History

The First Nations people have been living on this land for tens of thousands of years. Genetic and archaeological studies point to Australia having one of the oldest continuous populations outside Africa, almost certainly descended from the first humans that occupied Asia sometime 60,000 to 75,000 years ago. Multiple artifacts discovered in the Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land show consistent habitation in the NT for at least 60,000 years, with dating of some objects suggesting up to 65,000.

Considering this, it is little surprise that evidence of occupation in the Murray-Darling has been shown to be nearly as old. A shell midden site overlooking Pike River near Renmark has been dated to around 30,000 years ago, and bones discovered in Mungo National Park suggest they have been dated to at least 40,000 years ago. All along the waterway, there is plenty of evidence of Aboriginal habitation. Even today, you can commonly see shell middens and scarred trees from the water, some as recent as 50 years, like the canoe tree at Robinvale made for the documentary 'River People,' to the shell middens at Wemen and Wentworth that will likely be thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years old.

The Murray Basin also has a dark side, with some of the worst examples of disease, conflict, and land dispossession causing massive reductions in the population, with many tribes becoming functionally extinct. Diseases likely had the worst effect on the local people, and they spread faster than European settlement, even faster than the frontier explorers. Both Sturt and Mitchell observed evidence of smallpox as they made first contact in the lower Murray and upper Darling, respectively. Smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, influenza, and measles all caused significant mortality in the first few decades of colonization.

Conflicts were common, both over land and inappropriate conduct with Aboriginal women. While there are some significant events such as the Rufus River and Mount Dispersion massacres, it is unlikely that these had as much effect on the population as those of disease. Land dispossession forced the remaining people off the land, escalating with institutionalization and the removal of children, especially after the passing of the Aborigines Protection Acts in Vic (1869) and NSW (1909). With the institutionalization of many to missions to try and protect the remaining Aboriginal populations, communicable diseases were still behind most deaths, with tuberculosis, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, and dysentery being the most common. The effects of widespread gonorrhea were likely behind a reduction in birth rates.

The full extent of this is vividly seen in the First Peoples of the River Murray and Mallee Region Native Title Claim, which shows that all members of the title claim can trace their descent from only about 30 individuals from what would have been a healthy and vibrant population in the thousands before the settlers came.

Today, there are estimated to be over 120,000 First Nations people living in the Murray Darling Basin, with over 40 autonomous nations, about half of which are adjacent to the Murray River. There are strong grassroots movements in many areas to help rejuvenate and restore many cultural practices and languages, with some slow progress in title claims and co-management in areas where traditional knowledge is incorporated. This ensures adequate cultural flows for the environment, and culturally important sites are respected.

In terms of the waters, the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN) help provide a unified voice, and there have been a number of key agreements in various areas, such as the Southern Snowy Mountains Aboriginal Community Memorandum of Understanding at the source and the Kungun Ngarrindjeri Yunnan Agreement at the mouth.