On Track: searching out the Bundian Way by writer, naturalist and walker, John Blay, will be launched at Jigamy Farm, on the Princes Highway north of Eden, at 4pm on Saturday, August 1.
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Blay's book is a fascinating account of his long-distance search for the old ways of travelling between the Kosciuszko High Country and Twofold Bay near Eden.
The 360-kilometre route traverses some of the nation’s wildest, most remarkable landscapes from the highest part of the continent to the ocean.
This epic bushwalking story traces the region’s people, natural history, country and the rediscovery of an ancient track.
In recognition of its importance as a shared history pathway, it is the first Aboriginal pathway to be listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.
And thanks to the work of Blay, Aboriginal people and local communities, the Bundian Way is set to be one of the great Australian walks.
The Bundian Way was like a myth when John Blay started his walk from the high country to Twofold Bay.
Blay had no idea where the track would lead or how long it would take.
What he discovered was an ancestral pathway possibly 40,000 years old, linking black and white history, that predates the Egyptian pyramids and China’s fabled Silk Road, whose terrain is still largely wild and unmapped.
On Track: searching out the Bundian Way is the culmination of years of research and adventure, and documents Blay’s first walk along the ancient pathway as he was beginning his research.
As the walk progresses he considers the route’s shared history, which gives a colourful and sometimes dramatic view of an aspect of history that has seldom been expressed.
The Bundian Way was used by Aboriginal ancestors for thousands of years, linking the bogong moth harvest and ceremonies in the Snowy Mountains to the whale ceremonies on the coast. The site for these oceanic ceremonies was Bilgalera (Fisheries Beach) in Twofold Bay, Eden. Local Aboriginal elder, Uncle Ossie Cruse - a long-term friend of Blay’s - recalls how the elders would perform a “hunger dance” on the shoreline, instructing the killer whales to bring in a whale for slaughter. The entire whale would be used, for oil and blubber, with dried blubber providing a durable food for months, and used for trade along the Bundian Way.
Blay’s book also recounts the use of the Bundian Way by early settlers. When European pioneers arrived in the southeast region of Australia, they found the mountain country a barrier to settlement. Produce of the Monaro, for example, was too difficult to get to market without access to the port of Eden. Blay tells how the old Aboriginal clans of the region came to the rescue, showing the settlers the best route through. In this way, a pathway used for thousands of years became the first roads.
During the August 1 launch, Blay will share insights into his research, the highs and lows of his walk, and the latest news on the opening of stages of the walk. Everyone is welcome to attend.