12 Murrumbidgee CMA staff are now more equipped to identify areas of Cultural Significance thanks to a Cultural Heritage field trip, held last week.

The group toured sites at Boman Lagoon, Eunonyhareenyha, Bomen Industrial Area, Houghligans Creek and Bulls Run to improve their understanding and identification of Cultural Heritage sites in the Murrumbidgee catchment.

Lead by Dean Freeman (National Parks) and Dick Green (Wagga Wagga City Council), the group were shown how to ‘read’ the landscape.

The group were taught to question different traits in the landscape such as, ‘Would this area have made a good camp site? (i.e. close to water source, shelter etc.)’ and ‘Would there have been adequate food sources available? (edible plants and/or animals),’.

Once learning how to read the landscape, the group moved onto looking for more detailed indicators including traces of rock foreign to the area (potentially brought in for tools/utensils), ash and plies of hard clay balls (used for campfires), and remnants of muscle shells (food sources).

Other points of interest from the day included: visits to a local properties -  a positive demonstration of landholders managing and protecting cultural heritage, looking at the significance of sand hills in the landscape, touring a rock rubble site once used for tool making and the discovery of a camp fire site on an property access road.