Walking With Water: A Night of Story, Song and Country at the Ngunnawal Watermarks Launch
There’s something quietly powerful about walking beside a dry creek bed — no rushing water, no dramatic flow, just the gentle shape of Country, holding space for something deeper. That’s how it felt at the launch of Ngunnawal Watermarks — a community gathering that honoured the stories of water, culture, and connection on Ngunnawal Country.
As the sun dipped low on the evening of September 5, we joined others along Sullivans Creek — a place many of us have hurried past without thinking. But that night, we slowed down. We listened. We walked together from bridge to bridge and back again, the path transformed into a living story.
Ngunnawal Watermarks is a collaboration years in the making, led by Ngunnawal custodians in partnership with Catchment Studio — a creative non-profit working to connect people with waterways through art, science, and cultural knowledge. This project doesn’t just ask us to look at the creek — it asks us to see it differently. Not as a stormwater drain, but as manang — a living creek, rich with memory and meaning.
Timber posts lined the walk, each with a QR code you could scan to hear Dirana (Waterways), an original song written by Alinta Barlow and voiced by Ngunnawal community members, including Wally Bell. As we walked, the song poured through our phones, flowing like water beside us. It set the rhythm for the journey — music and footsteps moving together, wrapped in story.
Concrete drains were softened by snake designs and Ngunnawal language etched into their surfaces. Even with no water in the dry creek bed — located off Bent Street in Turner — the presence of Country was unmistakable. The bed itself is a teaching place — a demonstration of slow water, a Ngunnawal approach to letting water move at its own pace, to soak in and give life rather than rushing it away through hard infrastructure. The absence of water that night only made its importance clearer.
At the heart of Ngunnawal Watermarks is this invitation: to walk in relationship with Country, to hear what the land is telling us, and to honour the leadership of First Nations people in how we care for it.
Later in the evening, we gathered to watch the premiere of Ngunnawal Watermarks: Ngunnawal Voices — a powerful behind-the-scenes documentary that followed the project from its early days through to the song, the design, and the launch. It showed the deep care, creativity, and cultural knowledge that shaped every step. You could feel the weight of the work and the love behind it.
Then, as night settled in, we stood shoulder to shoulder around the fire circle — a place designed for reflection, cultural use, and connection. The glow of the flames drew us in as those who had been part of the journey spoke. There was pride in their voices — in the stories they’d shared, in the strength of Ngunnawal women’s leadership, and in what they had built for the community to walk through and learn from.
For Wally Bell, one of the most memorable parts of bringing Ngunnawal Watermarks to life wasn’t a single moment — it was the feeling of togetherness
“Working with community and gathering on site, no separation of anyone, everybody together the way it always should be.”
That spirit of unity was woven into every part of the project — from the early planning yarns to standing side by side at the fire circle. For Wally, it wasn’t just about building something physical; it was about building connection — with each other, with Country, and with the stories that live in both.
They spoke about healing, about visibility, and about the power of seeing their language and knowledge etched into the landscape. What had started as workshops and conversations had become something permanent — a legacy of culture and care flowing through the middle of the city.
Ngunnawal Watermarks isn’t just public art. It’s not just a path or a project. It’s an experience. A shift in how we relate to the land beneath our feet. A reminder that even in dry moments, stories flow strong.
So next time you're near Sullivans Creek — whether walking, riding or just driving past — take a moment. Scan a QR code. Listen to the song. Let it guide your steps and soften your pace.