Gentle Waves over Ancient Rocks

This recording celebrates, and meditates upon, the sound of gentle waves of the ancient ocean washing over ancient rocks at a very special place on the South Australian coastline, on a clear, calm morning in October 2020. The geology of ‘Hallett Cove’ (indigenous names for this place are unfortunately not known) spans 600 million years, with five different rock types formed at five different periods of the Earth’s development, within five different climates, while Australia occupied different locations on the Earth’s surface. Evidence of Aboriginal settlement, here, dates back 40,000 years, with nearly two thousand stone tools found that provide evidence of the so-called ‘Kartan’ people, who once inhabited Kangaroo Island, even after it became separated from the mainland. Evidence of Kaurna campsites is more recent, dating back at least two thousand years. The place is of great significance to the Kaurna people, because of its connection to the Dreaming of Tjilbruke, their creator ancestor.