From the mountain...

Last Friday and Saturday for the third time, I participated in the Mountain to Mouth Extreme Arts Walk. Within minutes of the Gathering of the Elders Ceremony at Big Rock in the You Yangs, the rain stopped and the sky cleared.

Performance art, Big Rock, May 2018

 The official business of "welcome to country" by members of the Wathaurong community was followed by the collection of water which - as in previous years - was to be carried in "Canoe" to the mouth of the Barwon River at Barwon Heads.

Barry Gilson, Gathering of the Elders Ceremony, Big Rock

Uncle Bryon Powell

Indigenous dancers performing in the dance circle

After an array of speeches by various political representatives from federal, state and local governments, we were accompanied on our way by a forceful wind which pushed us onward to the second station at Lara.

Canoe ready to depart

On the road to Lara with the CFA

This time around we started earlier and Canoe rested for longer at each station, meaning that there was ample time to take advantage of a sausage sizzle provided by the RSL and examine the artwork.
The slower time schedule did not suit everyone, with some walkers finding they were keen to depart each station sometimes even in advance of Canoe's arrival.

Station 2: Sol Yantra, a mandala of harvest produce

Canoe resting at Lara

After departing Lara we followed the now familiar route beside Hovell's Creek and wound our way to Limeburner's Lagoon where we were treated to more displays of performance art and a rest at the third station where participants were encouraged to get involved in a tree planting.

Performing lagoon-side

Station 3: "Earthship base camp"

Once again, after an extended break - and in my case, a change of shoes - we were underway, walking beside Limeburner's Lagoon as the sun set.

On the road to town

By the time we reached station 4, darkness had fallen and so had the temperature, making the extended break rather chilly. As several took the opportunity to eat, we were entertained by recitals from Wathaurong man Brian Gilson and a local choir group as we waited for the arrival of Canoe.

Station 4: The Midden of Earthly Delights, Moorpanyal Park, North Shore

By 7:30pm and in complete darkness, representatives from Deakin University took up the challenge of conveying Canoe to its resting place for the evening at Johnstone Park.

Deakin leading the charge

Along the way, we were regaled by more performance artists popping out of the night, including at one stage a pair of opera singers in full voice and full costume!

Opera in the dark

Finally, in rather chilly conditions, walkers assembled with Canoe and we processed into Johnstone Park (Station 5) for a lap of honour before taking a front row seat to watch the spectacle of the Gathering of the City.

Indigenous performers taking centre stage

At some point after 10pm it all wound up and we headed off to rest for a few hours before convening once again in the pre-dawn for the walk to Barwon Heads.

Mountain to Mouth 2016: walk this land

This Friday 6th and Saturday 7th May, as I did just on two years ago, I took part in the Mountain to Mouth Extreme Arts Walk - M~M for short. For those who don't know, M~M is a multi-award winning, biennial community event which takes place across two days and 80km from the You Yangs to Barwon Heads.

Participants could choose to walk part or all of the 80km, accompanying "Canoe" the ephemeral centrepiece in which water from "Big Rock" in the You Yangs was carried to Barwon Heads where it was returned to the ocean; fresh water returning to the sea. To quote the event website:

The route is punctuated with edgy artworks commissioned for M~M, bringing people together through shared experiences of extreme arts that celebrate our land. In the tradition of Wadawurrung, M~M creates a contemporary songline across the Geelong and Queenscliffe regions.

"Canoe" and the walkers were accompanied on their journey by flags representing each of the City of Greater Geelong council wards and the Borough of Queenscliffe. The flags were carried by invited volunteers who have contributed to the local community. Likewise, "Canoe" was carried by those who contribute to the community in many ways - the CFA, Ford, Deakin University, The Celtic Festival, Crossing Supervisors, Surf Lifesavers to name a few.

At each of 12 stations along the route, walkers and the community were able to experience a different art installation, each of which was based around a walking circle created by a local artist or group of artists to reflect the local community and environment.

The show was kicked off by the first of three ceremonies, integral to the whole experience. The ceremonies were each designed to "celebrate the land, the heritage and the people of the Geelong region."

"Gathering of the Elders" ceremony, Big Rock

The first, was the "Gathering of the Elders" at Big Rock, a predominantly indigenous ceremony highlighting the ancient history of the region and culminating in the collection of water from the equally ancient rock well at the site, to be carried by "Canoe" to the ocean.

Wathaurong rock well, Big Rock

The ceremony concluded with the unveiling of the artwork "Canoe"

"Canoe" carried to the ceremony by the creating artists Leonard Tebegetu and
Mahony Maia Keily  and representatives from Parks Victoria

and an indigenous smoking ceremony before walkers, flag bearers and those carrying "Canoe" departed on the first leg of the journey.

Uncle Bryon Powell performing the smoking ceremony at Big Rock

 As was the case in 2014, our journey began by walking out of the You Yangs Regional Park, along Flinder's Ave to Serendip Sanctuary before entering Lara and arriving at the second station on the route. Under clear skies, this was a long stretch on a surprisingly warm autumn day.

Leaving the You Yangs behind

From Lara, our route took us along Cowies Creek - named of course for one of the region's earliest European settlers John Anthony Cowie who initially squatted at Bell Post Hill.

Cowies Creek, Lara

Our next stop was on the shores of Limeburners' Lagoon near Geelong Grammar where staff and students joined the walkers at the third station.

The shores of Limeburners' Lagoon nearing sunset

 After another all-too-brief stop, we were walking again, this time around the shoreline to Geelong's industrial heartland as the sun disappeared from view.

The shores of Corio Bay

The lights of Viva (previously Shell)

At Moorpanyal Park, still in the industrial precinct, we stopped at the fourth station as Ford employees handed the job of carrying "Canoe" over to representatives of Deakin University.

Past meets present. Ford employees carry "Canoe" to Moorpanyal park...

where Deakin's academics take up the responsibility 

From Moorpanyal Park, we began our final leg for the evening, walking around the shoreline of Western Beach to the fifth station at the Waterfront where the Mountain to Mouth collided with Geelong After Dark in a spectacular display involving sound, light, colour and dance in the form of the second ceremony "Gathering of the City: Geelong Connected Communities"

"Jellyfish" at the Gathering of the City Ceremony

Dancers performing during the Gathering of the City Ceremony

And there we left it for the night. I have deliberately not included photos of the individual walking circles and installations in this post. Instead, I have added a separate post showing each of the walking circles along the path we took: Mountain to Mouth 2016: walking circles

And the rest of the journey follows here: Mountain to Mouth 2016: walk this land

M~M 2014: the journey begins

Over the two days of the 9th and 10th of May I participated in an amazing community event which took place across the region from the You Yangs to the mouth of the Barwon River: the Mountain to Mouth extreme arts walk. To do it justice requires a couple of posts at least. This is the first.
Following on from the original M~M in 2009, this event traced a path from Big Rock at the You Yangs to the river mouth at Barwon Heads. This time the M~M got underway with a "Gathering of the Elders" ceremony at Big Rock, conducted by Elder Bryon Powell.

Elder Bryon Powell

Elder Bryon Powell carries smoke to performers and the ceremonial canoe
during the opening ceremony

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the mayors of Geelong and the Borough of Queenscliff along with ward councillors wound their way through the first of twelve walking circles followed by walkers and other community members.

The mayors and councillors walk the circle beneath the You Yangs

The formalities concluded and Mayor Darren Lyons led the flags representing each of the council wards and their bearers as they started their journey to Barwon Heads. They were followed by the canoe which accompanied the walkers throughout our journey, carried by various community groups, beginning with the CFA.

The ceremonial canoe leaving for the walk, carried by CFA members and
bearing twelve bottles of water (one for each ward) from the well on
Big Rock - to be carried to the river mouth at Barwon Heads

Mayor Lyons leading the canoe through the flags of the 12 wards of the municipality

From the You Yangs, we wound our way via Serendip Sanctuary to Lara, the second station on the journey, arriving just on sunset.

The walking circle at Lara

Then, following a short dinner break, it was time to walk beside Hovell's Creek to the shores of Limeburner's Lagoon on Corio Bay where the third station awaited. With darkness now completely descended we took time to walk the circle before following the shoreline to the industrial heart of Geelong, passing Shell, Pivot, Ford and other significant industrial sites.
Our fourth station was at Moorpanyal Park where the walking circle was a glowing arrangement of crocheted coral and ceramic shells.

Crocheted coral in the walking circle at Moorpanyal Park

At this point, after several changes, academics from Deakin University took on the task of carrying the canoe to the Waterfront. Of course, as those carrying the canoe changed, likewise the flags were passed from group to group. Walkers came and went too doing stages here and there but some (myself included) aimed to make it all the way to Barwon Heads.

Representatives from Deakin University prepare to carry the canoe

From this station to the Waterfront was our final leg for the evening and the arrival of the canoe and the walkers at Steampacket Gardens (the fifth station) was timed to coincide with the end of the Geelong After Dark event.

The walking circle at the Geelong Waterfront

The centre piece of the Waterfront walking circle

By this stage we had walked 30km to reach the Waterfront where a resting ceremony was performed before we all adjourned for the evening, in preparation for a 6am start the following morning.

The canoe in position for a light display at the Waterfront

To be continued: M~M 2014: across The Bellarine.



Sitting by the duck on the bay.

A couple of weeks ago I took off on one of our now customary bike rides with various family members. We were on a mission to investigate a trail we discovered a few weeks earlier. For the sake of directness, we decided not to ride via the river on this occasion, although not having to ride up the hill beside the cement works at Fyansford may also have been a contributing factor. Instead, we headed to the waterfront up what will - when it is finally completed - be the bike lane on Swanston Street joining the river to the bay. Recent complaints in the local media not withstanding, it will be a very handy pathway to have running virtually past our doorstep.

Little Pied Cormorant at Western Beach

After a stop to collect the third member of our expedition we made it as far as Rippleside Park before we felt it was time for a coffee stop. While we were there I spent some time studying the local bird life. I thought it would make an interesting comparison to that on the Barwon. Well, as it turns out, it was not so different as I had imagined - although in the short amount of time available I was not able to see the same variety of species I have seen on the river.
Silver Gulls (Sea Gulls) were in abundance as expected and I even spotted a cormorant or two, a Pacific Gull and a Royal Spoonbill dabbling in the shallows. On shore, the usual array of birds found anywhere in suburbia was also evident. What I was surprised to see were ducks. Lots of ducks. In retrospect I shouldn't have been so surprised and after a quick Google search it all made sense.
I noticed as I was taking taking some shots with the camera that the ducks in question appeared to be Chestnut Teals. I know that these birds are found not only on the inland sections of the Barwon, but also on the lower reaches which as I have noted before are considered quite brackish. It stands to reason therefore that these ducks have a significant tolerance level for salt water and various websites confirm this. None-the-less, it did seem odd seeing so many ducks at the beach.

Royal Spoonbill at Western Beach

From there, we rode around to St. Helen's Park and then, via a series of off-road trails, bike lanes and on-road twists and turns, we made our way around Corio Bay through the industrial part of town, to the shores of Limeburner's Bay (or the Lagoon as we called it at school) opposite the Grammar School. At this point we stopped for lunch and to assess our options. On the lagoon a pelican was taking the opportunity to do likewise. As it happens, we decided we had time and continued our adventure along the Hovell's Creek Nature Trail.
As the name suggests, this trail follows Hovell's Creek from its inlet at Limeburner's Bay (not to be confused with Limeburner's Point on the opposite side of Corio Bay) back along its length as far as the township of Lara. The scenery is open rolling farmland most of the way providing views of the creek and the nearby You Yangs whose name incidentally comes from an Aboriginal term meaning - appropriately enough - "big mountain in the middle of a plain". Hovell's Creek on the other hand, was named for the English explorer William Hovell who with the perhaps more widely known Hamilton Hume, in 1824 explored the area having made the trek overland from Sydney. It was they who heard the local Wathaurong word "Jillong" used to describe the region. Although not the first white men to reach the region, their voyage of exploration was of significant benefit to the fledgling colony.

Limeburner's Bay

Our journey on the other hand was somewhat easier than that of the early explorers, we being provided with a well-maintained bitumen track which we followed as far as the Princes Freeway, under which the track passes. At this point, running short of time and facing an uphill ride for the last stretch into Lara, we decided to call it quits and head back from whence we had come.
Our return journey was made at a somewhat less relaxed pace than the outward journey, stopping only for a couple of brief breaks and (in my case) to investigate a bunch of black birds in a gum tree. As per my previous blog, these were most probably Australian Ravens, in which case the appropriate collective noun for the group is either a murder (as in a murder of crows), an unkindness, a storytelling or - possibly my favourite - a conspiracy of ravens. I wonder then, if conspiracy is the correct term, whether a group of ravens meeting a group of crows is perhaps....a conspiracy to murder...??
Enough! We made it back to town in good time and headed home. Another trail explored and a few more kilometres clocked up on the bikes.