Connection to Kalari Bila (Lachlan River)

The Lachlan River flows through the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Nari Nari, Mutthi Mutthi, Ngiyampaa, and Yita Yita Nations, forming songlines and dreaming tracks.  Kalari Bila is found in the area known as “the land of the three rivers” and flows between the Macquarie and the Murrumbidgee rivers. It is part of an ancient and rich heritage of the First Nations communities, traditional owners and individuals who live there. The name Kalari Bila is the Wiradjuri name given to the Kalari, with the addition of “Bila” meaning river.

The Centre for Applied Water Science at the University of Canberra is conducting long-term Flow-MER (monitoring, evaluation and research) work in the Lachlan River System, and a key focus is partnering with First Nations communities to support their priorities in land and water management.  One of the priority activities identified by the community is a need to capture the stories, history and memories of the Kalari Bila and its  people.

Project overview

The Connection to Kalari Bila (Lachlan River) project pulls together a unique collection of stories through interviews with different families, traditional owners and individuals, guided by Cultural Adviser Isabel Goolagong and the Centre’s First Nations Advisory Committee.  The stories to be documented include cultural practices, Indigenous science for the management of land and water, the history of the river and its people, local spiritual stories, and stories of loss – of access to land, water and connection. These stories will be compiled and edited to create the book Connection to Kalari Bila (Lachlan River), that will be gifted back to the participants.  In addition, some of this knowledge will also be shared with the public.  Conversations and interviews with the people of the Lachlan River commenced in 2025.

Project lead

Centre for Applied Water Science, University of Canberra

Project partners

Project funding

This project is supported by the Southern NSW Innovation Hub, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. The project also receives funding from the Australian Government’s Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH), through the Flow-MER Lachlan River Program.