North Richmond Audio Walk

11 Stories

North Richmond Audio Walk

Listen to stories of Dyarubbin / Hawkesbury River at North Richmond, and to the original music they have inspired, as you walk along the river at Hanna and Hawkesbury Parks.

North Richmond takes its name from the fact that it is north of Richmond Hill, which sits just above the river. It is a significant place for the Burubiranggal clan of the Dharug people who cultivated yams, made fishing line and rope, and crafted possum skin cloaks in this area.

Our guide for this audio walk is Dharug man, Dom Wilkins. We hear stories of first contact between the Dharug and the colonisers, how settler farming along the river led to frontier violence on the Marrang Ngurra / Richmond floodplain, and the endurance of Dharug culture today. We hear of flooding and its impacts, erosion and bush regeneration, local ecology, and use and development – including stories of bridges, the Kurrajong railway line, boat building, swimming, and sand mining.

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

Wharf Photo by Sarah Rhodes, 2019
brown river Photo by Robbie Dunn, 2021
Bridge Photo by Sarah Rhodes, 2019
Swing Photo by Sarah Rhodes, 2019

Directions

Walk location: Hanna Park and Hawkesbury Park, Beaumont Avenue, North Richmond NSW

  1. Start at the treelined path beside the skate ramp and Hanna Park carpark.
  2. Walk down the path towards the jetty. Walk under the bridge along Hanna Park south, and up to the sign showing Streeton's painting.
  3. Follow the path to the end of Hawkesbury Park, near Keda Circuit.
  4. Return back under the bridge to Hanna Park. Walk northeast along the riverbank to the end of Hanna Park and towards the Redbank Creek confluence.
  5. Return to the starting point.

Distance: approximately 1.3 kilometres return.  Duration: 60 minutes.

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

image

Credits

Narrated by:

  • Dom Wilkins, Dharug Knowledge-holder 
  • Additional narrative by Oonagh Sherrard, composer/producer

Stories told (in order of appearance) by:

  • Erin Wilkins, Dharug educator
  • Grace Karskens, Emeritus Professor of History , UNSW and author of 'People of the River'
  • Jan Barkley-Jack, historian and author of 'Hawkesbury Settlement Revealed'
  • Martin Gauci, Community Bushcare Officer, Hawkesbury City Council
  • Jeff Cottrell & Fred Wood, bush regenerators
  • Tom Hubble, Associate Professor of Geology, University of Sydney
  • Tom Covell, local ecologist and founder of 'Hooked on Nature'
  • Lachlan Joyner, Manager North Richmond Water Filtration Plant, Sydney Water
  • Bob Power, North Richmond orange farmer (from an archival interview recorded in 1984 for the 'On the Record Project', courtesy of Hawkesbury Voices, Hawkesbury Library Service)
  • Jasmine Seymour, Dharug artist, writer and educator
  • Aunty Edna Watson & Uncle Alan Watson, Dharug elders
  • Lawrie Duffy, Grose Vale local (from an archival interview recorded in 1984 for the 'On the Record Project', courtesy of Hawkesbury Voices, Hawkesbury Library Service)
  • Kevin Burns, Riverstone local (from an archival interview recorded in 1984 for the 'On the Record Project', courtesy of Hawkesbury Voices, Hawkesbury Library Service)
  • Ted Books, Hawkesbury local and former Hawkesbury Councillor
  • Dr Ian Wright, Senior Lecturer in Water Science, Western Sydney University
  • Students (years 3-6), Hawkesbury Independent School, 2019

Readings by Ian Moxon, from:

  • Collins, D. (1798). An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales. (Volume 1). Printed for T. Cadell Jun. & W. Davies , in The Strand. See Appendix IV: Mode of Living.
  • Phillip, A. (1790 [published 1892]). Governor Phillip Letter to Lord Sydney, Government House, Sydney Cove, February 13th, 1790. In: Historical Records of New South Wales (Vol. 1, Part 2, pp. 304-311). Charles Potter, Government Printer.
  • Tench, W. (1793). A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson. Sold by G. Nicol, Pall-Mall & J. Sewel, Cornhill. p. 88.
  • Josephson, J.P. (1886). History of Floods in the Hawkesbury River. Thomas Richards, Government Printer. p. 98.

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

Page ID: 241080

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