The Murray River is bloated. Like the eastern brown snakes found on its banks, it slips slowly through the bush, past paddle steamers and into the port of Echuca. As it rolls through the town, it has started to swallow the trunks of gum trees and left only the tips of children’s playgrounds visible.
The great dividing river is now uniting border towns in apprehension, as it encroaches on their backyards and threatens their homes. The floods are here, but the forecast for the peak changes more rapidly than the currents can carry it.
