Gundagai, 1852

The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.

Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.

When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany’s heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man’s law? And if she does, will it bring hope ... or heartache?

‘A powerful story of family, place and belonging.’

Kate Grenville

Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (‘River of Dreams’) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.

Hear Anita Heiss talk about and read from Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, and for the launch by Aunty Elaine Lomas.

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Dr Anita Heiss is an award-winning author of non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction, children’s novels and blogs. She is a proud member of the Wiradjuri Nation of central New South Wales, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, the GO Foundation and Worawa Aboriginal College. Anita is a board member of University of Queensland Press and Circa Contemporary Circus, and is a Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland. Her novel Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms set in Cowra during World War II, was the 2020 University of Canberra Book of the Year.

Elaine Patricia Lomas is a proud and strong Galari Wiradjuri Woman, whose ancestral lands and cultural connections are between the Marrambidya (Murrumbidgee), Galari (Lachlan), Wambuul (Macquarie) and Castlereagh rivers in South Western and Central Western NSW.

With a background in all things Aboriginal Affairs, including in health, housing and community and cultural development, Aunty Elaine currently teaches Wiradjuri language, culture and heritage at Wagga’s Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga High School, and Lake Tuggeranong College.

She is also a writer, poet and songwriter and an experienced public speaker, who sits on several boards, including the Evonne Goolagong Foundation.