerality of Country – from elusive fragments of open sky to sinuous string that delicately unwinds. This string reflects traditional Waanyi practices where hair follicles are rolled to absorb oils and subsequently woven. As such, the string holds the memory of ancestors. Watson’s creative inquiry into the role of memory extends to that of Waanyi Country, where she understands water as an inherent, enduring quality that will remember its original pathway (QAGOMA, 2020). Unfortunately, this phenomenon is not always allowed. These pathways are often forcibly displaced or altered: poisons from agricultural runoffs or mining effects water quality and imposed infrastructure redefines its form. I see this darkness within string over water (alkurrji kingkarri wanami) where deep hues seep into the work from the bottom right corner. Here, visual strategies animate dialogue around environmental action where she promotes a custodial approach: Country should be appreciated as a living entity to encourage active conservation and sustainable practices. This standpoint directly opposes Western perspectives surrounding environmental interaction, which ‘knows’ land as an inanimate object available for ownership.

In Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (On Country), Cope engages with the concept of memory in an alternative way: she participates in the ongoing, transgenerational storying of Country where she creates a sustainable, eco-activist project. Located near Myora, an intertidal area, Cope has secured numerous hand built sculptural “sea gardens” in an effort to heal Country (Cope, n.d.). Her work is grounded by the environmental degradation she stands witness to throughout Quandamooka Country (Stradbroke Island, Queensland), in particular the diminished population of oyster reefs. This is a direct impact of the extractive settler-colonial practices that were imposed after Australian invasion (ABC Arts, 2022). Where oyster reefs provide habitats as mineral-rich, carbon-capturing filtration organisms, large-scale depletion has had notable consequences on surrounding ecosystems (ABC Arts, 2022). As such, Cope has engaged in a radical approach to artistic activism: her living sculpture works as an innovative, functional habitat restoration project. Through caring for Country, Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (On Country) contributes to an ongoing storying of Aboriginal creative inquiry: where she foregrounds custodianship, Cope pledges resistance to the colonial project by regenerating ancestorial practices to offset the consequences of climate change. 

Martin’s highly theoretical strategy toward environmental action, as presented in Methexical Countryscape Wurundjeri #3, is grounded by an embodied, ‘methexical’ visual storying of Country: that is, the performative “reverberation of bringing something into being” (CLIMARTE, 2021). This artwork is made up of thirty individual hand-drawn canvases that depicts a ‘Bunggabi’ (tree) on Wurundjeri Country (CLIMARTE, 2021). I think it is interesting that the artist presented the work in charcoal, which typically dims its subject. However, I find this decision emphasises the sculptural forms of the land and emphasises its diverse ecological features. Here, Martin effectively transforms embodied knowledge into visual data to animate Country as a subject. I find Martin’s conceptual grounds difficult to engage with, which might speak to my limited perspective as a non-Indigenous person more than the difficulty of the philosophy. Yet I can grasp this idea when thinking about the nature of storytelling as animating something intangible. In Methexical Countryscape Wurundjeri #3, Martin relies on the visual embodiment of memory to story the land into being. As such, Methexical Countryscape Wurundjeri #3 presents as an immersive, intersubjective aesthetic experience. 

I have also drawn from Kombu-merri and Waka Waka philosopher Mary Graham’s Some Thoughts About the Philosophical Underpinnings of Aboriginal Worldviews (2008) where the author critically assesses the singular nature of Aboriginal ontology. She beautifully expresses the inextricable role of Country in human life, where she explains that “[b]ecause land is sacred and must be looked after, the relations between people and land becomes the template for society and social relations” (Graham, 2008, p. 106). I would like to approach my critical essay with her writing in the back of my mind as this underlying ontology can be seen to pervade each Aboriginal artists’ expression of Country. I also found this an important truth to live by, particularly in a time when many people feel disconnected from each other. We can look to heal our relationships by first healing the lands upon which we live. This perspective provides an alternative worldview to concepts born from the Anglosphere that are ingrained within white Australian culture and government. For example, the supposed limitless resource of natural environments that allows for endless extraction. This utilitarian language purposefully strips ecologies of the possibility, or inherent existence, of a meaningful relationship between people and place. As such, the model for social relationships is strictly functional. Graham’s text offers an alternative structure that foregrounds sensuous understanding of the land as well as our reciprocal dependence for existence. I find this concept of embodied knowledge is often brought up in discussions around Aboriginal artwork, which I think speaks to the depth of artists connection with their world. As such, I would like to turn to an important moment that influenced my understanding of Aboriginal cultural expression.

In January 2020, The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) hosted a significant event in affiliation with their current interdisciplinary exhibition ‘Water’. The discussion panel, titled “Traditional Responses to Contemporary Problems”, connected Aboriginal artists Watson, Cope, and Wiradjuri woman Nicole Foreshew with Bundjalung and Kullilli host Daniel Browning. Their extensive dialogue took me on a journey to each artists homeland to examine the conditions of their Country in our collective, global climate emergency. Their acts of storying built a web of connection between the audience and each other through the intimacy of sharing and listening (Phillips & Bunda, 2018). This process foregrounded embodied knowledge and evolving relationalities by honouring sensational presence over cognitive perception (Phillips & Bunda, 2018). I found learning about this alternative way of being transformed my understanding of Aboriginal worldviews, as well as broader discourse around knowledge. Using this framework to examine the work of Aboriginal artists will allow for genuine insight into both their practice and intentions. 

[stellarheartart]

Lake Bonney, Barmera, South Australia.

[seeker372011]

Day 11- homeward bound

We left the Eyre peninsula headed to Renmark on the Murray river,and as we drove from Port Augusta the blue of the Gulf Spencer and the grey and reddish brown of the Flinders Ranges sang their beguiling siren song entreating us not to leave.

But leave we did, driving without pause till a few kms out of Burra when we pulled over to take a photo of the Midnight Oil house; and then again very briefly at the lookout at Morgan, where we were offered fine views of the Murray, still very full and flowing fast though perhaps not as fast as it was when we passed this way 10 days ago.

Our first real stop was at Lake Bonney in Barmera where we drove a bit around the lake and discovered that Donald Campbell, back in 1964 had attempted to break the world water speed record on Lake Bonney, (he was unsuccessful). He reached 347.5 km/h but the lake was too small and the waves created by the speeding vehicle - the Bluebird-were too dangerous.

There is a Bluebird cafe on the lake front honouring this attempt.

We were tempted to head on to the Banrock Station- not far away but it was just too hot and uncomfortable, so we drove on to Berri, duly impressed by the enormous facilities of the Berri Estates and the many other vineyards along the way.

We stopped at the river, near the bridge, but the heat had completely sapped our energy.

With no enthusiasm for any more exploring we headed to our Caravan park in Renmark to settle down for the night, all worn out.

The minimum tonight is supposed to be 37 deg C . And we have no air conditioning….

Tomorrow is another scorcher.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

A spider hunting at night, Lake Bonney, Barmera, South Australia

Photographer: William Godward

[fisherken]

Bonney colours by austr07 Via Flickr: Sunset time at Lake Bonney in South Australia. Three shifted shots with perspective control lens.

[speedilydeepruins]

The Blue Hour in Lake Bonney, SA

[storycityapp]

Join us this Fri 7pm MST/ Sat 1pm AEDT for Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creators. Will our first mission as a secret extraterrestrial agent end in victory or flames with creator Rebecca Dawson? Tune in to find out at the link in the bio. #adventure #livestream #twitch #podcast #rpg #tabletoproleplay #chooseyouradventure #adventurehour #storycity #barmera #southaustralia #riverland https://www.instagram.com/p/CovHkgByTnC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[foreverstudentblog]

A visit to the #barmera display of the WWII #lovedayinternmentcamp today. There are few buildings or remnants of the camp left but the video contains original footage. It's almost forgotten history. We stopped at #swanreachsa for an impromptu lunch at #swanreachtavern before taking the ferry across the river. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQTN-oxL9AW/?utm_medium=tumblr

[adsab]

Lake Bonney, South Australia.

[travel-in-pictures]

Barmera, South Australia, Australia 

by Dylan Toh & Marianne Lim from Australia 

Source | Google Maps

[1picaday2014]

a river system at breaking point

I last photographed along the Murray River in 2019 when I explored the area around Lake Bonney, Barmera and the Overland Corner in South Australia. I had intended to return to Lake Bonney with a large format camera, then the Covid-19 pandemic happened. I haven’t returned to the river since. It is time I did so. I have started reading though. I am currently reading Margaret Simons’ quarterly…

[aussiewalkabout]

Use caution if recreating!

This sign was put up several years ago when Lake Bonney was cut off from the River Murray (dark days). It has since been reconnected.