Heritage Ventures
River Cruise
SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2025
8.30am - 1.30pm
$210
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Cruise along the Hawkesbury River aboard the classic timber ferry MV Clarence Head. Departing from Spencer enjoy history, ideas, music and stories on the river. Step ashore for a delightful grazing lunch at the Hawkesbury Duck.
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Symposium and river cruise can be purchased together.
Combined tickets at 10% discount
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Bush Tucker Food Sovereignty
First nations horticulturalist and educator Adam Byrne is passionate about his Culture, and connecting Indigenous people to their traditional foodways and plants as a means of healing. Along the river hear about the diversity of bush tucker from climbers, groundcovers, grasses and small trees that provide roots, leaves, fruit, nectar, berries, and legumes. Smell and sample local plants including cinnamon myrtle and native sarsparilla while hearing about co-owned Bush to Bowl, a First Nations bushfoods nursery on the Northern beaches and the significance of food sovereignty for sustainable local food economies. Native herbs from Bush to Bowl will be available for sale after the cruise.
Adam Byrne
Adam Byrne is of Garigal, Gadigal and Darug heritage with his mother's family growing up in Brooklyn. Adam holds qualifications in landscaping and design with a specialization in horticulture, drawing inspiration from traditional farming practices and the concept of food sovereignty. He co-owns Bush to Bowl, a 100% First Nations-owned social enterprise that aims to protect and give back to Culture and Country by continuing the proliferation of rich and diverse sources of bush tucker and the sharing of traditional Aboriginal cultural knowledge.
Irish Voices from an Unsung Past
Our journey continues along the river listening to the sounds of Irish harp, song and story telling histories of the Irish women transported to the colony and their fate on arrival. We travel from the first wave of transportation where many women ended up at the Female Factory, to the 4114 ‘orphan girls’, who were shipped on government funded immigrant vessels from Ireland after the great Irish famine. Hear about a local Irish woman of Mangrove Creek who arrived as a free settler with her daughter seeking her convict husband only to find he had remarried. Be transported by the haunting songs of Courageous Girls and Parramatta Mary from harpist Clíona Molins.
Clíona Molins
Originally from Ireland but based in Sydney Clíona is a harp player, teacher and composer. Classically trained in Dublin at the Royal Irish Academy of Music she studied both the Irish and Concert Harp and performs as a soloist and in collaboration with other musicians, including shakuhachi player Riley Lee, and handpan virtuoso Baran Yildiz. Cliona has been creatively developed several projects that pay tribute to women’s ‘voices from our unsung past’ within the female artistic group the Prankqueans and the McMolly trio.
Wish You Were Here
Peter Fisher takes us into the world of tourism along the Hawkesbury River, from local regattas and boat races to its growth as a major industry from the mid-1880s. The edifying effects of picturesque views were widely promoted after the English novelist Anthony Trollope described the river as ‘the Rhine of Australia’. Peter traces the growing popularity of sightseeing day trips from Sydney, fishing weekends in boatsheds along the river, and hybrid tourism experiences brought about by new modes of transport—highlighting the role of Long Island near Brooklyn in showcasing the largest man-made tourist attraction of all, the Hawkesbury Railway Bridge.​
Peter Fisher
Peter Fisher is a writer, author, former teacher and outdoor guide. He has lived on the Central Coast for close to 40 years exploring the rainforests and waterways of the area. Living adjacent to one of the many unnamed waterfalls and rainforest gullies on the Central Coast inspired the publication ‘Tales from the Rainforest: History and Heritage on the NSW Central Coast’. His latest book 'Wish You Were Here: A History of Tourism on the NSW Central Coast' (2024) investigates the development of tourism from fishing adventures and river excursions to the growth of tourist information bureaus and guides.
Grazing lunch
Step ashore at Spencer for a fabulous grazing lunch on arrival specially prepared by Kate's Catering from Brooklyn. Seasoned with native bush food and with gluten free and vegan options. Enjoy eating off vintage china with tables decorated with native flora.
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