Macquarie Park Audio Walk

11 Stories

Macquarie Park Audio Walk

Listen to stories of Dyarubbin / Hawkesbury River at Freemans Reach, and to the original music they have inspired, as you walk along the river at Macquarie Park.

Our guides for this walk are Dharug students, Lyra, Indiana and Jayden, and Dharug educator, Rhiannon Wright. We learn about the river’s significance to Dharug people and hear the story behind Aunty Edna Watson’s rock engraving here. We learn about colonisation and its ongoing impacts, frontier violence and resistance, and how Governor Macquarie was involved. We listen to stories of farming, flooding, and riverbank erosion; swimming at Windsor Beach; eels and fishing; and rowing, boating and regattas. We hear about sand dredging, riverbank ecology, micro-plastics, and the Hawkesbury Water-Keeper Alliance. We learn about the meandering nature of rivers and the path of Gurangady, the Greet Eel Creator. Finally, students from Windsor High School share how the river has inspired them and their work.

Listeners are advised that this audio walk contains the voice of a recently deceased Dharug Elder.

To listen now, play the video at the bottom of the page.

Beach Photo by Oonagh Sherrard
Engraving Photo by Oonagh Sherrard
historic photo Courtesy Hawkesbury Library Service

Directions

Walk location: Macquarie Park, Freemans Reach NSW

  1. Starting near the second carpark, just beyond the playground, walk down to the big Jacaranda tree and then downstream (left) into the stand of Casuarinas, to Aunty Edna’s engraving.
  2. Head up the bank towards the path outside the park’s entrance, then follow it to the viewing platform over the river. From there, follow the path under the new bridge and then head back into the park, returning to the Jacaranda tree.
  3. Walk upstream towards the steps down to the jetty.
  4. Walk either along the beach or the top of the riverbank, before returning to the starting point.

Distance: approximately 1.7 kilometres return. Duration: 60 minutes.

Click on the map to enlarge it, or download a printable version here.

image

Credits

Narrated by:

  • Lyra, Indiana and Jayden, Dharug students
  • Rhiannon Wright, Dharug educator

Stories told (in order of appearance) by:

  • Leanne Mulgo Watson, Dharug artist
  • Grace Karskens, Emeritus Professor of History , UNSW and author of 'People of the River'
  • Aunty Edna Watson and the late Uncle Allan Watson, Dharug elders
  • Tony Thoms, Hawkesbury local and grandson of Bruce Thoms (boat-hire proprietor, 1950s)
  • The Hon. Kevin Rozzoli, former Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly (1973-2003, Member for Hawkesbury)
  • Dr Ian Wright, Senior Lecturer in Water Science, Western Sydney University
  • Jen Dollin, Head of Sustainability Education, Western Sydney University
  • Michael Kemp, Hawkesbury local, rower and descendant of Peter Kemp (Regatta Champion)
  • Erin Wilkins, Dharug educator
  • Gil Jones, geologist and author of 'Wasteland, Wilderness, Wonderland'
  • Ron Males, Hawkesbury local
  • Arthur Parkes, Richmond Lowlands farmer (from an archival interview recorded in 1992 by Sue Rosen, historian and author of 'Losing Ground: An environmental history of the Hawkesbur-Nepean catchment')
  • Dr Michelle Ryan, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Science, Western Sydney University and Hawkesbury-Nepean Waterkeeper
  • Art and Music Students (years 8-10), Windsor High School, 2019

Readings from:

Music:

  • Composed by Oonagh Sherrard, with Dharug songs by Jasmine Seymour and Stacy Jane Etal
  • Musicians: Dimitri Vouros, clarinet; Gary Daley, piano accordian; Jess Ciampa, percussion; Jasmine Seymour and Stacy Jane Etal, vocal; Oonagh Sherrard, guitar, cello, piano, programming

Page ID: 241754

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