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Voices from the Secret River

Cruising Downstream


SUNDAY 30 APRIL 2023
12pm-5pm

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Grazing Lunch at Private Historic House | Hawkesbury River Cruise | Geology and Rock Art | Two Island Tours | Indigenous Astronomy
190 

As our cruise heads downstream, Gil Jones weaves together history and geology with his specialist focus on sandstone country. Gil has been walking the landscape of Darkinjung country and brings a unique understanding of connected routes as expressed through the rock art of the Hawkesbury River.  Joined by researchers and history tellers we travel towards Broken Bay to tour the cultural legacy of two islands. At Bar Island local raconteur Kate La Mey highlights the significance of the heritage remnants of church, cemetery and shell middens on this now uninhabited island.  Historian Max Burns McRuvie takes us on a journey through the bizarre and startling histories of experiments at Milson 'Mud' Island. Cruising back to Spencer the Australian indigenous astronomy group take us on another journey into the world of dark constellations, star maps and songlines associated with Dyarrubin. 

Highlights include:

 

Fresh platters and grazing table at a private historic house on the waterfront.

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​River Cruise with Geology and Astronomy Experts

  • Gain insights into the sandstone country with Gil Jones who has lived lifelong in Darkinjung sandstone country

  • Hear about Gondwana and how the ancient Hawkesbury sandstone and waterways of Dyarubbin were formed

  • Join researchers from the Indigenous astronomy group to learn about significant Aboriginal songlines in south-eastern Australia and connections of the Hawkesbury River area including the Black Duck Songline that may have links to the Pleiades star cluster

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Island Tours

  • Step ashore at Bar Island with Lower Hawkesbury expert Kate La Mey for a tour of cultural and natural heritage

  • Enjoy a rare invitation to take an exclusive tour of 'Mud' Island chosen as an asylum for the benefits of the fresh air and calming waters  

  • Delve into the unusual and bizarre stories of the island's startling past with history teller Max Burns-McRuvie 

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Tickets available for both Cruising Upstream and Downstream - Joint Tickets with 15% discount - SOLD OUT Join waitlist

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Image by Michael
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Heritage Ventures pays tribute to the First Peoples, their heritage and contribution to our contemporary society and acknowledges the First Peoples as the original custodians of the land and waterways.

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