“Dancing to the Billabong’s Tune”: Oral History in the Environmental Histories of Murray–Darling Basin Rivers

Abstract

In 2010–2011, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority commissioned an oral history project with recreational fishers. Undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team, it aimed to engage a community group in local conservation activities. The project team visited twelve sites across Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. We recorded over 110 hours of oral testimony about fishing in a variety of ecological zones within the basin. This chapter considers the environmental history outcomes of the project by analysing features of the socio-ecological relations within the river catchments. Collecting place-specific oral histories, placing them in their ecological context and cross-referencing with scientific information created an opportunity to examine patterns in fishing practice and the shape of social networks that emerged in situ.