Sound byte transcriptions from Parramatta
Cane music
The clinking percussive sound of the white balls on the ends of two canes, skipping across the surface of uneven pavers.
Eel River
Nadia: The bit at the end, the 'matta' bit, is an Aboriginal word. You know, we use the word 'suffix' for something that's at the end of the word. So we've got quite a lot of Aboriginal words in Sydney, like Cabramatta, Parramatta, Wallamatta … and 'matta' always means 'water' - it means like the river bit. So we have to find out what this 'parra' bit means. What's the animal of the Parramatta football team? Do either of you girls know?
Gwen: I know.
Nadia: Gwen knows.
Rebecca: The eel.
Nadia: The eel, yes, good. So .. what it was called in Aboriginal time was 'eel water' or 'eel river' because there were lots and lots and lots of eels here.
Eel River part 2
Nadia: … and then after that bit, remembering more with your body, we turned to the left and went past the river. So did anyone get anything … what things were we getting from the river?
Hailey: It was very quiet.
Gwen: Quiet. I could hear the sound of the river.
Hailey: Yeah.
Gwen: I heard a man say: 'I don't understand that river'.
Hailey: Yeah, so did I. [Laughter]
Nadia: What do you think he could've meant? What do we mean by understanding a river? [Laughter]
Park tucker
Nadia: … these seeds … they used to use the seeds to make wheat for bread. And then you can pull out these reeds and at the end that goes into the ground, the little shoot is white and nibbly. People would've nibbled them as they went through the bush.
Gwen: Yes.
Nadia: And then these rushes, they used to soften over ashes and then weave them as baskets. So it's a very useful … three uses in the one …
Gwen: Yes, very useful: eating, for making baskets, and …
Nadia: For bread eating …
Gwen: Bread eating and making baskets.
Nadia: Yeah.
Workshopping
Anne: I think the point that Nadia's making is that she … she noticed that and it stayed with her enough that now she's writing it down. But you … Gwen, you would notice particular things that she wouldn't notice. And we all went on the same walk.
Gwen: Yes.
Anne: But we will each have …
Gwen: … something different.
Anne: … noticed things differently - different things and the same things differently. And now that we're sitting down to … y'know … to write something of our impressions, it's not about trying to remember every single thing, but letting particular things surface?
