Research into the after-effects of modernity leads us to visit examples of ‘post-industrial hybrids’ – cumulative landscapes that absorb past actions as they are modified and adapted to dynamic conditions. The deep-time processes of the Gunditjmara people of Tae Rak (Lake Condah) in south-west Victoria show how careful interventions enable stewardship, repair, and rehabilitation of water systems.

For thousands of years, these Traditional Owners rearranged volcanic rocks that covered the low-lying plains below Budj Bim (Mt Eccles) to create a series of linked ponds that formed an eel-trap system. This is an example of a modified and augmented natural water landscape, generating cultural trade and allowing sustained human occupation. Construction of a small concrete weir across the remnant drainage channel allows Tae Rak to fill part way towards its natural level and makes a crossing, as seen in this photo; negotiations with adjacent landowners may progress to raise this level to its maximum floodable extent. The return of semi-permanent water brings back insects and birdlife, and with that comes a range of wetland plants re-establishing themselves in the previously drained farmland.