Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams - Book Review

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"Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging."

Set in 1852, the Marrambidya - what we know as the Murrumbidgee River - floods through the newly established township of Gundagai, leaving death and destruction in its wake. The local indigenous had warned the white settlers, though this went unheeded. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.



Wagadhaany is a 13 year old Aboriginal lass and considered to be one of the lucky ones because she survives the flood and lives in a settler's home as a domestic. When she is forced to move away from her "mob", her spirit is crushed despite forging a friendship of sorts with the new mistress of the house. Her heart slowly heals when she meets a Wiradyuri stockman and she dreams of escaping from servitude and returning to the river of her ancestors, though with escape comes danger from the white man.

Beautifully written, with a nod to indigenous language, the images of rural NSW with its flocks of noisy cockatoo and the swirling currents of the river and dry plains are almost poetic. The ugly events of our past, such as the massacres, payment to workers by way of rations, abuse and mistreatment of the women, and early days of mission life, are included, and much of it is not pretty.

Wagadhaany's partner takes their twin sons camping on their first walkabout to learn many of the Indigenous bush ways and I felt as a reader that I too was being educated in bush craft. I will never again move a log with my hands until testing first with my feet in case of snakes! I particularly enjoyed the lessons gained from looking at the night sky, given my recent interest in Aboriginal Astronomy.

In Gundagai today, there is a sculpture of Yarri (Wagadhaany's father in the novel) and Jackey Jackey commemorating how these two First Nations really did save many white settlers during that flood all those years ago.



Though not in an aggressive in-your-face look back at historical events, which is prevalent in so many other recent novels, this story is no less forgiving. It in no way detracts from the appalling treatment that our Aboriginals received but rather confirms that you can "catch more flies with honey than with vinegar".

Great read!

About the Author

Anita Heiss (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator. She is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her membership of boards and committees.

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