Episode 2

Continuing their journey along the Murray and Darling rivers, First Mate John Doyle and Captain Tim Flannery decide to trace the journey of Henry Lawson who worked on the sheep station, Toorale, in the 1890s. After examining its grandeur, Tim and John bunk down in the shearers' quarters for the night. John and Tim navigate the Bismarck along what's referred to as the 'muddy gutter' of the Darling to Louth, where they bump into Wally Mitchell, farmer, bush poet, former Mayor of Bourke, and a bloke familiar with the squabbles over water. After travelling for weeks down a river whose chief feature is lack of water, John and Tim reach the vast storage of Menindee Lakes in western NSW. Suddenly there appears to be water everywhere. Just downstream on Lake Menindee itself the residents of dry and dusty Broken Hill, an hour west, have built their waterfront weekenders. But there's a minor problem. So little water flow is getting past the dam, there's been no water in Lake Menindee itself for years. But a dry ancient lake can reveal the most extraordinary secrets, especially if you have a palaeontologist's pick on hand. After the excitement of their find, John and Tim call in to visit the ladies of the Country Women's Association for a good dose of local wisdom and a cuppa. But the river calls and there are a few more stops along the way.