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A spoken and visual history of the current drought in Victoria
This is big sky country. So flat and unobstructed are parts of the northern and western plains of Victoria that you can see the curvature of the earth. In seasons of good rain the place billows green like a moving sea stretching before the eye. But it has been a long dry thirteen years. Hot, dusty days, dying gardens, dried up dams, burnt up paddocks. Under the summer sun, the country bakes and warps, fashioning shimmering mirages that hold the seductive promise of water. The word drought did not take long to enter white settler vernacular in Australia. Used in the old country to describe a short period of weather unusual for its lack of rain, it somehow seemed inadequate in this new place where dry periods extended over months, sometimes years. It is heard often in present-day conversations. The current drought is having far-reaching impacts on rural and regional Victoria. A project entitled Drought Stories: a spoken and visual history of the current drought in Victoria is capturing this experience. An initiative of the History Council of Victoria, the project is collecting oral and documentary material from people who are living through the drought. Having completed a PhD study in the history of drought and water use in northern Victoria, I have been appointed program manager of Drought Stories. Part of my job has been to provide high quality training in oral history techniques to members of Birchip, Horsham, Minyip and Warracknabeal historical societies in the Wimmera, and to members of Cohuna, East Loddon and Pyramid Hill historical societies and Kerang and District Family History Group in northern Victoria. Using digital audio recorders, history group members are now out interviewing a cross-section of people about their experiences of the present drought. Listening to the stories collected to date, I hear of the tragic consequences of the continuing dry on individuals, families and the country itself. Communities have been placed under acute and sustained stress, with consequences of economic hardship, despair and depression, the breakdown of relationships, and suicide. Some people are so deeply affected they are only able to plan one day at a time. Many northern Victorian residents are angry about irrigation water being taken from the region by the North-South Pipeline to Melbourne where they believe people should be taking more responsibility for their water use. Others are saddened by how the natural environment has been affected, with rivers and wetlands drying up and the populations of birds decreasing dramatically. But I am also struck by how people have responded in creative and inspiring ways by adapting their farming methods to drought, by facing up to the need for better communication, and by building trust in their communities. Some people have been surprised by the strength of their inner reserves. They are looking at ways of doing things differently, and in taking on these changes have embraced the support of their friends, family and wider community. These oral stories of the current drought and accompanying visual material will be kept by local historical societies. In addition, selected material will be added to collections held at the State Library of Victoria. These local and Melbourne-based archives will make an important contribution to understanding Australian society at a crucial and revealing stage of adjustment to the environment, and thus provide an invaluable resource for future researchers. The Drought Stories project is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria and the Community Support Fund. Robyn Ballinger
 | Drought Stories - seminar/launch -
Thursday 22 April 2010. See State Library of Victoria for details. www.slv.vic.gov.au |
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