Songlines of the Barwon Catchment

During the recent Mountain to Mouth 2016 extreme arts walk held across the City of Greater Geelong and the Borough of Queenscliffe, one of the catchphrases used was "walk this land". Participants were encouraged to consider those who have walked the land before us. Part of our route took us along the Barwon River, with the event ultimately concluding on the banks of the river at Barwon Heads.
With this in mind, I thought I would have a look at the lands of the wider Barwon catchment and the people who have walked them. The way we cross the land today is perhaps best represented by maps. For thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans however, the indigenous tribes of Australia walked the land, following ancient tracks and pathways known to their ancestors, without the benefit of modern cartographic techniques.
For 25,000 years prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Barwon catchment was home to three indigenous tribes. The lands surrounding the lower Barwon - downriver from Winchelsea - as well as the catchments of the Moorabool and Leigh/Yarrowee Rivers were occupied by the Wathaurong (Wadawurrung) people. The lands of the Gulidjan Tribe lay along the upper reaches of the Barwon, also incorporating the area around Lake Colac. The Barwon itself formed the boundary between the Gulidjan people and their southern neighbours - the Gadubanud Tribe - who lived on the land between the river and the coast, stretching westwards past Cape Otway.

Adaption of the map "Catchments of the Barwon River and inland Basins", created
by the Victorian State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, 1950 (original
image held by the State Library of Victoria). Clan territories estimated from
Clark, 1995, "Scars in the Landscape"

Rather than physical maps such as the one above, indigenous maps were shared through dance, song, painting and story. They talked about the features of the land itself; the rivers and creeks which showed them the way from one place to another, the hills, the trees, the rocks, the waterholes passed along the way. Even the sky played a role. Following these "songlines", it was possible to walk for hundreds of kilometres. In this way, people could move between tribes, establish trade routes, make marriages, manage natural resources; walking - it was believed - in the footsteps of the creator spirit.

And it isn't too much of a stretch to see how songlines could work. The name of the Barwon itself is a directional description. Barre Warre N Yallock - the big river which flows from the mountains to the sea. Follow this river and you will reach the sea. Kooly bar ghurk (Coolebarghurk): man's track by the creek. Another descriptive name. Which track? The one by the creek. The one made by people, not the many animal tracks which no doubt criss-crossed the land.

"Man's track by the creek". For thousands of years, the Wathaurong walked the
banks of Coolebarghurk Creek

Wormbete: which lake? The "lake with the black fellow's mound". Where? Bukar Bulac; the place between two rivers. This was the Wathaurong name for the confluence of the Moorabool and Barwon Rivers.
Creation stories told how the eagle Bundjil looked down upon the world from the sky where his fire (the planet Jupiter) could be seen from Earth. Bundjil it was said, made his earthly home at Woringganninyoke - Lal Lal Falls. Whilst the meaning of the first name is unknown, "Lal Lal" is said to mean "dashing water in a crevice". Another literal description which could contribute to a songline.

Lal Lal Falls, April, 2012

Many other sites were named for prominent features which could also be used as part of a songline. Someone wanting to journey north west from Jillong (Geelong), the "place of native companions" or the place "where the seabirds fly over white cliffs", could perhaps travel to Durdidwarrah where either a "shelter of bark" or "dead water" could be found after which they would reach Bungeeltap (meaning either "spirit water" or "eagle's nest"). From there, they could see [Mount] Warrengeep (Warrenheip) where the ferns of the side of the mount resembled "emu feathers" before passing Bonan Yowing (Buninyong), the mountain shaped like a "man lying on his back with his knee raised." Once there, it wasn't too far to Balla arat (Ballarat), the "reclining on the elbow" "place" or resting place.

Bonan Yowing: Mt Buninyong, visible across the surrounding countryside
for many kilometres

Like today's Google Maps, the songlines of the indigenous peoples not only described which route to follow, but gave tips about where to stay and what food could be found along the journey: Yarram Mordong (the Wathaurong name for Buckley Falls), waterfall [of] eels; Porrong Goop (Borrongoop), the place of quails; Koo N Warre (Lake Connewarre), mud oyster water.

Koo N Warre: Lake Connewarre

In this way, the Wathaurong, Gulidjan and Gadubanud Tribes of the Barwon catchment "mapped" out the land, preserving their knowledge over thousands of years for future generations. Until European settlers arrived...

Lake Corangamite

Not far from the Barwon River - in geographical terms at least - lies Australia's largest, permanent, saline lake. This of course, is Lake Corangamite, the lake after which the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority which is responsible for managing the region's water (including the Barwon) is named. The name is believed to have come from the local indigenous word "koraiyn" meaning salty or bitter.

The south eastern shores of Lake Corangamite

Like Lake Murdeduke discussed in my previous post, Lake Corangamite forms part of the  RAMSAR-listed Western District Lakes region which has been recognised since 1982 as providing bird habitat considered to be of international importance. Also similar to Lake Murdeduke are the lunettes, or dunes which form on the east bank of some lakes in the south of Australia as a result of the action of prevalent westerly winds. Several of these formations can be found on the eastern shores of Lake Corangamite.
The lake is relatively new in geological terms, formed as a result of recent volcanic activity. Several million years ago, prior to the volcanic activity of the late Pliocene and the Pleistocene Epochs which saw the plains of western Victoria strewn with basalt from the hundreds of now extinct volcanoes scattered across the region, water flows were different. During this much earlier period, water from the region would have flowed out of the area, finding its way to the sea.
As volcanic activity in the district increased however, the natural drainage of the district was disrupted. Lava flows blocked rivers and formed lakes. Lake Corangamite is thought to have formed when flows from the Warrion Hill scoria cone prevented drainage to the east - and presumably thence to the Barwon.

Warrion Hill

Scoria cones such as this are common in the area and form when hot lava comes in contact with significant amounts of groundwater, causing explosive eruptions and resulting in the distinctive flat-topped hills which can be seen in many places today. Stony rises, such as those seen to the south of Lake Murdeduke as well as Lake Corangamite are also common as are distinctive maar craters.

Stony rises along the shoreline of the lake

These latter form when molten magma rising to the Earth's surface comes in contact with rocks containing ground water. So great is the pressure from steam, that the cooling magma is blasted into small particles which form rings of ash around the blast site. This results in wide, flat craters which often fill with water to form lakes - Lake Purrumbete to the west is one such. These freshwater lakes have a distinctive round shape, in contrast to the broad, shallow saline lakes such as Lake Corangamite and Lake Murdeduke which form in hollows within or between lava flows.

A maar crater near the shores of Lake Corangamite as seen from
the Red Rock lookout

The relative geological youth of the Corangamite region means that drainage patterns are not well-established; rivers have not yet evolved to carry water from the region. Lake Corangamite is not connected to the Barwon, and is considered endorheic, meaning that there is no natural water flow out of it, but this is not always the case. Current water levels in the lake are the lowest in centuries and salinity has increased well above the brackish levels of only a few decades ago meaning that flooding in the region is not currently an issue. Water flows naturally into Lake Corangamite from three main sources, namely the Woady Yallock River which rises west of Ballarat and flows south through Lake Martin to Lake Corangamite, Salt Creek flowing from the north west and Pirron Yallock Creek flowing north from the Otways.

Looking west

In addition to these watercourses, the Corangamite region is scattered with lakes of different shapes and sizes. In the past, during periods of high rainfall, water would flood the low-lying land in this area so these normally separate lakes became connected as water drained slowly towards Lake Murdeduke to the east. If the rainfall was high enough, the water would over top Lake Murdeduke and descend into the Barwon Basin below and thence to the river. There is evidence to suggest that this was a relatively common occurrence prior to the era of Ewauropean settlement, however low rainfall since the 1990s has meant little flooding in the district.

Looking west across the receding waters of the lake

In the past however, when flooding such as this did occur, surface water could remain in the region for months, even years, rendering otherwise good farming and grazing land useless for agricultural purposes. The most recent rainfall event to cause the overflow of the Lake Corangamite system (including Lake Colac) into the Barwon occurred in 1953. After consecutive years of the worst flooding on record on the lower Barwo n in 1951 and 1952, followed by record rainfall on the south western plains later that year in November, the region was waterlogged. Water levels in Lake Corangamite were said to have risen by 15 feet over the previous two winters and it was feared that Gnarpurt and Corangamite lakes would join, causing more flooding. Lake Murdeduke needed a rise of only 12 feet before the whole system would begin to overflow into the Barwon Basin below. This it was claimed, could result in the same kind of disastrous flooding downstream at Geelong that had been recorded a hundred years earlier in 1852 when Geelong suffered some of its worst ever flooding. Lake Murdeduke it was noted, had been breached on that occasion too.

A 1958 photo of Lake Corangamite, near Pirron Yallock Creek, image held by
the State Library of Victoria

Whilst there was no flooding on the lower reaches of the Barwon during the winter of 1953, November that year saw the highest ever rainfall in the Colac area. This was the final straw for the Corangamite system. There was nowhere for this water to go so it slowly crept across the farms in the district, seeping into low-lying areas, filling swamps and gradually making its way into Lake Murdeduke from where it ran down to the Barwon.
Whilst it did not result in the predicted catastrophe for Geelong, it caused huge problems for the farmers of the region. Action was demanded! Something needed to be done to drain the water from the region before the work of reclamation could begin. Somehow, the "creeping menace" as the Colac Shire president called it, had to be stopped...

Lake Murdeduke

In my previous post, I looked at the history of the Murdeduke Estate, which in part lay on the banks of the Barwon River. To the west, the estate also encompassed the eastern shore of Lake Murdeduke and for this reason - amongst others - I thought it worth looking at the history of the lake itself.
Today, Lake Murdeduke is a RAMSAR listed wetland, home to a variety of birds and other fauna. Whilst I did not see a single bird in the time I was at the lake, I did see a pair of Australian Shelducks and a Nankeen Kestrel in a field not too far away as I was leaving. Of course, many of the birds which frequent the lake are migratory.
The lake is made naturally saline by the release of minerals from the decay of volcanic rock in the region. It is fed by Mia Mia Creek which rises in the high ground south west of Mt Mercer and flows south to the top of the lake. When full, Lake Murdeduke covers around 4,200 acres, however it is many years since the lake has reached capacity.

The boat ramp highlights how far the shoreline has receded. In the background
Mt Gellibrand can be seen to the left and the broader rise of Mt Hesse to the right

In addition, years of reduced rainfall have lead to the lake being classified as hypersaline, that is, having a salt content up to 10 times higher than sea water. In general, it has no outflow (meaning it is classed as endorheic), however during periods of exceptionally high rainfall such as occurred during the 1950s and 1990s, water from the lake can make its way east to the nearby Barwon River.

The receding waters of Lake Murdeduke with the cone of the extinct
Mt Gellibrand volcano rising in the background

Lake Murdeduke evolved from a combination of factors millions of years in the making and whether they realised it or not, the various families to occupy Murdeduke Estate over the decades were reaping the rewards of these geological quirks. In geological terms however, this is a relatively new region. Volcanic activity during the Pliocene Epoch as recently as 2 million years ago, saw the original course of Mia Mia Creek blocked by a flow of basalt. This natural damming resulted in the formation of Lake Murdeduke in a depression in the basalt. Over the following millennia winds blowing in from the west, breaking down the volcanic rocks deposited soil against the eastern bank of the lake, forming a "lunette lake".
The formation of lunettes is a particularly southern Australian phenomenon which occurs when westerly winds sweeping across the countryside, cause curved dunes to form on the eastern banks of a lake. Typically, the western or windward side is steep whilst the eastern or leeward side has a more gentle slope. This is true of Lake Murdeduke which lies on high ground at the edge of the basalt flow, above the flat plains which stretch away to the Barwon below.

Steep windward bank of the lake

Longer, undulating, leeward side of the lake's east bank

All of these factors combine to make this particular area of land some of the most fertile in the region. The breakdown of volcanic rock from these recent lava flows has resulted in rich, well-drained soil situated on higher ground, which takes the form of stony rises. This makes for good winter pasture which does not become waterlogged and at the same time, the rocks can provide protection for stock. The older, lower-lying plains which are also found on the estate are more useful in summer weather, having deep soil deposits which hold water during the hot months better than the porous volcanic soil of the stony rises which become dry.

Grey clay soil deposited on the floor of the lake

It was features such as these which first attracted land-hungry squatters to the region in the late 1830s and which then continued to make Murdeduke and the other estates which stretch across Victoria's western districts so successful down the decades, however the fertile land was exploited by humans long before the arrival of European settlers.
For 40,000 years the indigenous people of the region fished and hunted along the shores of Lake Murdeduke. Several different species of ducks as well as migratory wading birds were caught and a variety of edible plants were also gathered by the people of the four Gulidjan clans. Their land extended west to the shores of Lake Corangamite, south to the Otways and east to the Barwon River and the lands of the Wathaurong, with a portion extending in a northerly direction to a point west of Meredith. The Gulidjan were a semi-nomadic people with a matrilineal clan structure, each belonging to either the Gabadj (Black Cockatoo) or Guragidj (White Cockatoo) moiety. Among the many artifacts found along the lake shores are stone tools and blades which suggest a trading system with neighbouring tribes, with whom they also intermarried.

The lands of the Gulidjan people

The arrival of white settlers however, brought conflict as the Gulidjan were forced from their lands and their traditional food sources were taken away. There were deaths on both sides, the best known being the disappearance of the explorers Joseph Gellibrand and George Hesse in 1837. It has been suggested that members of the Gulidjan people were responsible and whilst the topic is still debated to the present day, the real answer is probably more complex than this common version of the "legend" would suggest. The issue is discussed further in this post. The Gulidjan reacted to the loss of their lands by driving off stock whilst the settlers broke up indigenous camps and took their tools. The Gulidjan were also hit hard by European diseases such as the flu, chickenpox and smallpox which greatly reduced their numbers.
In 1839 an attempt to provide for the remaining members of the surrounding indigenous clans resulted in the establishment of the Buntingdale Wesleyan Mission Station by the Reverend Tuckfield to the north west of Deans Marsh, however the venture was not a great success and the license was forfeit in 1851.
Today, the lake is surrounded by private property - including Murdeduke Estate, however public access is available via Blocks Lane off the Shelford Road from Winchelsea where the above pictures were taken.