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Knowing the Mountain: Cullunghutti as memory, place and soundscape

Picture of Cullunghutti Mountain taken by Iain Somerville
Picture courtesy of Iain Somerville

This project looked at the Cullunghutti Mountain as something more than just a geographical feature. The Mountain exists in the oral memories of Aboriginal peoples along the NSW south coast from northern Victoria through to Sydney. Situated between Nowra and Berry, the Cullunghutti Mountain has existed since the Permian Age (between 299 - 251 million years ago) and has always been a place of importance to Aboriginal peoples as a site where the spirits of the dead join their Ancestors.

The title of this project was 'Knowing the Mountain: Cullunghutti as memory, place and soundscape' and as with everything in this world we can never fully "know" anything because to truly know something you must be able to 'see' it through all eyes, 'hear' it through all ears, 'feel' it through all hearts and 'connect' to it through all souls. However, it is possible to partially 'know' the Mountain by:

  • Walking the mountain
  • Recording the mountain
  • Photographing the mountain
  • Filming the mountain
  • Listening to stories of the mountain
  • Studying archival material of the mountain