The idea for the project developed from a small display in the Museum's Old New Land gallery. This display, Australians Living Inland, presents an analysis of water from three inland Australian cities; Kalgoorlie, Wagga Wagga and Alice Springs.
Through discussions with ACT Waterwatch the Museum agreed to extend this idea to communities along Australia's major water system, the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). On this website you can explore a number of other projects that the Museum has done with Murray-Darling Basin communities.
A call went out for participants. The response was overwhelming! Those that responded were sent a kit that included an empty bottle, instructions and a questionnaire. Participants contributed a bottled water sample from their local river, lake, wetlands or other source together with a water analysis and accompanying words and images.
The objectives of the project are to show the important connections from state to territory across Australia's largest water system, to help reveal the issues we are facing as a nation and to recognise some of the people in our communities who are working to resolve them.
Water management and the environment are perhaps the greatest single issues confronting nations and communities globally. Bottles from the Basin shows people and places, the water quality and issues that communities along the Murray-Darling Basin are dealing with.