Celebrating the arrival of buluunggal (mullet) in the Nyambaga (Nambucca River)
Upriver all is calm.
Near the mouth, mullet are jumping
And tens of thousands of fry are swimming around the mangroves. 
A Little Pied Cormorant is hunting them.
The festival is humming in the sun. Last year, Uncle Bud Marshall led the festival. This year Uncle Bud, ‘always giving, always receiving from Country’, was commemorated.
Preparing Lemon Myrtle, Paperbark, Casuarina and Bottle Brush for the smoking ceremony.
We breath in the purifying smoke and catch up with friends from Forest Ecology Alliance. My new range of mensware is admired.
I lost track of the dancers, but always rewarding to watch from the largest to the smallest.
Uncle Bud is looking down on the festivities.
A free feed of mullet (a sustainable fish and healthy being high in Omega vitamins). 
‘Buluungul’, Uncle Benjie Buchanan sculpture with Nick Warfield & Jason Earnshaw, Uncle Bud Marshall and Aunty Shaa Smith The design conceived after discussions with Uncle Bud Marshall on his experiences spearfishing here with Uncle Benjie Buchanan. Uncle Benjie would talk about the various signals the bush would provide such as the wattle blooming, the arrivals of a particular butterfly and the presence of particular caterpillars that all gave insights that he used in order to catch fish.
The artist’s design centres on the symbolic significance of the spear –‘Uncle Benjie has done all his spearing and now he can rest.’
