The Oral Tradition, Environmental Change and River Basin Management: Case Studies from Queensland and Victoria

Abstract

River basin management activities are often carried out in the context of real or perceived environmental change. Views of environmental change provided by the oral tradition are compared with histories of change reconstructed from the historical documentary record for the Nogoa River, Queensland, and the Avon River, Victoria. Quite different perspectives on the nature and causes of river channel change are provided by the two types of sources. River basin managers appear to have generally adopted the views provided by the more easily accessible oral tradition, leading to management strategies that are not necessarily justifiable in the light of the documentary history.