The final Get Set in the Basin celebrations were held over the weekend. The concerts, funded through Lloyd’s Walk for Water, the Australian Horizon Foundation and BEEFitUP Australia, had toured four rural communities for a night of music and comedy. Headlining the shows were Aria Award winning lead singer of TAXIRIDE, Jason Singh, along with musician, Huc Richards and comedian, Flemmo.
A fantastic crowd had turned out to the Moulamein show, with Lakes running a bus of Koondrook and Barham residents to join in the festivities.
Day two, and the entertainment moved on to Menindee. The journey up of seven hours was extended due to the poor condition of the Pooncarie Menindee Road. It is an experience Jason Singh will never forget as the little front wheel drive hire car forged through the washouts, huge corrugations, and deep sand. The maiden voyage of our caravan also suffered at the treacherous road conditions. The caravan itself held up, though the fridge door managed to lose its cladding as the plastic clips departed company.
It is an amazing drive, watching the country change. Soils, vegetation and wildlife change back and forth along the journey.
We arrived at Menindee to see a setting sun over the lakes. En route to the lakes, a kamikaze half-grown emu barrelled straight for the car. Hitting the anchors, the juvenile emu legs came out from under him and skidded on his bum towards the car, legs still flailing. Heart in the mouth, I breathed a sigh of relief when no contact was made. A later close inspection shows three claw marks from one of the flailing feet.
It sure is an amazing sight to see water back in the lakes – water that is so important to the community, culture, and environment of Menindee and surrounds. All eyes will be on the management of the lakes after it was last drained by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to add water to the Murray flood in South Australia.
We had a fantastic night at the Menindee Pub. Comedian, Flemmo, didn’t hold back after having to behave for so long, his pent-up creative juices left a lasting impression.
A group of travellers had made their way from Deniliquin to support the show and see water back in the lakes, as did Gail, who travelled down from Tweed Heads!
Thank you to all those who supported these nights. It has been a wonderful experience, from making new friends, to shedding tears with people who were touched with the talks and wanted to share their stories.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 27 May 2021.
