Filling the void

Building Eden on the spoils of mining

Featured in

  • Published 20230502
  • ISBN: 978-1-922212-83-2
  • Extent: 264pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm), eBook

In the Book of Genesis, the river passing through Eden divides in four after watering the garden. One branch winds through Havilah, a land in which gold is to be found, of exceptional purity. 

On a Christian message board, one believer is convinced they have triangulated the co-­ordinates of the gold near Eden, urging others to join them in a lucrative extractive opportunity. ‘Well I believe I have found it,’ they write. ‘No mines have been started in the area. I need geologists.’

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

About the author

Connor Tomas O’Brien

Connor Tomas O’Brien teaches in the Professional Writing and Editing program at RMIT University and runs a design studio for environmental organisations and non-­profits.

More from this edition

Colour theory

FictionI carried that knife with me everywhere, clipped onto the waistband of my pants, the metal cold against my hip, but when the time came to use it, I forgot it was there. For days afterwards, I waited for the police to turn up on the doorstop. I kept refreshing the local news, typed variations of ‘assault’ and ‘eye-­gouge’ and ‘Brisbane’ into Google. The most recent result was from the previous April: a glassing incident on a man in his sixties in a Spring Hill pub that had nothing to do with me.

The emperor’s new opponent

Non-fictionAsk many of my colleagues to define AI and they will tell you…that it’s about getting computers to do tasks that humans require intelligence to perform. Or, to put it another way, it’s about faking human performance on intelligent tasks.

See through a glass darkly 

Non-fictionOn the way home that night we pass Oxford Street. It’s lit up and people are dancing in the windows of the clubs. There’s a rainbow flag on one of the buildings. Dad turns to look at this with a grimace: he shakes his head and sucks his teeth. He turns the volume up on the CD player and focuses on the road ahead. 

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.