Shelter Amidst The Ancient River Reds.

The mid 90’s introduced a most amorous escape for me.

Long nights listening to the creak of ancient eucalypts in the wind with occasional fallen branches to wake you. The sunrise squall of White Cockatoos being the alarm to check the rods before breakfast and another day on the water.

Your closest mates, cold tins to sink in 40 degree heat, basic fire cooked meals with bread as your plate, and eight D-Batteries for a beaten up stereo loud enough to be heard from the other side of the river. This is all we needed. This and the right equipment for the ultimate catch of a most respected Australian Native Murray Cod. 

For me, this was a truly utopian lifestyle within the scrub of the Mighty Murrumbidgee River. 

Once a river feared by parents watching their children swim in its strong current, it can now at times be compared to a slow trickle. Seeing the destruction of its neighbouring water systems and the saddened deaths of many native Australian fish has made me reflect on better times along the river and its lower catchments.

It’s a location and time that I have come to think of regularly with a fondness for the bushland along The Bidgee growing stronger in recent times.

All works are created using gold leaf, enamels and other mediums painted in reverse on glass that depict the background of a much-loved former life amongst the third-longest river in Australia.