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Intro to the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ Podcast

Welcome to the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ Podcast, exploring the flows, loops & lines of the Suburban Rail Loop East, across the lands and waters of Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country. In this episode Dan Koop introduces the rest of this podcast series from where it all began at Beaumaris overlooking the salt water of Narrm (Port Phillip Bay).

To begin, Dan outlines his creative practice and explains that this podcast series is the third and final part of a longer artistic journey shared with many people. First, the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ artists walked and talked to begin to encounter this place, then we hosted creative walkshops to exchange knowledge with local communities. This process generated new maps of the areas and is how we came to know the fantastic people we continue talking to in this podcast series.

There are 12 more episodes following our journey from Cheltenham to Box Hill, with each episode introducing you to a wonderful person we met along the way.

Click here see the hand embroidered maps we made of our journey.


1A – Cheltenham – Table Rock Point with Jack Mitchell and Boon Wurrung Country

Welcome to the first episode of the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ podcast, hosted by Dan Koop. Across this series Dan is joined by six walking companions to explore the flows, loops and lines of the Suburban Rail Loop East, across the lands and waters of Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country.

In this episode we meet our first guest artist, Jack Mitchell, at Table Rock Point in Beaumaris overlooking the waters of Narrm. From here Dan and Jack start the walking journey towards the first train station in Cheltenham, but before departing they discuss what it means to walk and acknowledge the lands and waters of Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country.

In the episode Jack acknowledges Aunty Caroline Briggs, an elder and knowledge holder of the Boon Wurrung people. To pay our respects to her story, knowledge and leadership we invite you to listen to the story of the creation of the bay told in her own words: 

“Baykeepers: Time of Chaos” narrated by N’arweet Carolyn Briggs, Boon Wurrung Elder


1B – Cheltenham – Ricketts Point with Jack Mitchell and Neil Blake

In this second episode Dan & Jack continue walking along Narrm-ga on salty, sandy Boon Wurrung lands and waters, stopping at Ricketts Point to talk with Neil Blake. Neil is the founding director of the Port Phillip Eco Centre and known to many as the Port Phillip Baykeeper. 

During our conversation Neil mentions the invaluable work of community groups such as Marine Care Ricketts Point and the Marine Education Science and Community as examples of the people-powered efforts to preserve the ecology of Ricketts Point, leading towards its present status as a marine reserve. Find out about their conservation activities and invaluable nature publications here:

To finish this leg of the walking journey Jack and Dan reflect upon walking through the suburbs of Beaumaris and Cheltenham. You can take a look at the incredible domestic architecture of Beaumaris that’s been preserved and documented in the Beaumaris Modern books by Fiona Austin:


2A – Clayton – Karkarook Park(run) with Lina Patel and Natalie

This episode is the first in our Clayton series, introducing you to Lina Patel as we walk from Cheltenham to Clayton and encounter the wonderful outdoor community at Karkarook Park. Lina and Dan met birdwatching but also bonded over mutual love of Jenny Odell’s writing about place and bioregions, especially How To Do Nothing (2019), which is highly recommended!

We walk and talk to local jogger Natalie who’s made hundreds of loops around Karkarook Lake as a key volunteer Co-Event Director for Karkarook Parkrun. New joggers, walkers and volunteers are always welcome and can loop in with the Parkrun community for free each Saturday morning.

Our discussion notes the many varied communities that meet at Karkarook Park and we would particularly like to thank the Friends of Karkarook Park who introduced us to the area and have had such a big hand in the park’s ecological and community life alongside management by Parks Victoria.

You can join regular organised bird walks with knowledgeable and generous folks at Friends of Karkarook Park or meet the feathered locals on your own by taking a look at what other citizen scientist birders have observed and recorded on eBird.


2B – Clayton – Bald Hill Disc Golf with Lina Patel and Doug & Janet

In this episode Lina & Dan continue walking with our birdwatching binoculars before noticing something else flying through the air – discs! We chat with locals Doug and Janet who introduce us to the sport, the Melbourne Disc Golf Club community and the public course at Bald Hill Park in Clarinda. You can borrow discs from the Kingston Library to give it a go yourself!

For more of what we saw up in the air, check out birds of the area check outBald Hill and Namatjira Park on eBird, the live flights in and out of Moorabbin Airport or even do your own research and make your own mind up about the Westall UFO sightings in 1966! 


3A – Monash – Water-Orb Public Art with Sarah Walker and Natasha Johns-Messenger

Sarah Walker joins the third leg of our journey traversing the Monash Uni Clayton campus from Clayton Station to the new Monash Station. While reflecting upon our erstwhile Bachelor studies at the campus Dan and Sarah stumbled upon Water-Orb, a flowing sculpture by Natasha Johns-Messenger that’s part of the MUMA Gallery Public Art Collection, who joins us for a discussion of time, space, place and everything in between. Water-Orb should be seen (and heard) to be believed – head on down to campus for a first hand experience and read about it on Natasha’s website.

We highly recommend you check out the rest of the MUMA Public Art collection by following a self-guided walking tour that takes you to all corners of the campus. In particular, we loved contemplating the flows, loops and lines in works by Qandamooka artist Megan Cope and a collaboration between artists and scientists by Open Spatial Workshop.


3B – Monash – Campus water systems with Sarah Walker and Carlo Lacson

After weaving a walking path through campus Sarah and Dan noticed water infrastructure hidden in plain sight that deserved a deeper look in our final Monash episode. We talk to campus Water Manager, Carlo Lacson, to consider flow (charts), (recycling) loops and (underground) lines of the campus water systems that help us make connections between the natural landscape and urban management. You can read more about how Carlo and his team work with water at Monash University’s Clayton Campus.

The flow of storm water, recycled and potable water includes kilometeres of underground pipes and thousand gigalitre tanks, but also natural systems such as the lake beside the Aboriginal Garden and Jock Marshal Reserve – two quiet places amongst a busy campus that blend cultural and scientific knowledges. 


4A – Glen Waverley – KooyongKoot with David Sornig and Professor Brian Martin (Bundjalung, Kamilaroi, Muruwari)

At the half-way point in our journey we move from sandy saltwater Country of the Boon Wurrung peoples, towards clay freshwater Country of the Wurundjeri peoples around the KooyongKoot catchment. In this episode we are joined by David Sornig to begin walking the Glen Waverley leg, pausing at a confluence of streams to talk with Professor Brian Martin (Bundjalung, Kamilaroi, Muruwari) about his relationships with Country through his incredible hand drawn portraits of significant trees.

David Sornig’s writing has always focused upon notions of place, often walking as a way to write. You can read his award winning book Blue Lake (2018) and also listen to an ABC Radio adaptation that delves into the various histories around the West Melbourne Swamp.

Professor Brian Martin (Bundjalung, Kamilaroi, Muruwari) introduces us to his Methexical Countryscape charcoal drawings and the ideas of Country and culture that inspire these stunning portraits. His work includes exhibitions with several galleries and research projects with Monash University that explore the connection between Indigenous Knowledges and contemporary research.

Since this conversation Brian was part of a team that made a powerful cultural exchange by returning a Gamilaraay dhulu sacred tree home after 80-plus years in a Swiss museum collection.

You can see images of the marked tree from Valley Reserve that we discuss at the Monash Public Library collection.


4B – Glen Waverley – Scotchmans Creek with David Sornig and Graham Ross of the Kooyong Koot Alliance

In this final episode in our Glen Waverley series Dan & David continue our meandering walk alongside the Kooyong Koot catchment of the Scotchmans Creek. We pause on the fringe of the Scotchmans Creek Valley Reserve with Graham Ross, the convener of the Kooyong Koot Alliance of Friends groups looking to preserve and improve the catchment. See the many community groups working together by checking out the KKA website and lend your hands to the blossoming relationships across the catchment.

We discuss how the Kooyong Koot Alliance embraced local First Nations language in it’s own name, and the curious use of newer Scottish words, acknowledging the deep histories of Country, landscape and more recent histories. We’re big fans of Gary Presland’s writing on the natural histories of Melbourne and surrounding suburbs, so check out his work and see what you can learn about where you live. To see where this community building meets citizen science take a look at the Victorian National Parks Association’s various Nature Stewards programs.


5A – Burwood – Damper Creek friends & family with Emily Bowman and Di & Rebecca

In the first of our Burwood walks Dan and Emily Bowman venture deeper into the Kooyong Koot catchment through suburbs and school zones, stopping to smell the roses along the way. Amongst this everyday scene we stumble across Damper Creek, an urban oasis nestled between busy roads and suburban houses. Here we chat with locals Di & Rebecca who have had longstanding relationships with this beautiful stretch of creeklands.

Emily Bowman is a dance artist, performer, choreographer, teacher, and researcher. While walking from Glen Waverley to Burwood Emily shares insights into her research methods in her PhD with Deakin University that explores how embodied acts of attention and eco-somatic practices can teach us about the world.

Di & Rebecca have lived alongside the Damper Creek for generations and now contribute to the conservation of the area through the Friends of Damper Creek. Di is now the President and Rebecca is undertaking ecology studies after finding lifelong inspiration in the ecosystem of the creek just beyond her back fence – just one more example of the community forged through place and staying connected through the Kooyong Koot Alliance.


5B – Burwood – Local History Park with Emily Bowman and Yin Paradies (Wakaya)

As Dan and Emily approach Deakin University we pause to consider time at the Local History Park alongside the Gardiners Creek Reserve south of Burwood Highway, where we walk, talk and drift between timescales with animist-anarchist-actionist Yin Paradies. 

Yin is a Wakaya man who is Chair in Race Relations and Professor at Deakin University where he researches the effects of racism, anti-racism theory, Indigenous knowledges and decolonisation. Yin is also a custodian of the Anam Cara Homestead in the Yarra Valley.

We mention how Green Bee, led by Rebecca Jensen & Caitlin Dear and hosted at Dancehouse, inspired us with their series of working sessions to create and take climate action through a mix of art, advocacy, action, discussion, and practical support of local campaigns.

The Local History Park is worth a walk and can be found along the Gardiners Creek south of the Burwood Highway. Geosculpture (1993) can be found just north of Highbury Rd and is by Building Artists – Kirsten & Eric Hoak, Stone Mason Jim Charlwood, Fabrication Pizzey Engineering.

This conversation with Yin about place-time led us to some more fascinating research being undertaken at Deakin University via the The Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab led by Dr Tyson Yunkaporta & Dr John Davis and contributed to by many other researchers and knowledge holders.


6A – Box Hill – Gardiners Creek Trail conservation with Ria Soemardjo and the Urban Guerrillas

Ria Soemardjo joins the final leg of the Cheltenham to Box Hill journey, starting just north of the Burwood Highway beside Deakin University. We walk along the KooyongKoot via the Gardiners Creek Trail, pausing to talk about conservation and community building with the Urban Guerrillas. 

Ria Soemardjo is a musician with a passion for collaborating with artists across a diverse range of genres and artforms. Her distinct, haunting vocal style reflects her Australian / Indonesian cultural heritage and she draws on her fascination for Indonesian musical traditions in her song writing and collaborative projects.

The Urban Guerrillas have a ground-up approach to environmental engagement to bring about change for the environment. They strive to reintroduce and restore Indigenous biodiversity back into urban landscapes and while doing so, invite and encourage young community members, of all ability and background, to take part and learn about their local environment. See what they’re up to next via social media…

The Urban Guerrillas and Friends of Gardiners Creek Reserve are both members of the KooyongKoot Alliance.


6B – Box Hill – Surrey Park Dive with Ria Soemardjo and John of the Surrey Park Model Boat Club

The Surrey Park Model Boat Club meets at Surrey Park Lake every Wednesday and Sunday to sail their incredibly detailed hand made model boats. We talk to Vice Commodore John about the Club community, their boats and his personal history at The Dive.

The Surrey Dive was the antecedent of the swimming pool that’s now next door, providing a place to cool off and swim after the clay quarry and the brickworks had closed. The chimney of the Surrey Brickworks still looks over the lake and the Box Hill Standard Brick can be seen all over Box Hill and features heavily in the landscape design at Box Hill Gardens where our walking journey concludes.

Listen to the end to hear Ria Soemardjo’s sonic response to her time walking and talking, following the flows, loops and lines of the Suburban Rail Loop East.


BONUS: Ria Soemardjo’s “Walking the Underneath”

Listen to Ria Soemardjo’s sound piece created in response to the stories that unfolded while walking and talking as we followed the flows, loops and lines of the Suburban Rail Loop East.

All the sounds were collected on our walks, including some underwater microphone recordings at the Surrey Park Dive. The model steamboats from the Surrey Park Model Boat Club were Ria’s personal favourite!

You can listen to more of Ria’s sounds at www.riavoice.com/recordings