Visions of Water in Lower Murray Country
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Visions of Water in Lower Murray Country Camille Marie Eugénie Roulière Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under a Cotutelle (Joint Program) Agreement JMCCCP ERIBIA Department of English and Creative École Doctorale Histoire, Mémoire, Writing Patrimoine, Langage School of Humanities Université de Caen Normandie Faculty of Arts University of Adelaide August 2018 I acknowledge the Kaurna Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which the University of Adelaide is located; and I acknowledge the Ngarrindjeri Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which my research bears— lands which were never ceded. I respect and acknowledge their respective ongoing relationships with these lands and their connected bodies of water. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this thesis contains names of Indigenous people who are deceased. Table of Contents Table of Figures ........................................................................................................ i Abstracts ................................................................................................................. iii English Version .................................................................................................. iii Version Française ............................................................................................... iv Declaration of Originality ...................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... vii An Introduction to Watery Worlds and Methodologies .................................... 1 Watery Worlds: The Rhythms of Waters in Lower Murray Country .................. 8 Listening to the Music of Waters ................................................................... 22 Flow and Resonance ...................................................................................... 28 Watery Methodologies: Waters and Relations .................................................. 36 Flows and Relation: Positioning the Research/er .......................................... 40 Resonances and Relation: Conducting and Writing the Thesis ..................... 52 Collection ................................................................................................... 56 Imagination ................................................................................................. 59 Creation ...................................................................................................... 62 Watery Plan: Four Visions of Waters in Lower Murray Country ..................... 69 Vision 1—Austral Waters: From Humid Terrains to D(r)ying Site-Stage .... 73 Welcoming Us: The Picturesque River ............................................................. 81 Taking Charge: The Useful River ...................................................................... 99 Losing Control: The D(r)ying River ................................................................ 122 Vision 2—Bodies and Spirits and Waters: Ruwe/Ruwar ............................... 143 Rhythmic Ruptures .......................................................................................... 149 Rhythmic Continuities ..................................................................................... 165 Healing Bodies ............................................................................................. 166 Teaching Bodies ........................................................................................... 172 Embodied (Re)Empowerment...................................................................... 177 Vision 3—Translated Waters: Key Changes and (Re)compositions ............ 181 Recuperative Work: Mimesis and Translation ................................................ 193 Restorative Work: Mimesis and Dialogues ..................................................... 213 Creative Work: (Re)Connections and Languages ........................................... 228 Vision 4—Toute-eau: Love Thy Waters .......................................................... 241 Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 280 Sound Sources ................................................................................................. 280 Maps ................................................................................................................ 283 Works Cited ..................................................................................................... 284 Table of Figures (maps, photographs and deep maps) Map 1. Murray River Country ............................................................................... 10 Photograph 1. Cattle on Dried Earth ..................................................................... 12 Photograph 2. Signage in Lower Murray Country ................................................ 17 Map 2. Lower Murray Country ............................................................................. 18 Photograph 3. Windy Path on Sand ....................................................................... 29 Photograph 4. Waves on the shores of Lower Murray Country ............................ 34 Deep Map 1. The Overwriting of Murray/Murrundi River ................................... 98 Photograph 5. Tyre Tracks in the Sand ............................................................... 109 Deep Map 2. The Colonial “Coo-ee” on Waters ................................................. 120 Photograph 6. Conducting the Waters ................................................................. 131 Deep Map 3. Crying a River ............................................................................... 136 Map 3. Triangle of (Dis)Connection ................................................................... 184 Map 4. The Five Barrages of the Mouth ............................................................. 187 Photograph 7. Dredgers at Work at the Murray Mouth ...................................... 190 Deep Map 4. Renewed Continuity in “Eulogy for the Coorong” ....................... 199 Deep Map 5. Colonial Invasion in “Eulogy for the Coorong” ............................ 201 Photograph 8. Waters and Reeds ......................................................................... 203 Deep Map 6. The Interlaced Memories of Kangaroo Island .............................. 207 Deep Map 7. Extract from the Score of Kangaroo Island .................................. 211 Photograph 9. Sitting Birds ................................................................................. 215 Deep Map 8. Extract from the Score of “First Dream Song” .............................. 220 Deep Map 9. Extract from the Score of “Whale Song” ...................................... 222 Deep Map 10. Connecting Waters in Wind and Water (Weatherings) ............... 235 Deep Map 11. Mixing Stories in Wind and Water (Weatherings) ...................... 236 Photograph 10. Sunset on Lake Alexandrina ...................................................... 254 Map 5. Barrages 1 to 5. ....................................................................................... 256 Deep Map 12. Breathing Air in Lower Murray Country .................................... 257 Map 6. Plumbing in Murray River Country ........................................................ 259 Photograph 11. Concrete and Metal on Water .................................................... 260 Deep Map 13. Dreaming and/or Settling ............................................................. 262 i Photograph 12. The Fires of Ringbalin ............................................................... 264 Photograph 13. The Immensity of a Dried Country ............................................ 266 Photograph 14. The Colours of Lower Murray Country ..................................... 270 Deep Map 14. Boats and Birds in Long Island ................................................... 271 ii Abstracts English Version Waters are contested entities that are currently at the centre of most scientific discussions about sustainability. Discourse around water management underlines both the serious absence and devastating overabundance of water: rising sea levels compete against desertification; hurricanes and floods follow periods of prolonged drought. As we increasingly pollute, canalise and desalinate waters, the ambiguous nature of our relationship with these entities becomes visible. And, while we continue to damage what most sustains us, collective precarity grows. It is therefore unsurprising that shifting our understanding, and subsequent use, of water has been described as one of the biggest—and most pressing—challenges of our time. My research answers to this challenge. It centres on spatial poetics, that is, on the manner in which people engage and interact with their environment through art. More precisely, I explore the relationships between humans, waters and sound— both intrinsic and human-produced—in Lower Murray Country (South Australia). My aim is to unveil, theorise and create maps of these co-evolving relationships to reveal an array of manners to perceive and relate to these waters; and then draw on this plurality to question—and potentially reimagine—their cultural construction and representation. In order to do so, I transform waters into a leitmotif which enables me to weave my investigation together and move