TNBT - Helen Dennis - Ephemeral Lagoon - New Kids on the Block

After the drought comes the flood. Translucent wetlands appear with silhouetted trees; old trees fall, replaced by the new. This is the beginning of the rebirth for the wetlands’ flora and fauna, returning life to the once silent dry lagoon beds.

Creeks are the mainstay of life in our community. Without them, Aboriginal peoples would not have moved through and camped, farms would not have been established, the railway would not have come, and modern townships would not be sustainable. Their waters are an essential element of life.

On our property runs Branch Creek, a small creek that flows to the Condamine River, part of the Condamine-Balonne catchment for the Murray-Darling Basin. It has been a guide for people travelling through the Bunya Mountains; an area of vegetation and animal diversity in its wetlands; a place of lagoons where tall timbers grow; a source of irrigation for crops and domestic animals; and a playground for all.