How flat is my Valley

The Lachlan Valley in New South Wales

Sunset after the flood 2/3/2023. Environmental water flowing past My home on 703 River Road lake Cargelligo to protect the lower Lachlan from the sudden

dry

Galari ( Lachlan River)

It is the basis of my book Cargelligowetlands(see LachlanRiverlung.com) this Lachlan River in Central Western New South Wales . The large piece of prose in the book “Bastardisation of a magical river” looks at it from Oxley’s Diary angle and my angle expounding it’s flatness. It’s flatness are unique feature of a river that runs over most of its length.

Bastardisation of a magical river revisited

We didn’t realise it’s magical ability to store water through its whole length.

Bastardisation by coloniser Creations for convenience.

Made from shortsighted civilisations Returning negative results to our precious environment.

This essay:

I’m using Oxley’s journal of his journey down the Lachlan in 1817 to find out the true nature of this once pristine unique River System.

I’m using this approach to show where we have gone wrong.

This maybe an aid in embracing some of the rights and fixing some of the wrongs.

My comment: The following paragraph is the description by Oxley on his arrival on the Bathurst plains in 1817. Perfect example of how early settlers overran the excellent food resources maintained in a sustainable way for millions of years by the aboriginals at the very top of the western catchments.

Journal 14th April:: Bathurst had assumed a very different appearance since I first visited it in

the suite of his excellency the Governor in 1815. The industrious hand of man had been busy in improving the beautiful works of nature; a good substantial house for the superintendant had been erected, the government grounds fenced

in, and the stack-yards showed that the abundant produce

of the last harvest had repaid the labour bestowed on its culture. The fine healthy appearance of the flocks and herds was a convincing proof

how admirably adapted these extensive downs and thinly wooded hills are for grazing, more particularly of sheep. The mind dwelt with pleasure on the idea that at no very distant period these secluded plains would be

covered with flocks bearing the richest fleeces, and contribute in no small degree to the prosperity of the eastern settlements.

My comment: Aborigines. There hunting ground decimated for the woollen mills of Britain

My comment: The following paragraph of Oxley’s journey gives an example fire control the aboriginals of the Lachlan tribes practised. The other items mentioned is the drainage by limestone to take water under ground into the aquifer. The beginning of what I’m trying to explain about water the whole length of the system being stored

Journal 23rd of April: The timber standing at wide intervals, without any brush or undergrowth, gave the country a fine park-like appearance. I never saw a

country better adapted for the grazing of all kinds of stock than that we passed over this day. The limestone, which is the first that has hitherto

been discovered in Australia, abounds in the yy where we halted; the sides and abrupt projections of the hills being composed entirely of it, and worn

by the operation of time into a thousand whimsical shapes and forms.

A small stream runs through the valley, which in June 1815 was dry; the bottom of this rivulet was covered with a variety of stones, but the bases of the hills which projected into it, and from which the earth had been washed, were of pure limestone of a bluish grey colour.

My comment: Limestone country. Waterhole 14 miles from the Lachlan and no more water till the river. Must’ve gone into groundwater

My comment: Oxleys description On his arrival at the head of the Lachlan.

Journal 25th of April: At two o’clock saw the river, which certainly did not disappoint me: it was

evidently much higher than usual, running a strong stream; the banks very steep, but not so as to render the water inaccessible: the land on each side quite flat, and thinly clothed with small trees; the soil a rich light loam:

higher points occasionally projected on the river, and on those the soil was by no means so good. The largest trees were growing immediately at the water’s

edge on both sides, and from their position formed an arch over the river, obscuring it from observation, although it was from thirty to forty

yards across. At four o’clock we arrived at the depot.

My Comment: 25th April Oxley’s first sight of the Lachlan {and just short of their starting depot just beyond Cowra} in its high reaches, good description obvious floodplain and river banks and streamflow

My comment: The following paragraph gives the position of the depot where they begin the journey down the Lachlan . It was near Cowra the foothills of the catchment. 150m above sea level. Booligal near the other end of the catchment is 90m above Sea level. The unique gentle slope and geology mimics the flows of the Lachlan. This reasonably gentle slope enables storage for some time of water in swamps and groundwater for the whole length

Journal 27th of April: The observations which were made here placed the depot in lat. 33. 40.

S., and in long. 148. 21. E., the variation of the needle being 7. 47 E. The barometrical observations, which had been regularly taken from Sydney to this place, did not give us an elevation of more than six hundred feet above the level of the sea; a circumstance which, considering our distance from the west coast, surprised me much

My comment: The following paragraph highlights my proposition. There was plenty of harbour for Fish. Plenty of logs for slowing down the flow. Large shallow lagoon suggests shallow groundwater and there was plenty of birdlife in a stable ecosystem

Journal 29th of April: At six o’clock the boats arrived safe, the men having had a very fatiguing

row, and been obliged to clear the passage of fallen trees, and other obstructions; so that we determined to give them some repose, and halt

here for the night. At half past eight o’clock proceeded down the river, intending to stop at the termination of Mr. Evans’s journey in 1815, about

five miles further, for the purpose of repairing the small boat, which had sustained some slight damage in coming down the river yesterday. I rode

about three miles back into the country; the cupressus was here more frequent, though not of large growth; the soil is not good. In returning to the river we came upon the creek which terminated Mr. Evans’s journey,

down which we travelled until we came to the river, about half a mile from which is a large shallow lagoon, full of ducks, bustards, black swans, and

red-bills. At twelve o’clock the horses arrived at the mouth of the creek, and the boats half an hour afterwards. The banks of the creek were very

steep, and it was three o’clock before all the provisions were got over. The creek was named Byrne’s Creek,(Belubula River )after one of the present party, who had accompanied Mr. Evans in his former journey

My comment: The following sentence was made in the journal a day or so further on from Belubula confluence. Showing more proof of groundwater.

Journal Second of May: Upon the swamps were numerous swans and other wild fowl. In the evening we caught nearly a hundred weight of fine fish.

My comment: The following paragraph reinforces Oxleys opinion of area of the inundation just west of Jemalong gap which is now an irrigation district.

It uses the weir there to divert water into a channel system (Jemalong Irrigation scheme)

My comment: (And Oxley commented on this.)This area around Jemalong seems wet all the time. It stays in the Lanscape which means the groundwaters was saturated the whole length of the river system..

My comment: Google Earth over this area such as the Lachlan catchment shows by way of grey colour the extent of waterholes and marshes that existed beyond the river channel on the flood plain.

Journal sixth of May: I have reason to believe that the whole of the extensive tract named

Princess Charlotte’s Crescent (south of Jemalong gap) -is at times drowned by the overflowing of the

river; the marks of flood were observed in every direction, and the waters in the marshes and lagoons were all traced as being derived from the river.

Journal: During a course of upwards of seventy miles not a single running stream emptied itself into the river on either side; and I am forced to conclude that

in common seasons this whole tract is extremely badly watered, and that it derives its principal if not only supply from the river within the bounding ranges of Princess Charlotte’sCrescent. There are doubtless many small

eminences which might afford a retreat from the inundations, but those which were observed by us were too trifling and distant from each other to stand out distinct from the vast level surface which the crescent presents to the view.

The soil of the country we passed over was a poor and cold clay;

but there are many rich levels which, could they be drained and defended from the inundations of the river, would amply repay the cultivation. These

flats are certainly not adapted for cattle; the grass is too swampy, and the bushes, swamps, and lagoons, are too thickly intermingled with the better portions to render it either a safe or desirable grazing country

My comment: This Mount Cunningham mentioned in the next paragraph is this small Hill with the huge statue of an aboriginal warrior and is today on the River Road to Forbes. Oxley’s view on description paints a very wet scene. With the river overflowing its banks to fill up low-lying swamps indicating groundwater. This was a dry year in these parts. These flood pulses witnessed on his journey would have all come from winter fronts in the catchment. All the way to Goulburn

Journal 11th of May: At twelve o’clock ascended the south end of Mount Cunningham, a small branch of the river running close under it. From this elevation our view was very extensive in every direction, particularly in the western quarter. The whole country in that direction was so low, that it might not improperly be termed a swamp, the spaces which were bare of trees

being more constantly under water than those where they grew

My comment: This area west of Jemalong again explains how saturated the system was even in the dry season. The system is storing water in the ground water and slowly percolated forward downstream.

Navigation by river and land it’s so bad Oxley abandon the idea and headed for the coast at Cape Northumberland

Journal 12th of May: The river here became no longer navigable for boats. In pursuance of this intention we descended the hill, which was named

Farewell Hill, from its being the termination of our journey in a north-west direction at least for the present,

My present intention is to take a south-west direction for Cape Northumberland, since should any river be formed from those marshes,

which is extremely probable, and fall into the sea between Spencer’s Gulf and Cape Otway, this course will intersect it, and no river or stream can arise from these swamps without being discovered. The body of water now running in both the principal branches is very considerable, fully sufficient to have constituted a river of magnitude, if it had constantly maintained such a supply of water, and had not become separated into branches, and lost among the immense marshes of this desolate and barren country, which seems here to form a vast concavity to receive them. It is impossible to arrive at any certain opinion as to what finally becomes of these waters, but I think it probable, from the appearance of the country, and its being nearly on a level with the sea, that they are partly absorbed by the soil, and the remainder lost by evaporation.

My comment: Uniqueness of the Lachlan River is this realatively gentle slope giving it the ability to absorb and maintain lots of water both surface and ground water which is supposed to be intertwined. Extractions have destroyed the balance this once pristine System

I have since researched articles on Library of New South Wales site on salinity. Here’s a small extract to show what drying up marshes is capable of doing was far of salt loads go.”The combination of old weathered and relatively flat land surfaces, poorly drained soils and a variable and often dry climate has resulted in significant accumulation of salt in the Australian landscape.”

from

this extract was from an article on Hydrogeological Landscapes framework: a biophysical approach to landscape characterisation and salinity hazard assessment

Oxley gave up going to the coast at where Griffith is now . Headed north and was impressed when finding the river again. by then the river had got back into healthy stream. He hits the river near present Ballyroggan.

Journal June 22: After going eight miles and a quarter, we suddenly came upon the banks243

of the river; I call it the river, for it could certainly be no other than the Lachlan, which we had quitted nearly five weeks before. Our astonishment was extreme, since it was an incident little expected by any one. It was

here extremely diminished in size, but was still nearly equal in magnitude to the south-west branch which we last quitted. The banks were about

twelve or fourteen feet above the water, and it was running with a tolerably brisk stream to the westward.

My comment: Previous paragraph and the next Is worth reading. His summing up of lack of input from streams along the way. And still catching fish near Ballyroggan

Dryanders head is Mount Daylight

Journal 23rd June: .

It is a singular phenomenon in the history of this river, that, in a course of upwards of two hundred and fifty miles, in a direct line from where Mr.

Evans first discovered it, not the smallest rivulet, or, in fact, water of any description, falls into it from either the north or south; with the exception of the two small occasional streams near the depot, which flow from the north.( further up from where they started there is the Boorowa, Crookwell, Abercrombie rivers)

The country to the southward, in its soil and productions, explains pretty satisfactorily why no constant running streams can have sources in that direction; and it may be esteemed, as to useful purposes, a desert, uninhabitable country. A small strip along the sea-coast may possibly be

better, and derive water from the low hills which are known to border on it: south of the parallel of 34. S. may therefore be considered as falling under

the above designation and description of country.

The plains south of the river, and lying from Goulburn’s Range (Ural Range) to Macquarie’s Range (Lachlan Range)

, were named Strangford Plains; and a remarkable peak south of Barrow’s Hill, Dryander’s Head (Mount Daylight)

Journal 24th of June: It was a matter of considerable curiosity and interest to us, in what

direction the Macquarie River had run; it was clear that it had not joined

the present stream, for in that case it would have been much more considerable: we were within three or four miles of the latitude of Bathurst,

and it was scarcely probable that it should continue for so long a course to run parallel to the Lachlan. The whole form, character, and composition of

this part of the country is so extremely singular, that a conjecture on the subject is hardly hazarded before it is overturned; every thing seems to run counter to the ordinary course of nature in other countries.( The Lachlan has unique features is flatness and singularity of sauce.)

June 24.—The water is about three feet above the common level, and although the banks on both sides are certainly occasionally overflowed, there is no appearance of any fresh or flood having swollen the stream for a considerable time.

My comment: Wet wet wet the whole length even in the dry. Says something for ground water storage as opposed to dams and weirs.

Jews in Israel are of the same opinion in the following article.

Water Management in Israel

Key Innovations and Lessons Learned for Water-Scarce Countries (Short extract on ground water storage from the complete works)

Please cite the work as follows: Marin, Philippe, Shimon Tal, Joshua Yeres, and Klas Ringskog. 2017. Water Management in Israel: Key Innovations and

Lessons Learned for  Fourth Innovation: Using Aquifers as Reservoirs

The first integrated supply scheme based on the national water system operated by Mekorot since the 1960s relied on the storage capacity of the Sea of Galilee and the Coastal and Western Mountain aquifers. Mekorot has added major infrastructure since then to connect and rationalize the operation of aquifers.

One of the most remarkable innovations of Israel water management is that aqui- fers have been gradually switched from being overexploited resources to becoming major storage reservoirs. The existence of the National Water Carrier and the large-scale use of seawater desalination and reclaimed wastewater an alternative nonconventional water sources made this possible.

The interconnected nature of the National Water Carrier affords the opportunity to optimize the operations of regional water schemes through over-pumping from local aquifers in dry years or artificial recharges in wetter years. The aquifers therefore serve as swing suppliers (i.e., buffers) while also minimizing evaporation losses that would have occurred had this water been stored in open reservoirs.

The hydraulic advantages of this integrated scheme are obvious in terms of higher reliability

My comment: He mentions water holes that look like they’ve been dry for a time and then in the same place 11 miles down a large lagoon partly full of water{shallow groundwater}

Journal 25th of June: At nine o’clock we set forward down the river; our course lay westerly,

and by three o’clock we had gone nearly twelve miles in that direction; when we stopped for the night on the banks of the river near the termination of Macquarie’s Range {Lachlan Range}, the north point of which I named Mount

Porteous.{Bakers Hill}

My comment: Mount Porteous now Baker’s Hill just over from Mountain Creek shearing shed Hillston Road.

Journal 26th of June: Perhaps there is no river, the history of which is known, that presents so

remarkable a termination as the present: its course in a straight line from its source to its termination exceeds five hundred miles, and including its windings, it may fairly be calculated to run at least twelve hundred miles;

during all which passage, through such a vast extent of country, it does not receive a single stream in addition to what it derives from its sources in the eastern mountains.

I think it a probable conjecture that this river is the channel by which all

the waters rising in those ranges of hills to the westward of Port Jackson, known by the name of the Blue Mountains, and which do not fall into the

sea on the east coast, are conveyed to these immense inland marshes; its sinuous course causing it to overflow its banks on a much higher level than

the present, and in consequence, forming those low wet levels which are in the very neighbourhood of the government depot. Its length of course is, in my opinion, the principal cause of our finding any thing like a stream for the last one

hundred miles, as the immense body of water which must undoubtedly be at times collected in such a river must find a vent somewhere, but being spent during so long a course without any accession, the only wonder is, that even those waters should cause a current at so great a distance from their source; everything however indicates, as before often observed, that in dry seasons the channel of the river is empty, or forms only a chain of ponds. It appears to have been a considerable length of time since the banks were overflowed, certainly not for the last year; and I think it probable they are not often so: the quantity of water must indeed be immense, and of long accumulation, in the upper marshes, before the whole of this vast country can be under water.

My comment: Oxley’s ponderings own the witness of the whole system. He’s making these assertions near Hillston before he decided to head back up river.256

The river had become just marshes and lakes. His observations here further cemented my opinion that this body of water from the source to the marshes stores more water then any weir or dam could ever do.

And it does it with a balance which makes inhabitants healthy the whole length of the system. That is all the environmental aspects be a healthy system, catchment Cover, flood plane Cover, ground water, Storage Fish habitat.

• My comment:
• from an article from Hydrogeological Landscapes framework: a biophysical approach to

landscape characterisation and salinity hazard assessment Salinisation of land and rivers is a major environmental problem affecting

many of Australia’s agricultural and urban areas. It has been estimated that land with a high salinity hazard and/or shallow water tables will increase nationally from approximately 5.7 million to 17 million hectares by 2050 (National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) 2001

Salt is mobilised in the landscape by the movement of water through the regolith and fractured rock. Water brings salt to the land surface and introduces salts to streams and rivers. Any factors that alter hydrology affect the deposition of salt, the partitioning of salt and the mobilisation of salt. These factors include changes in vegetation cover, land use, water extraction and most human land developments (Walker et al. 1999).

My comment:

He ended his journey Down Lachlan turned around and headed back somewhere near Booligal 

Journal: July 9.—The morning fair and pleasant, but cold, the ground being covered with hoar-frost. At half-past eight we set out on our return eastward, every one feeling no little pleasure at quitting a region which had presented nothing to his exertions but disappointment and desolation.

Under a tree near the tent, inscribed with the words “Dig under,” we buried a bottle, containing a paper bearing the date of our arrival and departure, with our purposed course, and the names of each individual that composed the party.

My comment:This paragraph commencing with June 11 heading somewhere near Ballyroggan the river was almost dry now become a rolling agitated muddy water near level with the bank,

Puzzling overnight rise. Many swampy areas and lakes. Having to keep close to the river near my home at 703River Road to avoid the marshes and lakes to the south. North of the north Uabba road

Eddie

Journal: July 11.—At nine, again set forward on our return up the river, and it was near four o’clock before we arrived at a convenient halting-place on its

banks; the river presented a most singular phenomenon to our astonished view. That river which yesterday was so shallow that it could be walked across, and whose stream was scarcely perceptible, was now rolling along its agitated and muddy waters nearly on a level with the banks: whence this sudden rise, we could not divine, any more than we could account for the non-appearance of a fresh twenty miles lower down; unless the marshes which we have traced for the two last days, at a distance from the river, should have absorbed the waters in passing, or unless the extremely winding course should so protract and retard the current of them as to cause a considerable time to elapse before a flood in the upper parts could reach the lower. We considered ourselves as extremely fortunate

My comment: He was making his way what used to be Smalls Lake and Lake Creek on Weir road Where he built the bridge to get through up river towards Kiacatoo. Rode up onto the Common to Survey the area around Lake Cargelligo,

Goulburn Range is the present northey’s hills or Ural Range.

Discovered lake cargelligo. Further evidence of fire farming with cleared park like land around the western shores

eddie

Journal: July 23.—The river had fallen a little during the night. At nine o’clock we again set forward: the country became extremely low and marshy, far more

so than any we had passed over east of Macquarie’s Range. These marshes extended so far southerly that to have gone round them would have led us far from our purposed course without answering any useful purpose, and although we judged that at first they might not extend above three or four miles back, yet we soon had reason to change that opinion. The river had led us upon a general course nearly east about six miles, when about half a mile from the bank southerly, a very extensive lake was formed, extending about east-south-east and west-north-west from three to four miles, and being about a mile and a half wide. Excepting the sheet of water on the north side near the termination of the stream, this was the only one we had seen that could justly be entitled to the denomination of lake. We crossed over a low wet swamp, by which its overflowings are doubtless reconveyed to the river. This lake was joined to another more easterly, but

much smaller. We could not form any correct judgment how far the marshy ground extended south-east of it; but the country was low and level as far

as Mount Byng [ Sansons Hill}, and a low range extended north-easterly from it.

We now

kept the banks of the stream, till at the tenth mile we ascended a small hill a mile south of it, from which Mount Byng bore N. 12. E. Close under the hill ran a considerable branch of the river, which certainly supplied the lakes and lower grounds with water; on the other side of this arm, the country was low, and apparently marshy as far as we could see. On examination I found it would be extremely difficult to cross this branch, as the water was too shallow to swim the horses over, and the ground so soft that they could not approach the banks within several yards. I therefore

determined to get upon the river nearly where this branch separated from it, and endeavour to construct a bridge, by which we might convey the provisions and baggage over: as to the horses, they could easily swim across.

Our bridge was finished by one o’clock, but it being too late to cross the horses and baggage this evening, I went in company with Byrne on horseback to view the country to the southward. After going about two miles and a quarter south of the tent, we were most agreeably surprised with the sight of a very fine lake; we rode down to its shores, which on this side were hard and sandy beaches. On the south side the shores were bolder, being red clay cliffs. We now found that the creek or arm which I

had supposed to be the source whence Campbell {Smalls} Lake was supplied, had

not any communication with it, but supplied the lake we now saw: a low ridge of hills, bare of trees except small cypresses in clumps, lying between the two lakes, which were distant from each other two or three miles.

Finding I might obtain a better view by going to the point of these bare hills about five miles westward, I rode thither along the margin of the lake, but quitted it to ascend the hill, which was about two miles and a half from

it. The hill was but low in comparison with Goulburn’s{Urals} Range and other hills in the vicinity, but was sufficiently elevated to afford me the most

varied and noble prospect I had seen in New South Wales. The expanse of water was too large and winding to be seen in one point of view, but it broke in large sheets from east to west for upwards of six miles; its medium breadth being from two and a half to three miles: it was bounded six or seven miles from its eastern extremity by a low range of hills

connected with Mount Byng,{Sansons Hill} and from the dark broken woody appearance

of the country in that direction, I felt assured that the stream came from a more northerly quarter. To the westward was Goulburn’s{Urals} Range, distant about five or six miles; its bold rocky peaks of lofty elevation forming a striking contrast to the dead level of the country southerly, in which

however Mount Acton appeared like a blue speck on the horizon. To the northward was Mount Granard, the highest of a very elevated range, it having been seen at a distance of seventy-two miles from Mount Acton; and to the north-north-east were extensive open flats; in one place, bearing

N. 17. E., I thought I could distinguish water. Between the hill on which I stood and the stream, Campbell{Smalls} Lake wound along the plain, but its

width

did not allow it to be so conspicuously seen as the present one. To the south-east and round to the north-east the country was covered with dark

foliage of the eucalyptus, intermixed with the cypress; whilst to the southwest, as far as the base of Goulburn’s{Urals} Range, it was more open, with gentle hills clothed with a few small cypresses. These hills were rocky and barren, the lower grounds a red loamy clay; but the intermingled light and shade formed by the different description of trees and shrubs, the hills, but above all, the noble lake before me, gave a character to the scenery highly picturesque and pleasing. [Oxley named this lake Regents Lake now Lake Cargelligo]

My comment: The Lake mentioned in the next paragraph is sheet of water

Journal:July 26 After proceeding to the north-east about three miles, through a low, wet,

and barren country, which is at times from eighteen inches to two feet under water, we came upon another fine lake about a mile distant from the river. This lake was not so large as the last, but was nevertheless a fine sheet of water, about three miles long and one and a half or two miles wide; the opposite or south shore was much more elevated than that near the river, which had here extremely low banks, the water in the stream not being above four feet below them; the marks of flood upon the trees were also upwards of three feet higher.

My comment:The following entry in his journal is One of the many indications of fire farming he came across on his journey but didn’t call it that 

Journal: July 27 These plains were now dry and hard, and having been lately burnt, the coarse natural herbage springing up fresh, gave them a pleasing green appearance. One or two beautiful new shrubs in seed and

flower were found to-day, to the great satisfaction of the botanists, who had not lately made many very splendid or valuable additions to their collections.

A party of natives was seen on the opposite side of the river, consisting of one man, two lads, and two women; they disappeared as soon as they observed us.

My comment: more swamps lagoons and wildlife heading towards kiacatoo

Journal July 28: Of the swamps, which in places, extended from eight to ten miles from

the river south-east and south, some parts were dry and others under water; and there were occasionally large lagoons covered with innumerable wild fowl of various descriptions. Great numbers of native-companions, bustards, and emus, were seen on the plains, which, at the termination of our day’s journey, were of a better and drier description than usual

My Comment: Crossing the Lachlan near kiacatoo heading towards the Macquarie and Bathurst without going past marshy land at Jemalong where they detoured coming down

Journal 29th of July:It was determined that as we had now ascertained the course of the

Lachlan, from the depot to its termination, any farther trace of it, running as it did from the south-east, would take us materially out of our purposed course to Bathurst, without answering any good purpose, at the same time that we should entangle ourselves in the marshy grounds which had been seen both from Mount Cunningham,

My Comment: This next paragraph further highlights the wetness and the ability to obtain wetness the whole length of the system

Eddie Vagg

Journal August 2: Nothing can afford a stronger contrast than the two rivers, Lachlan and

Macquarie; different in their habit, their appearance, and the sources from which they derive their waters, but above all differing in the country bordering on them; the one constantly receiving great accession of water from four streams, and as liberally rendering fertile a great extent of country; whilst the other, from its source to its termination, is constantly diffusing and extenuating the waters it originally receives over low and barren deserts, creating only wet flats and uninhabitable morasses, and during its protracted and sinuous course is never indebted to a single tributary stream.

My Comment; I’m writing this in the middle of a major flood event in the Lachlan Valley. It has me further reflecting on what Has been told of

on a much more major system The Murrumbidgee.This Native told the early

inhabitants of Gundagai ‘getaway from the floodplain’. They took. no notice and a big flood washed the settlement away. This aboriginal in a bark canoe rescued some and took them to Highground

eddie vagg