Here we look over a hairpin bend in the river. Nearby is Durumbuluwa, this is sacred Country to Dharug people, We can see Wuwami watching over the river from towering cliffs. Dharug educator Rhiannon Wright is our guide as we hear how Dharug people drove settlers away from Sackville in the initial frontier wars between 1796-1803. We learn about Dharug language of the rivers places, how Sackville has been a stronghold for Aboriginal people and how Kent Reach reserve, was one of two Aboriginal Reserves declared in the area in 1889. We hear of life on the Reserves and about some of the local Aboriginal & settler families, Tizzana Winery, Regattas on Sackville Reach and the Sackville bathtub - how the geography of this area means water backs up here in major floods. We learn of the 30-50 year flood cycle, the impact of flooding & farming & waterskiing. We

also hear of the children who rowed boats to school at Sackville North Public School, today Brewongle Environmental Education Centre.

STORIES TOLD BY (in order of appearance)

Jasmine Seymour, Dharug artist, writer & educator

Erin Wilkins, Dharug educator

Grace Karskens, Emeritus Professor of History at UNSW & author of “People of the River"

Leanne Mulgo Watson, Dharug artist

Rhiannon Wright, Dharug educator

Tamara Maisema, Dharug descendant of Nina Alice Barber

Phil Tuckerman, Hawkesbury local & descendant of Stephen Tuckerma of Sackville Reach

Michael Kemp, Hawkesbury local & descendant of Peter Kemp, Thomas Arndell & William Stubbs

Tom Hubble, Associate Professor of Geology, University of Sydney

Chester Smith, late of Lower Portland, farmer and caravan park owner, from an archival interview 1992 recorded by historian Sue Rosen, author of “Losing Ground: An environmental history of the Hawkesbury-Nepean

Catchment”

Ron Males, late of Colo, local and horse breeder

Aunty Joan Cooper, late Dharug elder, descendant of Ephraim Everingham

Colin Mitchell, Hawkesbury local & descendant of John Cross

Lola Hamilton, Hawkesbury local & descendant of Samuel Johnston

Richie Bensen, Senior Field Officer, National Parks & Wildlife

Service, Landcare Coordinator, Lower Portland

Uncle Dean Kelly, Yuin and Wailwan elder, NPWS Community Liaison Officer

DIRECTIONS:

Approx 1.2km return

Start at the Kent Reach reserve carpark off West Portland Rd, Sackville, walking to the fenced lookout. We then walk downstream (left) along the fire trail and continue along a walking track to to the left at the end of the trail, (providing the trail is open and safe).When you reach a cluster of large boulders, head back to where you started

ARTWORK:

Marri Badu Muru © Leanne Mulgo Watson 2022

MUSIC: “11 Stories from the River Dyarubbin”

© Oonagh Sherrard, with Dharug songs © Jasmine Seymour and © Stacy Jane Etal.

Musicians: Dimitri Vouros, Gary Daley, Jess Ciampa, Jasmine Seymour, Stacy Jane Etal, Oonagh Sherrard

ABOUT:

11 Stories from the River Dyarubbin is 11 audio walks along Dyarubbin - a collaborative public art work led by composer/ producer Oonagh Sherrard with Hawkesbury Regional Museum, Dharug Custodian Aboriginal

Corporation, WSU Sustainable Futures and Hawkesbury Historical Society.

Created with support from the NSW Government through Create NSW, Museums & Galleries NSW and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

⁠https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/museum/historical-walks/11-stories-from-the-river-dyarubbin⁠