Maria Davidson
Maria Davidson
For the past 50 years, the banks of the Broken River have been home to Maria Davidson – she has faced floods, droughts and even stumbled across Aboriginal artefacts.
As a third generation resident living in Kialla East, Mrs Davidson, 53, believes the river is in her blood.
Mrs Davidson’s great uncle John Moylan was the first relative to own the property. Back then it was about 80 hectares from the Broken River to River Rd where Mr Moylan farmed tomatoes and sheep. The farm was then passed on to Mrs Davidson’s mother Winifred Osborne.
“So growing up we had 300 chooks, ducks, pigs and 10 cows,” Mrs Davidson said.
Mrs Davidson and her husband John raised two children on the property who now have children of their own.
“But they often come back and they just love the river,” Mrs Davidson said.
“They used to walk along the edge of the river cleaning it up at the beginning of the summer to make sure it was safe to swim – so there was no broken glass or anything.”
Several years ago, while cleaning up the river bank, Mrs Davidson’s son Mathew came across an Aboriginal shield made from wood.
“It was sort of curved inwards with a handle on the back,” Mrs Davidson said.
She said the family donated the shield to the Bangerang Keeping Place in Parkside Gardens, Shepparton.
Another strong memory for Mrs Davidson was the 1993 floods that caused damage to the family home. An internal wall was knocked down and the floor destroyed.
But thanks to the community at Pine Lodge, the family was not defeated.
“I have fantastic neighbours, the best,” Mrs Davidson said.
“There was an after flood party with everyone from around here invited.”
The river has been the scene of many family barbecues, midnight swimming to cool down in the height of summer and gatherings with neighbours.
While Mrs Davidson believes river health is starting to improve, she is concerned about blue green algae.
“But as my husband says, ‘dirty water is better than no water’,” she said.
“On a hot day out here when there’s no water, you feel a bit worried because if there’s a fire, all you have is your water tank.”
She has not spotted a platypus in recent times but can remember seeing them darting along the river.
“We feel a responsibility to look after the river living here,” she said.
“We help keep the feral animals out of it.
“The river’s just so important to us.”
