Murray-Darling Journeys | Books & magazines
Murray-Darling Journeys
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22.01.2022 The Darling River flood peak has just passed Wilcannia. The river level is 8 metres higher than September last year when Mike paddled through. Thankyou for the photos Lynley. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1228875174159678&id=471003776613492&sfnsn=mo.
21.01.2022 The Balranald Discovery Centre has replenished their stock of "Murray-Darling Journeys". The Discovery Centre is a great place to visit with it's visitor information centre, an interpretive centre covering the history of the region and a cafe. The town also has a lovely caravan park on the banks of the Murrumbidgee and there are national park campgrounds also along the river not too far from town. http://www.visitbalranald.com.au/balranald-discovery-centre
21.01.2022 "The book is bound to make an ideal Christmas present, appealing to a broad range of readers, particularly those interested in the history of river journeys." John D of Mildura Weekly, 27 Oct 2017. This is just one of the many favourable compliments that we have received about "Murray-Darling Journeys" (MDJ). It's great to think that the many interesting stories about real people, past and present, on the rivers are being told to the present generation. Head over to our web page for more information including reviews, sample pages and links to order your copy. https://www.murraydarlingjourneys.id.au/
17.01.2022 In about 1898 Alexander Murray and a companion rowed down the Murray River from Echuca to Goolwa. Murray painted river scenes and published a book about the voyage. This book can be viewed online on the National Library's Trove database. It is best viewed on a large screen. Murray, A. S. (1898). Twelve hundred miles on the River, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-70588855 You can read more about 19th century journeys down the Murray in "Murray-Darling Journeys" http://www.vividpublishing.com.au/murraydarlingjourneys/
15.01.2022 Kind words from Frank Tuckwell of the IRNMR on the registration of my journey down the Darling River. Frank has been registering river journeys since 1954 when he greeted Bill Confoy who paddled 3000+ km down the Barwon/Darling/Murray River system from Goondiwindi on the NSW/QLD border to Goolwa SA.
14.01.2022 In the 19th century Scotsman John McGregor was influential in the development of canoeing as a popular sport. He designed and paddled a "Rob Roy" canoe which resembles modern day kayaks. He travelled Europe with a Rob Roy canoe and his book "A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe on Rivers and Lakes of Europe (1866), a bestseller, advertised the advantages of travelling in a canoe as opposed to a rowboat. MacGregor’s influence on Australian river travel is undeniable. During ...the 1870s and 1880s there was a marked increase in recreational journeys on the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin, many of them in Rob Roys. You can read more about these journeys in Murray-Darling Journeys which would make a great Christmas gift for someone. Head over to our web page for more information including reviews, sample pages and links to order your copy. https://www.murraydarlingjourneys.id.au/ You can read MacGregor's book here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40238/40238-h/40238-h.htm Photo: "Cattle swimming the Meuse" from "A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe on Rivers and Lakes of Europe
09.01.2022 A great Australian from a hundred years ago. George Morrison paddled down the Murray River from Albury in 1880-81 when aged 18. At the end of the journey he walked from The Coorong back to his home in Geelong. A few years later he walked solo from the Gulf of Carpenteria to Melborne, turning 21 along the way. He described this journey as "a pleasant excursion". After more adventures he graduated as a doctor and eventually became a correspondent for the London "Times" newspape...r based in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion. He was so successful in this role that the British Foreign Office often received news about what was going on a day or more after the "Times" received the news. Read more about Morrison and other adventurers in "Murray-Darling Journeys". You can find sample pages, reviews and other info at https://www.murraydarlingjourneys.id.au/ Photo: George Morrison aged 19 in 1881, State Library of NSW, PX*D 153/vol. 2, a742002 See more
08.01.2022 "Book arrived last week and I read it cover to cover over the weekend. Congratulations, it’s a great read." Bill M., 2017 "I lent my copy to somebody and they won't give it back." Bill M., 2019 This is just one of the many favourable compliments that we have received about "Murray-Darling Journeys" (MDJ). It's great to think that the many interesting stories about real people, past and present, on the rivers are being told to the present generation. "Murray-Darling Journeys" would make a great Chrsitmas gift for someone. Head over to our web page for more information including reviews, sample pages and links to order your copy. https://www.murraydarlingjourneys.id.au/
03.01.2022 Edward William Cole and George Burnell rowed down the Murray River from Echuca to Goolwa in 1862. Along the way they took what must be some of the first photos of the river including the lower cover photo of "Murray-Darling Journeys" (that's probably him in the photo). Cole went on to open Cole's Book Arcade in Melbourne in 1873 and by 1906, with 2 million books on it's shelves, it was reputedly the biggest bookstore in the world. If you are interested in a podcast about EW Cole, follow the link: https://www.abc.net.au//the-life-and-times-of-e.w/12620976 Read about Cole and other famous Australians who have journeyed on the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin in "Murray-Darling Journeys". For sample pages, reviews and other info see: https://www.murraydarlingjourneys.id.au/.
02.01.2022 It is National Reconciliation Week. We remember Yarri and Jacky - heroes of Gundagai. Gundagai has always been an important crossing place of the Murrumbidgee River, first by the local Wiradjuri people and then by the colonists from the 1820's. Despite the warnings by the local Wiradjuri people of great floods that would come down the Murrumbidgee River, Gundagai was built on the floodplain in 1838. On 25 June 1852 a great flood came resulting in the loss of at least 75 lives... and stranding many people on rooftops or in trees. Four Aboriginals were very active during the floods saving many lives. Yarri saved 49 lives one by one in his bark canoe, working all day and into the night. Jacky joined in the rescue effort and saved 20 lives. Gundagai was subsequently rebuilt on the side of the hill overlooking the floodplain. In 2017, a sculpture commemorating "The Great Rescue of 1852" was unveiled in the main street of Gundagai together with detailed information about the rescue including the following: "The actions of those Wiradjuri heroes have never been forgotten. The Gundagai community is eternally grateful for those deeds. Many descendants of those saved still reside in the district today and owe their very existence to those men. For all Australians and particularly those of Aboriginal heritage this event is an ongoing well of pride. Knowing the sufferings and losses experienced by Yarri and his people with recent colonisation, these actions demonstrated an unsurpassed strength of character, resilience, and a common humanity."
02.01.2022 In 1911 "River Rovers" was published. It is the story of E. J. Brady's (and his companion Jim Jones)1908 journey down the Murray River from Albury to Lake Alexandrina in a 16 ft, 1 1/2 hp motor boat named "The Lone Hand". The journey took them two months. They launched on a low river at Albury and the first stages of the journey were accomplished largely by rowing and hauling the boat through the shallows after ripping off the propeller on a gravel bank. This account of their... journey inspired others to undertake similar journeys in canoes and row boats. One such person was the famous Miles Dunphy who planned to paddle a canoe down the Murray in 1919 only for the journey to be abandoned just before the start due to the untimely death of his mother. "River Rovers" by E. J. Brady is available to read online at https://archive.org/details/riverrovers00brad/mode/2up Read more rowing and paddling journeys in "Murray-Darling Journeys". You can find sample pages, reviews and other info at https://www.murraydarlingjourneys.id.au/ See more
