The Man and the Striped Shark was commissioned by Arts North, Department of Education in 2004 as part of the three part song cycle ‘Yennibu’. Conceived by Paul and Jenny Gregory, the project would involve hundreds of school children, Aboriginal advisors, wildlife officers, National Parks and teachers in creating the knowledge to inspire new pieces based on ancient stories, relevant to the people and place of Northern Sydney. Paul collaborated with Dennis Foley, an Aboriginal academic from Northern Sydney, and after studying his writing and walking his country, Dennis and Paul agreed on three stories to tell. The world première was in Sydney Opera House.
The Man & the Striped Shark is about Barnoo, a man from the Cammeraygal clan of Sydney who lived among the pristine bays and beaches, where today many Sydney suburbs stretch across the sandstone cliffs and down into the waters. Barnoo never married or had children, yet he always kept a calm and reassuring eye on his people.
One afternoon, just as the sun was setting, Barnoo noticed a group of children playing in bay below. Perched high on the cliff above, he could see a bull shark advancing on the children, unaware of the shadow lurking in the water towards them. They were told to never swim in the bay at sunset, but they had become involved in their games and forgotten the warnings. The shark attacked and Barnoo leapt into the water dragging the children one by one to safety. As he returned each time to the water, the shark turned on Barnoo and by the time he had saved the last of the children he had been mauled to death by the shark and died in the crimson waters. His blood spilled into the bay, and forever from that day his name Barnoo was given to the sunset.
Sample recording courtesy of Hillcrest Christian College Choir, directed by Jenny Moon