📑 Welcome Back, Darling

Kath Sullivan and Nathan Morris explore what it means to have water back in the Darling River. In contrast with the past few years of dry river beds, towns like Brewarrina, Wilcannia and Menindee have become energised once again.

When a human is dehydrated, it’s not very energised, it’s negative and tired — when it’s hydrated, you’ve got a lot of energy.

The catch is that it is not all good news. Even with attempts to re-stock the river with fingerlings, some species may not return. In addition to this, much of the region is still dry as the rain has not fallen.

Modelling by the CSIRO shows annual basin inflows averaged 9,407 gigalitres per year from 1900 to 1999/2000. 

In the 20 years since, average annual inflows to the system have almost halved, falling to 4,820 gigalitres.

Associated with the flush, a number of people have shared pieces from the past. Including the Menindee Paddlesteamer:

And Menindee Late in flood:

Living in the city, it is hard to fathom how significant this is.