Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Recording an Indigenous 'soundscape'
Indigenous people around the Burnett River are telling their cultural and personal stories for a compelling multimedia 'soundscape' of the river.
As well as the stories, songs and sounds of the Aboriginal people who use and remember the river, the Source to Sea Project will record the sounds of the natural environment along the river, its estuary and the coast.
Critical changes to the Burnett River over the past 150 years, plus the ageing of Indigenous Elders have helped catalyse the project.
"Soundscapes from the past are hard to recreate, so it's vital that we record them for posterity now," said Dr Grayson Cooke from the Bundaberg Media Research Group which is undertaking the recording.
"The sounds and stories of the many people, places, flora and fauna co-existing along the river will capture its diversity and help us manage, preserve and celebrate its natural and cultural richness for the future."
Grayson said the process of speaking to Elders and others in the community had been very intense. "People feel deeply about country and the stories that come out have often been very emotional," he said.
The project is being managed by a group including local Indigenous owners, the Burnett Mary Regional Group and the Bundaberg Media Research Group from Central Queensland University.
Funding
The Australian Government has contributed nearly $21,000 to the project and wherever possible, work is being undertaken by the Bundaberg Media Research Group on a voluntary basis.
Activities
"The process has been lengthy and involved," said Grayson. "Lines of communication are often complex and it's very important that we find out who can be a representative voice, so that we speak to the right person.
"There has to be a dialogue and it involves initial discussion, interviews, then going back to everybody involved.
"We are hoping that the project will become a model for getting community stories like this out more widely and for providing a basis for aural culture."
Achievements
The project will produce a DVD including soundscapes and stories. This will be distributed free of charge to regional Indigenous communities, project participants, libraries, schools and land managers. Archived interviews will also be transcribed.
"We hope that Source to Seawill allow Indigenous Australians to promote their culture and connection to the land and water," said Grayson.
"It should result in a resource that can be used to educate natural resource managers, traditional owners, educators and the community."
More information
- Dr Grayson Cooke, Bundaberg Media Research Group : (07) 4150 7136
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