Man and the Murray by Peter S. Davis

Man and the Murray

by Peter S. Davis

New South Wales University Press, 1978, [First Edition], ISBN 0909465762, colour photographic plates, colour and black and white photographs, hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, no inscriptions, dustjacket shows minor edge and shelf wear with minor rubbing to edges and corners (See photographs)

“By world standards the Murray is a puny river.  It lacks the volume of the Amazon and the sheer power of the Congo and cannot boast of the dependability of the Nile or the navigability of the Mississippi.  Yet it is our greatest river, and in the world’s driest continent has sustained human life for tens of thousands of years and transformed thousands of hectares of dry mallee into lush pastures and rich orchards.  It is an intimate part of our folklore.
But the river is now under threat.  We have dammed, dredged, and diverted it.  We have used it for irrigating our crops and transporting our sewage.  And, increasingly, as we enter the leisure age, we are using it for pleasure.
Many Australians now realize that the river has only limited powers of self-renewal, and to preserve it we must control those who use it.  If we don’t, the Murray is likely to deteriorate into a series of saline, stagnant pools.”