Yarramundi Audio Walk
Yarramundi Audio Walk
Listen to stories of Dyarubbin / Hawkesbury River at Yarramundi, and to the original music they have inspired, as you walk along the rivers at Yarramundi Reserve.
Our guide for this audio walk is Jasmine Seymour, a Dharug woman, Yarramundi-descendant, writer, educator, and artist. We learn that Yarramundi is at the confluence of Dyarubbin and the Grose River and hear how it is a significant place for Dharug people, having been used as a tool-making site, ceremonial ground, and meeting place. We hear stories of geological ‘deep time’, river crossings, farming, fishing, flooding, European settlement, frontier war, and Yarramundi or Yellomundee – the Garadyi (Clever Man) for whom this place is named. We learn of a changing landscape, the impacts of sand and gravel mining, water quality, local ecology, and efforts to restore balance to this wild and beautiful place.
To listen now, play the video at the bottom of the page.
Photo by Robbie Dunn, 2021
Photo by Robbie Dunn, 2021
Photo by Lyndal Irons
Directions
Walk location: Yarramundi Reserve, Springwood Road, Yarramundi NSW
- Starting at the far end of the Yarramundi Reserve carpark, follow the walking path down to the Grose River.
- Walk along the Grose River to its confluence with the Hawkesbury-Nepean River.
- Head right and walk along the Nepean River towards the bridge.
- Before you reach the bridge, walk back towards the carpark around the lagoon, and to the viewing platform. Return to the carpark.
Distance: approximately 800 metres. Duration: 60 minutes.
Click on the map to enlarge it, or download a printable version here.
Credits
Narrated by:
- Jasmine Seymour, Dharug artist, writer and educator
Stories told (in order of appearance) by:
- Leanne Mulgo Watson, Dharug artist
- Erin Wilkins, Dharug educator
- Gil Jones, geologist and St Albans local
- Mark Anderson, local bush regenerator
- Fred Wood, local bush regenerator
- Grace Karskens, Emeritus Professor of History, UNSW and author of 'People of the River'
- Bessie Clemson, Yarramundi local (from an archival interview recorded in 1984 for the 'On the Record Project', courtesy of Hawkesbury Voices, Hawkesbury Library Service)
- Dr Ian Wright, Senior Lecturer in Water Science, Western Sydney University
- Alan Izzard, Sydney Bass Fishing Club
- Emily Ada Dunk (from an archival interview recorded in 1984 for the 'On the Record Project', courtesy of Hawkesbury Voices, Hawkesbury Library Service)
- Jen Dollin, Head of Sustainability Education, Western Sydney University
- Students, Hawkesbury Independent School, 2019
- Dr Michelle Ryan, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Science, Western Sydney University and Hawkesbury Nepean Waterkeeper
- Students (years 7-9), Windsor High School, 2019
Readings by Ian Moxon, from:
- Boughton, S. or 'Cooramill'. (25 December 1903). Reminiscences of Richmond: From the Forties Down, No. 39. The Hawkesbury Herald, p. 15.
- Boughton, S. or 'Cooramill'. (18 December 1903). Reminiscences of Richmond: From the Forties Down, No. 38. The Hawkesbury Herald, p. 15.
- Ryan, J.T. (1982). Reminiscences of Australia: containing 70 years of his own knowledge and 35 years of his ancestors (reprint, first published by George Robertson & Company, 1895). Nepean Family History Society. p. 5.
Music:
- Composed by Oonagh Sherrard, with Dharug songs by Jasmine Seymour and Stacy Jane Etal
- Musicians: Dimitri Vouros, clarinet; Gary Daley, piano accordion; Jess Ciampa, percussion; Jasmine Seymour and Stacy Jane Etal, vocal; Oonagh Sherrard, guitar, cello, piano, programming
- Recorded by Oonagh Sherrard at Wheeny Creek Studios, Andrei Shabunov at ABC Ultimo, and Craig Field at Underwood Studios
Page ID: 223715