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Run to the sea

What the rivers say
by
July 2025, no. 477

Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

Hamish Hamilton $55 hb, 384 pp

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Run to the sea

What the rivers say
by
July 2025, no. 477

For the past year, I’ve thought deeply and often about rivers, one in particular. The Maribyrnong River is 160 km long and runs from Mount Macedon to Port Phillip Bay. The name, adapted from the languages of the Wurundjeri, Woi Wurrung and Bunurong, who called it Mirring-gnay-bir-nong, purportedly means ‘I can hear a ringtail possum’. Initially known by British settlers as the Saltwater River because it is tidal, the Maribyrnong has a gritty history. In Footscray it served as a drain for the noxious industries that lined its banks for decades. The Maribyrnong appears every now and then in the news when it floods, as a place from which stolen cars are dredged, or when bodies wash up.

Is a River Alive?

Is a River Alive?

by Robert Macfarlane

Hamish Hamilton $55 hb, 384 pp

Buy this book

ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.

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