Aboriginal history The
Ngarrindjeri peoples are the
Aboriginal Australian Owners of the lower
Murray River, eastern
Fleurieu Peninsula, and
the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of
South Australia. The Ngarrindjeri consist of several distinct if closely related groups, including the
Jarildekald,
Tanganekald,
Meintangk and
Ramindjeri, who began to form a unified
cultural bloc after Aboriginal peoples were forcibly removed to
Raukkan, South Australia (formerly Point McLeay Mission). Archaeology, particularly in excavations conducted at
Roonka Flat, (which affords an outstanding sites for investigating "pre–European contact Aboriginal burial populations in Australia,") have revealed that the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri have been inhabited since the
Holocene period, beginning around 8,000 B.C. down to around 1840 CE. . For thousands of years, the Lower Murray, Lower Lakes and Coorong region was one of the most densely populated areas of Australia, and the land ( or ) and waterways were home to thousands of Ngarrindjeri peoples. Ngarrindjeri lived in communities in the . Everything Ngarrindjeri needed was present–clean waters, foods, medicines, shelter and warmth.
Ngarrindjeri Self Determination, Control and Management Ngarrindjeri peoples and supporters have challenged and partnered with the
South Australian Government for decades, including its
natural resource management representatives, over questions of
justice, agency, control, sovereignty and the
decolonisation of existing and long-standing relationships. Ngarrindjeri led the development of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Ngarrindjeri Partnerships and Murrundi (Riverine) Recovery Projects. In 2002, the
Alexandrina Council made an agreement with the Ngarrindjeri Nation. The agreement included a series of commitments to work together and offers an expression of sorrow and apology to the Ngarrindjeri peoples. It is known as the Kungun Ngarrindjeri Yunnan (KNY) Agreement. In 2007, the Ngarrindjeri Nation launched the Ngarrindjeri Nation Yarluwar-Ruwe Plan: Caring for Ngarrindjeri Sea Country and Culture (the 'NNYR Plan') stating the Ngarrindjeri Vision for CountryOur Lands, Our Waters, Our People, All Living Things are connected. We implore people to respect our Ruwe (Country) as it was created in the Kaldowinyeri (the Creation). We long for sparkling, clean waters, healthy land and people and all living things. We long for the Yarluwar-Ruwe (Sea Country) of our ancestors. Our vision is all people Caring, Sharing, Knowing and Respecting the lands, the waters and all living things.
Native Title The native title rights and interests of the Ngarrindjeri people were recognised in Ngarrindjeri and Others
Native Title Claim on 14 December 2017. The determination granted the Ngarrindjeri people rights including the right to access and move around the Native Title Land, hunt, fish and gather, share and exchange, use Natural Water Resources, cook and light fires for ceremonial purposes, engage in cultural activities and protect cultural sites. All waterways and several parcels of land within Clayton Bay are within
Native Title legislation with any vegetation clearance or development requiring approval through the
Registered Native Title Body Corporate.[https://aiatsis.gov.au/research/research-themes/native-title-and-traditional-ownership/prescribed-bodies-corporate ]
European history In 1829,
Governor Darling commissioned
Captain Charles Sturt to follow the
Murrumbidgee, which had been discovered by
Hume and Hovell. On 3 November 1829, Sturt left
Sydney to assume command of the expedition that eventually turned itself into the famous Murray River Voyage. On 26 December 1829, his team assembled a 25-foot whaleboat and built a log skiff for carrying stores and only two oars. This work was supervised by a carpenter, named Mr Clayton. The boat party departed from the
Lachlan River on 7 January 1830. The crew, besides Sturt and
Macleay included soldiers, Harris, Hopkinson, and Frasier and convicts, Mulholland, Macnamee, and Clayton. In 1830 the first exploratory expedition reached the Ngarrindjeri lands and Sturt and crew noted Ngarrindjeri were already familiar with firearms. Ngarrindjeri told them that the ocean was nearby and Sturt sailed into a lake which Sturt named
Alexandrina. Around 9 February 1830, Sturt sighted seagulls. A few days later, they found the point where the Murray
flowed into the sea. In the 1840s, Dr
John Rankine operated his own ferry service from the Clayton Bay to
Hindmarsh Island, mainly transporting his
sheep and workers and called 'Rankine's Ferry.' The town of Clayton was later named by
Governor MacDonnell in 1858. Land allotments were offered for sale in 1859 in the area informally known as 'Old Clayton.' Clayton Bay was subdivided as a settlement in 1859 and a store,
post office and a few dwellings were established. In 1969, the Clayton subdivision was established and other developments north of Alexandrina Drive, were developed between 1985 and 2009 creating the current town. A well-known
yabby restaurant operated from 1974 until approximately 2009. Strategically, Clayton Bay is an important place as the channel separating it from
Hindmarsh Island is at its narrowest. The
2000s Australian drought arose from very low flows to the Lower Murray (over Lock 1) resulting in the lowest water levels in over 90 years of records. The lowest water levels during the extreme low flow period were reached in April 2009, and represented a 64% and 73% reduction in the volume of
Lakes Alexandrina and
Albert respectively. The low water levels and inflows meant there was no outflow from the lake system during the extreme low flow period. During this period the lake levels fell below mean sea level (approximately +0.2 m AHD) downstream of the barrages, reversing the usual positive hydraulic gradient from the lake to the sea. The seawater intrusion, lack of flushing, evapoconcentration and increased resuspension resulted in severe water quality impacts Large scale engineering interventions were undertaken to prevent further acidification, including constructions at Clayton Bay and pumping of water to prevent exposure and acidification of Lake Albert. Management of acidification in the Lower Lakes was also undertaken using aerial limestone dosing. The South Australian government erected a
barrage (known as a restrictor flow bund) at Clayton Bay to stop the flow of Lake Alexandrina waters towards the mouth of the
Murray River The River, Lakes and Coorong Action Group (chaired by Prof.
Diane Bell and including Henry and Gloria Jones) vigorously campaigned for the removal of the 'Clayton regulator' to restore water flows. The regulator was removed in 2011. Jones' Lookout (named after Henry Jones, local fisherman and environmentalist) was opened in 2009 and is located on the concrete plinth where a former water tower once stood on a clifftop. The
mosaic design by artist, Michael Tye consists of a compass rose formed by intersecting ripples. The tiles used for the mosaic are hand-cut,
vitrified porcelain tiles, surrounded by tiling of unglazed quarry tiles. The mosaic is a compass made of intersecting ripples of mainly blue tiles, with the colours at the north point depicting
sunset on the water. Each of the compass points names a key location in the direction and their distances from Clayton Bay, and from the platform there are views of Lake Alexandrina and the Lower Lakes.
North point is emphasised by the colours of sunset on the water. The work also includes
swamp hen footprints to an area of concrete that borders the tiling (the work was commissioned during the 2000s
Australian Drought when water levels were extremely low and the purple
swamp hen (Porphyrio melanotus) disappeared from the area, leaving nothing but footprints). ==Environmental threats and action==