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A Mallee Case Study of Walpeup Lake

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A Mallee Case Study of Walpeup Lake Water for recreation – A Case Study of Walpeup Lake Louise Honman Context Pty Ltd Intangible Heritage Symposium 18 October 2014 Abstract This story was told to me on a warm spring evening sitting on the bank of a dry and scraped piece of ground. Some trees including buloke and Murray pines surrounded the rim of the depression where we sat. As I listened, a tale of Mallee life unfolded before me and I could “see” it in front of me. My story teller is a Mallee farmer and tireless community advocate. With her adult children gone and her life revolving around the farm and the community in which she lives the lake lives on as an important place. The unpromising ground in front of me was once a lake of recreational water, and before the pipeline came through water was delivered in open channels to this popular place. The lake formed the centre of social life all summer long ‐ and in the Mallee it is a very long summer. Children, picnic teas, swimming and boating all happened here. Neighbours met each other and had time to talk, children could play with friends and cool off in the long summer evenings. The lake etched itself into the fabric of the community; and once drained, reduced the reasons for communities to get together. Walpeup Lake is an important place in the memory of the people who live there, and the story is still unfolding if recent efforts reported on Radio National are to be taken seriously. Water for recreation – A Case Study of Walpeup Lake Off track on Radio National is a program dedicated to the environment, discussed by people who live in and love it. Off Track speaks for places beyond policy and politics and for environments loved and lived in. It was on a program on recreational water in the Mallee that my interest was aroused because it was in the township of Walpeup that I became aware of this topic, and to begin to understand what open water in an inland area might mean to people. This is an intangible heritage symposium, so is water a suitable topic for this discussion? I don’t really know the answer, but I thought I would put it in the mix and see where it ended up. In any case this is about people’s use of water and the life that develops around it. The question is about what water means to people in an inland area, and the effect of the lack of water, not just upon peoples livelihoods, but on their social and psychological well being. If people in a community share something over the years it becomes their culture, their heritage. And if there is nothing but memory and photographs left of these events, then it is intangible. It was in this space that I sat listening to a story on a warm spring evening, sitting on the bank of a dry and scraped piece of ground. Some trees including buloke and Murray pines surrounded the rim of the depression where we sat. As I listened, a tale of Mallee life unfolded before me and I could “see” it in front of me. My storyteller is a Mallee farmer and tireless community advocate. With her adult children gone and her life revolving around the farm and the community in which she lives, the dry lake lives on as an important place. The unpromising ground in front of me was once a lake of recreational water, that formed the centre of social life all summer long ‐ and in the Mallee it is a very long summer. Children, picnic teas, swimming and boating all happened here. Neighbours met each other and had time to talk, children could play with friends and cool off in the long summer evenings. Much has been written about the politics of water, and that is not the subject of this presentation. The story of Walpeup Lake is one that interests me as, with all good stories is has point and counterpoint. Water in the Mallee (or the lack of it) is a driving force in shaping the region, but this was different. This was about a particular type of water, open water, recreational water. There used to be lakes and dams in the Walpeup area fed by irrigation channels, but in the early 2000s the channels were replaced by a more efficient pipe system. The channels dried up, and along with them, the dams, ponds and lakes that locals used to retreat to in the heat. There is now no open water in the Northern Mallee apart from Hattah Lakes. The lake is about more than water and a lifestyle, but is about the memory of a childhood that is shared across the community. No‐one realized how important it was until it was gone, and the lake and the channels were dry. 'Don’t get me wrong, the pipeline is a wonderful thing for our economic growth, but from a lifestyle point of view, we’ve probably gone backwards,' (Simon Grigg speaks on Off Track ) . Being able to give the next generation of Mallee children the childhood their parents and grandparents had is so important to the community that they have been petitioning politicians for 16 years to get water back into Walpeup Lake. 'This is my dream about getting that lifestyle back to where we were.’ says Grigg Along with the water is the loss of something else that the pipeline (with the best of intentions) took away. The channels that criss‐crossed the landscape articulated farms and boundaries, and provided a point of reference in the gently undulating landscape. Intangible cultural heritage is often ordinary, inescapable, and all around us. We create it endlessly in our individual, family and community lives. The memory of childhood and of a social life made possible by a small man‐made horseshoe shaped lake reminds me of how ephemeral life can be. People still remember those channels and they lead straight back to Walpeup Lake. Walpeup Lake etched itself into the fabric of the community; and once drained, reduced the reasons for communities to get together. The lake is an important place in the memory of the people who live in the northern Mallee. The desire to get some water back into the landscape responds to a strong desire to hand on stories of life to a new generation. The dry lake has become a symbol worth fighting for, despite long drought and water saving measures. The community is now working on reinstating a lake closer to Ouyen, and have been successful in mobilizing government and community contributions toward this goal. The intangible heritage of a small rural community’s social life and childhood memories beside water is important enough to get recognition by water ministers and local politicians. What is taken for granted by most people takes a concerted effort to define and articulate when it is not there. So back to the evening beside then lake where I first heard the story. Imagination was required to see Walpeup Lake as it once may have been, but the images were strong, the story telling vivid and the desire to hand this on was palpable. And the story is still unfolding if recent efforts reported on Radio National are to be taken seriously. Acknowledgements This paper was inspired by the people of Ouyen who contributed so much to the heritage study of the former Shire of Walpeup undertaken by Context Pty Ltd for the Rural City of Mildura between 2008 – 2012. In particular Merle Pole and Terri Scott freely shared their knowledge of the region and their experiences of Mallee life. This paper could not have been written without them. References Radio National Off track – In Want of Water ‐ 19/7/2014 http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/offtrack/ouyen‐lake/5590870 Ouyen Lake project http://ouyen.vic.au/ouyen‐lake‐project .
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