River of Hope
Jul 9th, 2008 |
The article below was written by Dungog resident Fran Crane and an abridged version of it was published in the Newcastle Herald.
River of hope-but doomed to be dammed
It’s mid-winter and cold amidst the rolling hills and fertile river flats of Dungog, in the Hunter Valley. On a bend of the Williams River, overhung with ancient ironwoods and casuarinas, a man in a wet-suit plunges into the icy water. He scours the rocky river-bed for hours, sometimes even days on end, searching for something, something quite unassuming in appearance but something he regards as special and of great value. That “something” is fresh-water mussels. continue reading » »