Billabong

OHM is delighted to celebrate the Australian Billabong with this rippling and beautiful glass bead. The water is dappled with sunlight, and sparkles with crystal accents, as a welcome breeze stirs gentle rings across the surface. You can almost see the wild animals and thirsty humans gathering to partake in its cool refreshment. This bead will refresh your bracelet too with a soft and subtle color. Let it remind you that the flow of life may change its course, but though one resource may be diverted, another opportunity will always open, perhaps more important than before.

A billabong is an Australian term for an isolated lake or pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are found in hot, dry, barren landscapes, so they often fill with water seasonally and then go dry the rest of the year. The name “billabong” is likely derived from the Aboriginal word “bila” meaning river combined with “bong” meaning dead. Yet these so-called “dead rivers” sometimes hold their water longer than various portions of other rivers in arid Australia and therefore billabongs are very important to the life of that region. Billabongs have been celebrated in Australian lore for ages.