There’s a magic that comes from the tranquil flowing waters of the mighty Murray. As the river snakes from the mountains across the floodplains and finishes in the estuary, Dennis Miles of Yarrawonga has been observing the beauty, the challenges and the love expressed by people on the river.

The 5-metre long tinnie made from scaffolding planks only draws 100 millimetres of water fully loaded, while the 40 horsepower Suzuki pushes it downstream at an economical rate of 100 kilometres per 10 litres.

“The 12 times that I filled up the first year, I only had to walk for fuel once,” said Dennis.

Dennis has been overwhelmed by the generosity of people who have offered him campsites, lifts for fuel or even invited him for dinner. 

“It changed my whole outlook on people,” he said.

“I met a bloke right down the end who said how are you getting home?

“I told him I would go to Adelaide and fly to Melbourne or get to Mildura and catch the V/Line bus back.

“That’s all too hard, he said, I’ll run you home.” 

I caught up with Dennis on the bank of the Murray at Barham as he sat sheltered beneath the towering gum trees. Growing up in a ‘miner right’ cottage below Albury, Dennis recounted a childhood of bathing in the river and having a plentiful supply of fish or crays that you could easily see in eight feet of water. 

“We had kero lamps and a wood stove.

“We had our own poultry and milking cow and goats.

“During summer, you would go down to the river each night and take a cake of soap and have a swim, that was your bath.” 

After a successful building career at Rubicon Victoria, Dennis retired in 2006. Dennis now explores the river and worries about the condition of the Murray and where it’s all heading. 

“There would be bends where you’ve got – since 2018 – a minimum of 10 metres of land gone.

“The trees in the river are beyond comprehension. 

“2018, when I went through the narrows, it was fast and it was narrow, and it was exhilarating.

“Last year, after the major flooding in 2022, you had trees from NSW falling to Victoria and trees from Victoria falling to NSW.

“That’s fine if they’re 50 metres apart, but when they’re on top of each other, there’s no access.

“I actually had to cut my way through, which was scary because you were in very fast-flowing water.

“I spent an hour strapping everything down, lowered the Bimini, put my life jacket on, and fair dinkum, I wrote a little thing in my diary – ‘it’s a bit hairy, but I’ve had a good life’.

 “If they think they have a problem now with the choke, it’s going to be three times as bad.”

Dennis said this journey has been marred with sandbars he’s had to push the boat over and soupy mud, which can swallow you more than 500mm.

“Because the flows have been up and down and up and down, you can’t get off, because that dark brown – as you can see, where it has started to cave in and erode, that might be 450-500mm black soup. 

“The other day, I felt like an idiot, because I jumped off thinking I was right and sunk up to here (signally above his knees) and nothing happened, ‘cause I couldn’t go anywhere. 

“I just had to strip my clothes back, drag this leg out and that leg out and crawl back out into the river to wash the mud off and then climb up a log like a shag on a rock.” 

Dennis said the lack of native animal life was alarming. 

“I haven’t caught a fish from Yarrawonga to here.

“I haven’t seen any turtles on logs.

“The bird life has been to a minimum.”

Dennis said the failings were also present on the Darling and in South Australia’s lower lakes.

“We’ve got the Darling now going septic, and Menindee Lakes full.

“They’d rather let it evaporate than let a trickle out into the Darling to keep it fresh. 

“I got to Raukkan (South Australia), where there is an old church there.

“As I went past, I went ‘what’s that in the water?’ It was half a car sticking out of the water, there was another one and another, old washing machines, bags and bags of nappies and all sorts of stuff. 

“I’d just passed a sign that said keep the Murray clean, so I went back and took photos in situ.

“Would have been two or three 8-metre truckloads of rubbish.”

Dennis took his findings to the local politicians, local government, the EPA and even local papers in SA but couldn’t get any action. 

“It was an issue that needed to be addressed, but nobody wanted to run with it.

Dennis now has another six weeks of travel planned at 20-30 kilometres a day. Safe travels, Dennis!

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 7 March 2024.