An exhibition in Bacchus Marsh of poetry by Moorabool poet, artist, and storyteller Barry James Gilson is sharing local stories, education, and a sense of place.
Running until July 31 at MAPP Gallery Bacchus Marsh, the original poem by Gilson shares personal and local themes.
“The whole concept was basically from the connection I have being a Wadawurrung person and … Kirrit Barrett– or Gordon – I’ve been living there all my life,” Gilson said.
“Just about every weekend when I was a little fella, I used to walk down to the Bostock Reservoir … it used to be a natural sort of watercourse that flowed from the water from under Kirrit Barrett and it’s called Paddock Creek now, but it was called Kangaroo Creek,” he said.
Gilson said that he used to follow the creek all the way down to the muddy flats of what is now the Bostock Reservoir.
“It was just mud flats and alongside it were inland mussels – they were called Timboo – now they were an inland mussel, a freshwater mussel, and they were in absolute abundance everywhere,” he said.
Gilson said after the waterway was dammed, the presence of it was changed, and he did not see the mussels at the site any more.
“I used to light a little fire and cook these little things in there and eat them. I didn’t know at the time that it was a bush food that my family had been eating for thousands of years,” he said.
“That’s basically a local story of the place … I write stories about all places and collect the information, so hopefully one day I’ll get a book together that people can learn from after I’m gone … because if these stories aren’t collected – well, they’re lost.”
It is through this storytelling that Gilson hopes to educate people and provide a deeper understanding and sense of place.
Gilson’s poetry is being exhibited at MAPP Up in Lights Bacchus Marsh at the Village Green, 197 Main Street, Bacchus Marsh, until July 31.
Details: moorabool.vic.gov.au/Services-and-support/Arts-and-culture/Artist-opportunities/MAPP-Up-in-Lights
