Being On Country Off Country

Being On Country Off Country Mandy Stephanie Nicholson Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Indigenous Archaeology, Monash University A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Monash University in 2023 School of Philosophy History & International Studies Faculty of Arts Copyright notice © Mandy Nicholson (2023). I certify that I have made all reasonable efforts to secure copyright permissions for third-party content included in this thesis and have not knowingly added copyright content to my work without the owner's permission. Abstract A person’s connection to something can be deeply multifaceted and can shape who you are, your beliefs, identity, spirituality, and customs. This includes physical, nonphysical, spiritual, or metaphysical, your place of birth, or even a profound journey or moment/s throughout life. A First Nation person feels these connections, like everyone else, but there are so many more layers that make up this ‘connection’. One of the most profound examples is connection to Country. This thesis considers how First Nation People remain connected or regain connection after displacement and generational ‘unavailability’ of many elements of culture and language. It is written by a First Nation person from a First Nation perspective. The case study focus of this research is the Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria, Australia. A questionnaire research method was used that relates to ‘Being on and off Country’. Analytical categories examined include: • • • • • • • those who have lived On Country their whole life those who have lived On Country sporadically (for both long and short periods) those who live just Off Country those who live Off Country internationally those who live On the other side of the Australian continent those that have never lived On Country those who generationally have not lived On Country (including parents/grandparents) • those who have recently moved back On Country Assessment of these categories took into consideration gender1, places and geography (local, interstate, and international), and age. Connection to Country must explore the connections of the Deep Past of First Nations Peoples and how this connection formed since time immemorial and how it continues. Research results indicate that connection to Country for a First Nation person and their community relies on not only the tangible, but also sensing the intangible, like spirituality, and linking all these varied and complex elements together. There is a clear lack of research on how First Nation People connect this way with Country when they do not physically live On Country. This thesis reveals the varied strategies used by Gunditjmara people to maintain connection to Country irrespective of where they live physically. The research results are relevant for not only First Nation Australians, but First Nations People around the world. Results will also inform the wider community on how First Nations culture remains strong and alive, even when one does not live On Country. 1 The questionnaire data does not include non-binary responders as none noted/informed that they identified as such, however is very worthy of further research. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - ii Declaration This thesis is an original work of my research and contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at any university or equivalent institution and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signature: Print Name: Mandy Nicholson Date: 29th November 2023 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - iii Publications during enrolment Nicholson, M & DS Jones (2022), Indigenous living [‘heritage’] designing tenets: Kulin ways of singing, designing, nurturing and nourishing terrains of identity, in R Houze & G Lees-Maffei (eds.), Design and Heritage: The Construction of Identity and Belonging, pp. 69-82. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-36756026-3. DOI: 10.4324/9781003096146-7 Nicholson, M & DS Jones (2020), Wurundjeri-al Narrm-u (Wurundjeri’s Melbourne): Aboriginal living heritage in Australia’s urban landscapes, in KD Silva (ed.) Routledge Handbook on Historic Urban Landscapes of the Asia-Pacific, pp. 508525. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138598256 Nicholson, M, G Romanis, I Paton, DS Jones, K Gerritsen & G Powell (2020), ‘Unnamed as yet’: Putting Wadawurrung meaning into the North Gardens Landscape of Ballarat, UNESCO Observatory E-Journal Multi-disciplinary Research in the Arts 6 (1): vii-viii, 1-19. https://www.unescoejournal.com/volume-6-issue-1/ and https://www.unescoejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/JONESNICHOLSON-POWELL-ROMANIS-GERRITSEN-PATON-1.pdf 1835-2776 Jones, DS, P Roös, J Dearnaley, H Threadgold, M Nicholson, R Wissing, D Berghofer, R Buggy, D Low Choy, PA Clarke, S Serrao-Neumann, G Kitson, S Ryan, B Powell, G Powell, MG Kennedy (2018), ReCrafting Urban Climate Change Resilience Understandings – Learning from Australian Indigenous Cultures in Biophilia Smart Resilience: e-Proceedings of the 55th International Federation of Landscape Architects World Congress 2018, 18-21 July 2018, Marina Bay, Singapore, pp. 402-417, http://www.ifla2018.com/eproceedings Kitson, G, M Nicholson, D Low Choy, DS Jones, S Silvia-Neumann & G Schuch (2018), Being 'in-there' not 'out-there': Aboriginals in urban Australia, in Proceedings of the State of Australian Cities National Conference in Adelaide, 28-30 November 2017, at http://soac2017.com.au/, published at http://apo.org.au/node/178746 on 18 June 2018. Nicholson, M & DS Jones (2018), Urban Aboriginal identity: “I can’t see the durt (stars) in the city”, in I McShane, E Taylor, L Porter & I Woodcock (eds.), Proceedings of Remaking Cities: 14th Australasian Urban History Planning History Conference 2018, RMIT University, Melbourne, 31 January – 2 February 2018, pp. 378-387, ISBN-13: 978-0-9953791-1-4, https://www.remakingcities-uhph2018.com/ + https://cloudstor.aarnet.edu.au/plus/s/g0FtJzRx3H5vSTb#pdfviewer Nicholson, M & DS Jones (2017), Ngoon-godgin buladu-biik: The essence of ‘Country’ acknowledgements and paying respect, presented at Whose Land is it Anyway? Symposium, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, 14-16 November 2017, https://www.whoseland2017.com/ Nicholson, M & DS Jones (2017), Dhumba-djerring balit-djak biik [Talking together powerful Country]: Wurundjeri perspectives towards creating a resilient and sustainable city on Country, presented at the EcoCity World Summit 2017, 12-14 July 2017, EcoCity Builders, Melbourne, Vic., https://www.ecocity2017.com/ Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - iv Nicholson, M, G Romanis, I Paton & DS Jones (2019), North Gardens Sculpture Park Landscape Master Plan. School of Architecture & Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic. Jones, DS, Alder, K, Bhatnagar, S, Cooke, C, Dearnaley, J, Diaz, M, Iida, H, Madhavan Nair, A, McMahon, S-L, Nicholson, M, Pocock, G, Powell, B, Powell, G, Rahurkar, SG, Ryan, S, Sharma, N, Su, Y, Wagh, SV and Yapa Appuhamillage, O (2021), Introduction: Surveying the Australian Landscape, in DS Jones (ed.) (2021), Learning Country in Landscape Architecture Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Respect and Appreciation, pp. 1-10. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-15-8875-4, eISBN 978-981-15-8876-1 Jones, DS, Alder, K, Bhatnagar, S, Cooke, C, Dearnaley, J, Diaz, M, Iida, H, Madhavan Nair, A, McMahon, S-L, Nicholson, M, Pocock, G, Powell, B, Powell, G, Rahurkar, SG, Ryan, S, Sharma, N, Su, Y, Wagh, SV and Yapa Appuhamillage, O (2021), Country, in DS Jones (ed.) (2021), Learning Country in Landscape Architecture Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Respect and Appreciation, pp. 1118. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-15-8875-4, eISBN 978981-15-8876-1 Jones, DS, Alder, K, Bhatnagar, S, Cooke, C, Dearnaley, J, Diaz, M, Iida, H, Madhavan Nair, A, McMahon, S-L, Nicholson, M, Pocock, G, Powell, B, Powell, G, Rahurkar, SG, Ryan, S, Sharma, N, Su, Y, Wagh, SV and Yapa Appuhamillage, O (2021), Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Education in Australia, in DS Jones (ed.) (2021), Learning Country in Landscape Architecture Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Respect and Appreciation, pp. 19-44. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-15-8875-4, eISBN 978-981-15-8876-1 Jones, DS, Alder, K, Bhatnagar, S, Cooke, C, Dearnaley, J, Diaz, M, Iida, H, Madhavan Nair, A, McMahon, S-L, Nicholson, M, Pocock, G, Powell, B, Powell, G, Rahurkar, SG, Ryan, S, Sharma, N, Su, Y, Wagh, SV and Yapa Appuhamillage, O (2021), Professional Accreditation Knowledge and Policy Context, in DS Jones (ed.) (2021), Learning Country in Landscape Architecture Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Respect and Appreciation, pp. 45-60. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-15-8875-4, eISBN 978-981-15-8876-1 Jones, DS, Alder, K, Bhatnagar, S, Cooke, C, Dearnaley, J, Diaz, M, Iida, H, Madhavan Nair, A, McMahon, S-L, Nicholson, M, Pocock, G, Powell, B, Powell, G, Rahurkar, SG, Ryan, S, Sharma, N, Su, Y, Wagh, SV and Yapa Appuhamillage, O (2021), Learning Environments and Contexts, in DS Jones (ed.) (2021), Learning Country in Landscape Architecture Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Respect and Appreciation, pp. 61-88. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-15-8875-4, eISBN 978-981-15-8876-1 Jones, DS, Alder, K, Bhatnagar, S, Cooke, C, Dearnaley, J, Diaz, M, Iida, H, Madhavan Nair, A, McMahon, S-L, Nicholson, M, Pocock, G, Powell, B, Powell, G, Rahurkar, SG, Ryan, S, Sharma, N, Su, Y, Wagh, SV and Yapa Appuhamillage, O (2021), Student and Graduate Voices, in DS Jones (ed.) (2021), Learning Country in Landscape Architecture Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Respect and Appreciation, pp. 89-112. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-158875-4, eISBN 978-981-15-8876-1 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - v Jones, DS, Alder, K, Bhatnagar, S, Cooke, C, Dearnaley, J, Diaz, M, Iida, H, Madhavan Nair, A, McMahon, S-L, Nicholson, M, Pocock, G, Powell, B, Powell, G, Rahurkar, SG, Ryan, S, Sharma, N, Su, Y, Wagh, SV and Yapa Appuhamillage, O (2021), Respecting Country and People: Pathways Forward, in DS Jones (ed.) (2021), Learning Country in Landscape Architecture Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Respect and Appreciation, pp. 113-116. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-15-8875-4, eISBN 978-981-15-8876-1 Nicholson, M, Kitson, G, Jones DS & Low Choy, D (2022 pending), ‘Being On Country Off Country’: Perspectives from Gunditjmara and Quandamooka Country’s, in Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on Sustainable Rural Built Environments (SRBE): From Engagement To Impact, 3-5 February 2020, Islamic International University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - vi Acknowledgments Acknowledgement of Country Marramb-ik Wurundjeri Baggarrook, mundanai-njan Gunditjmara, Liwik-bulok nugel-dhan, Lalal ba Gugung nugel-dhan. Gulinj, baggarrook, ba bubup nugel-dhan. Balit-dhan and yurlendj wilip-gin-dhan yalingbu ba yirramboi. I am a Wurundjeri woman I embrace the Gunditjmara people’s Ancestors and Elders. Their men, women and children, their resilience/strength and knowledge they keep today and into tomorrow. Other Acknowledgements Mundani-njan Liwik-bulok nugel-ik, ba ker-rup-non. Mundanai-njan German ba Irish ker-rup-non, baban, maman mamun, bininang-bulok, wurning-bulok, babi-bulok, bindjirru ganbu landan-ik, bindjirru banggangj-ik, gan-gan-bulok, girrin-bulok, lal lal ba gungung-bulok nugel-ik, Bunjil maman, ba Ngarri baam gorrak. I embrace my many Ancestors, and kin. I embrace my German and Irish kin, mother, father, cousins, nephews, nieces, my three sisters, my two brothers, uncles, aunties, my many grandfathers and grandmothers, Bunjil father and the female Spirit Protector the owlet night jar. I would like to acknowledge my Ancestors of the Wurundjeri, Djaara (Dja Dja wurrung) and Ngurai illum wurrung as well as numerous other Victorian Language Groups with whom I have blood connections. I also would like to acknowledge my German and Irish heritage and the strength that my German grandmother and Irish Grandfather possessed and handed onto their children which in turn has been imprinted on us. I acknowledge my mother, Erika for always supporting my First Nation identity and my father William snr (who I lost just before and during writing this thesis), for always being involved in Wurundjeri ‘business’ and leading them as Elders Spokesperson for several years in which he took so much pride. His vision of the next generations leading the way and making our culture strong and resilient resonates in his six children, eleven grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. I am from a strong line of staunch women, one being Berak’s (William Barak’s) sister Borate, who’s portrait shows a powerful woman who would have endured many struggles but came through to be the reason Wurundjeri people survived today, the only Apical Ancestor all Wurundjeri are connected to. I acknowledge other Wurundjeri matriarchs, my grandmother Martha (Dolly) Terrick for her cheekiness and humour and my heritage, parts of which all her 16 children and many grandchildren possess. Aunty Patricia Ockwell (Aunty Teenie), the oldest living Wurundjeri person and matriarch, as well as Aunty Diane Kerr and her sister Aunty Irene Morris for their continued support in the revival of Murrum Turrukurruk ceremony after an absence Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - vii for over 185 years. Also, the trailblazer of cultural heritage protection and cultural warrior Aunty Vicki Nicholson-Brown, she opened doors for many younger Wurundjeri people, including myself to walk into and continue her fight against lack of recognition of cultural rites for First Nation Victoria, often not recognised as she should be. I would also like to embrace all my bininang (cousins) who walk the journey with me and support the cultural legacy of empowerment of our little women and immerse them in culture from birth through ceremony, dance, language, and song, especially Stacie and her little woman Fenna (Fen Fen), and Sue-anne with her little woman Jedda (Jedda bird) for teaching me how culture changes lives and gives strength in ways that nothing else can. Jedda and my great niece Djirra, who are culture warriors along with their cousin Laila are bindjirru ganbu wayibu guyup-guyup (three little songs birds) and all under the age of 12! A big thanks to all the other Djirri Djirri’s (our dance group), for sharing their culture through dance to thousands of people on small and large scales, locally, interstate, and internationally, Sam, Damien, Nanjera, Lynette, Keira, Hailey, Mikayla, Bella, Azaelea, and my grandson Tiyawi (goanna boy) our youngest warrior. I would like to honour my brother Bill Nicholson, for all his cultural support and advise throughout the years, as we see the same visions and are mirror images of each other culturally. He led the way for me, enabling me to know that things were possible, and to keep your voice loud, even for those who choose not to listen. I would like to thank Bunjil the Creator for my spirituality, without whom we would not know our roles and responsibilities or have a connection to culture, Country, language, song, dance, or ceremony. Bunjil gave us the spirituality, while Berak (William Barak) gave us the images that are associated with enabling us to wake up our culture, song, and dance after the failed attempt of genocide through invasion in what is commonly known as Australia. Australia does not exist! We are here, we are strong, we will be here tomorrow as our children will be! A very special thankyou to Gunditjmara gan gan Jim Berg and his Mimini (soulmate) girrin Kylie Berg for being my second parents and grandparents to my girls after losing both my parents and following our journey throughout the years and always being there for us and for “BIG HUGS!” I would most like to thank my two manggip (daughters) who have watched me staring at a computer screen for months on end, but still encouraging me to strive for what I want to achieve. They have cultural strength embedded in them and they express that in different ways. These two balit murrup (strong spirits) are my life force and they drive me to do more every day to awaken our culture and language together. They reflect my vision and empower themselves through cultural learnings from me and furthering their own knowledge through research and expressions of their culture. They do this through art and dance, and by leading our women’s dance group – Djirri-Djirri and creating cultural movement to compliment the Woiwurrung songs that I write. They take the lead in raising awareness of our beautiful and dynamic culture though school, public events, and gatherings, as well as in their inner circle of school friends and teach their educators on aspects of culture that they cannot grasp. I honour my Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - viii newborn grandson Tiyawi who will carry on this legacy and my first inspiration, my sister Judy who lost her battle with cancer just before submitting this thesis. Also, I like to thank the Gunditjmara community for trusting and allowing me to be part of their community for a short time and for sharing their knowledge and being so honest and open in their questionnaire responses and trusting me enough to do so. A huge thankyou to Damein Bell, former Chief Executive Officer of Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC) RNTB, for being a friendly face and voice and so openly sharing his culture and Country with me. The Gunditjmara people associated with Tae’rak / Lake Condah, and the Gunditjmara as a whole. Also, Professor David Jones formerly of the School of Architecture & Built Environment at Deakin University, for being a friend and supporting my vision and making me feel culturally safe in the academic world which often isn’t. Also, Professor Mark Rose and Professor Julie Owens at Deakin University. Due to COVID-19 my supervision had to change in the final stages of writing, so I thank Associate Professor John Bradley for initially referring me to Monash’s PhD candidature, and Professor Ian McNiven, a former supervisor and friend for taking me on to complete my PhD at Monash University. I would also like to thank Gunditjmara sisters Tina and Donna Wright who I have known for many years for their assistance in encouraging other Gunditjmara people to participate in this research. Also, Tyson Lovett-Murray, who worked as a Project Worker at GMTOAC, for his cultural guidance, and allowing access and use of his Country images from drone and mapping technology. Cultural Warning There are references and photos that contain images and passages from those who have passed into the Spirit World. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - ix Monash University and Associated Protocols As clarification this research commenced at Deakin University, through an ARCfunded investigation led by Griffith University, and all the formative protocols and infield user research were completed whilst the candidate was enrolled at Deakin University. Due to circumstances caused by COVID-19, the candidate transferred to Monash University to complete the final write-up phase of this thesis. This research was subject to a successful Human Ethics approved application by the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (DUHREC) entitled ‘Being On Country Off Country’ coded 2016-276 dated 14 September 2016, issued following approval of a Human Ethics Application to the Griffith University Human Research Committee (GUHRC) entitled ‘Being On Country Off Country’ issued for the period 1 August 2016 to 30 July 2020 to Professor Darryl Low Choy 2. As the data collection phase of this research was completed whilst enrolled at Deakin University, Monash University’s Human Ethics Research Office did not require further ethics approvals (pers. comm. via email 18 August 2021). 0F The candidate fully passed Deakin University’s Human Ethics protocols. This candidature commenced following October 2016 so was subject to Deakin University’s PhDXstra track, and the candidate has passed the required SSC900 Academic Writing and Communication unit in T1/2017. This research, entitled ‘Being On Country Off Country’, is subject to an approved Cultural Heritage Permit WAC-P0031 issued by the Wathaurong Aboriginal Corporation in accordance with s.36(1) of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic) dated 28 August 2019. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council grant associated with ARC Project LP150100379 for ARC Linkage 2015 for the project entitled ‘Being On Country Off Country’ issued to Griffith University as the lead project manager, and an additional scholarship issued by the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Research – of Deakin University in 2020. 22 See Appendix A for ethics approval from Deakin University. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - x Language used in this Research The language used in this document is from the varying dialects of Gunditjmara, mainly Dhauwurd wurrung, with direct quotes from Gunditjmara members, with primary source being James Dawson’s word lists in his book Australian Aborigines: the languages and customs of several tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria, Australia (1881). Other sources such as Robinson, Chief Protector of Aborigines, have also occasionally been quoted. For all quotations each source has been noted. These form part of the languages collectively known and used by the Gunditjmara of Western Victoria. As this is not my Traditional Country, or language, and language and Country 3 being intrinsically linked, it would be culturally inappropriate not to use the language/s of the focus in this study. However, protocols must also be followed when using another language, therefore all language referenced in this thesis is sourced directly from Gunditjmara people, or direct quotes from the public domain with permissions from Anthony Walker, a Gunditjmara man connected to the Lovett family. 1F All references to a Language Group or use of language terms and phrases will be in italics for emphasis. Style of writing The style utilised in writing this thesis is from a First Nation lens and brings in the narrative of other First Nation voices as well as those of the Gunditjmara. This is done through online resources as well as questionnaire data collected. It is written in a narrative format to educate non-First Nation readers but mainly for First Nation readers, away from an academic lens. This also includes capitalisations to emphasise something from my perspective, outside the Western construct. 3 Country here is defined by Apical Ancestry to a tract of land and entails a person’s cultural responsibilities for that land. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xi Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................vii Monash University and Associated Protocols................................................................. x Language used in this Research .................................................................................... xi Style of writing ............................................................................................................. xi Table of Figures .......................................................................................................... xvii List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xxxi List of Abbreviations – questionnaire coding ........................................................... xxxiv Definitions ................................................................................................................ xxxv List of Gunditjmara Language used ........................................................................... xliii Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Focus ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Gunditjmara People and Their Country ........................................................ 2 1.3 Country, Connection and Population ................................................................... 3 1.4 Gunditjmara of Western Victoria ......................................................................... 3 1.5 Thesis Research .................................................................................................... 4 1.6 Country, This Research and COVID-19............................................................... 5 1.7 Thesis Structure .................................................................................................... 5 1.8 A Personal Rationale and Perspective .................................................................. 7 Chapter 2 Research Methods ......................................................................................... 9 2.1 Background and rationale ................................................................................... 10 2.2 Research problem ............................................................................................... 11 2.3 Research aims, questions and objectives ............................................................ 12 2.4 Significance of the research................................................................................ 13 2.5 Data Collection ................................................................................................... 13 2.6 Sorry Business .................................................................................................... 15 2.7 Data Collection and COVID-19 ......................................................................... 17 2.8 Human Ethics ..................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3 Country....................................................................................................... 18 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 18 3.2 What is Country? ................................................................................................ 18 3.3 Landscape vs. Country ....................................................................................... 26 3.4 Science vs Culture .............................................................................................. 40 3.5 Ownership vs Custodianship .............................................................................. 42 3.6 Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) ......................................................... 47 3.7 Pre-1788 Elder and community roles and responsibilities ................................. 53 3.8 Community roles and responsibilities today ...................................................... 56 3.9 Elders roles and responsibilities today ............................................................... 64 Chapter 4 Gunditjmara ............................................................................................... 69 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 69 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xii 4.2 Gunditjmara Countries ....................................................................................... 69 4.3 Gunditjmara languages ...................................................................................... 81 4.4 Gunditjmara population ..................................................................................... 86 4.5 Living On and Off Country ................................................................................ 89 4.6 Gunditjmara Culture .......................................................................................... 91 4.7 Gunditjmara Spirituality-Budj Bim .................................................................... 98 4.8 Gunditjmara today ........................................................................................... 101 4.9 Native Title ....................................................................................................... 109 4.10 National Heritage Registration ..................................................................... 124 4.11 Budj Bim Cultural Landscape added to World Heritage List ....................... 137 4.12 Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC) . 149 Chapter 5 Connected ................................................................................................. 152 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 152 5.2 What does connection to Country really mean? ............................................... 152 5.3 Connection through the stars ............................................................................ 161 5.4 Connection through spirituality ........................................................................ 168 5.5 Spirituality Off Country ................................................................................... 173 5.6 Ceremony ......................................................................................................... 174 5.7 Language .......................................................................................................... 178 5.8 Identity through language affiliation ................................................................ 181 5.9 The diversity of Victorian languages ............................................................... 182 5.10 How Language draws you back to Country ................................................. 184 5.11 The culture of Possum skin cloaks ............................................................... 185 5.12 Connection to Country through technology ................................................. 187 Chapter 6 Population................................................................................................. 191 6.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 191 6.2 Population numbers .......................................................................................... 191 6.3 Population movements over time ..................................................................... 198 6.4 Population movements - Traditional ................................................................ 203 6.5 Population movements - Mission Period .......................................................... 213 6.6 Population movements – Contemporary/Post Mission Period ......................... 242 Chapter 7 Quantification of questionnaire responses ................................................. 247 7.1 Introdution ........................................................................................................ 247 7.2 GMTOAC meetings – questionnaire responders...............................................287 7.3 GMTOAC - overall membership ..................................................................... 293 Chapter 8 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 305 8.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 305 8.2 Country ................................................................................................................... 307 8.3 Connected ............................................................................................................... 308 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xiii 8.4 Population............................................................................................................... 310 8.5 Gunditjmara ............................................................................................................ 311 8.6 GMTOAC............................................................................................................... 311 8.7 Future Research Opportunities ............................................................................... 312 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 314 Appendix A................................................................................................................ 338 Human Ethics documentation ...................................................................................... 338 Appendix B ................................................................................................................ 339 ARC Funding extract.................................................................................................... 339 Appendix C................................................................................................................ 340 Gunditjmara Questionnaire used for data collection.................................................... 340 Appendix D................................................................................................................ 351 Outstanding Universal Value ....................................................................................... 351 Appendix E ................................................................................................................ 355 Native Title Determinations Gunditj Mirring Part A (VCD2007/001) and Part B (VCD2011/001)– Gunditj Mirring/Eastern Marr ........................................................ 355 Appendix F ................................................................................................................ 356 Patrilineal and Matrilineal classifications throughout Victoria and parts of South Australia and New South Wales ................................................................................... 356 Appendix G ............................................................................................................... 357 Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) in Victoria........................................................ 357 Appendix H ............................................................................................................... 358 Native Title Determinations – Victoria ........................................................................ 358 Appendix I ................................................................................................................. 359 Native Title Determinations – Australia-wide ............................................................. 359 Appendix J ................................................................................................................ 360 Map of Gunditjmara Indigenous land Use Agreements............................................... 360 Appendix K ............................................................................................................... 361 GMTOAC Apical Ancestors ........................................................................................ 361 Appendix L ................................................................................................................ 362 Gunditjmara Clan distribution key............................................................................... 362 Appendix M ............................................................................................................... 364 Gunditjmara Massacre sites (recorded ones only) in the western District of Victoria between the early 1830s and 1850s Country ................................................................ 364 Appendix N................................................................................................................ 366 Australia wide Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs). ....................................... 366 Appendix O ............................................................................................................... 367 Victorian First Nation population estimates in 1863 .................................................... 367 Appendix P ................................................................................................................ 369 P.1 GMTOAC memberships lists - 2007 ..................................................................... 369 P.2 GMTOAC memberships lists - 2011 ..................................................................... 373 P.3 GMTOAC memberships lists - 2013 ..................................................................... 380 P.4 GMTOAC memberships lists - 2015 ..................................................................... 386 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xiv P.5 GMTOAC memberships lists - 2017 ..................................................................... 393 P.6 GMTOAC memberships lists - 2019 ..................................................................... 401 P.7 GMTOAC memberships lists - 2020 ..................................................................... 406 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xv List of Tables Table 1: Estimated numbers of First Nation people in Victoria in 1863. ............................. 195 Table 2: Victorian population statistics of Europeans, Chinese and First Nation Australians from 7th April 1861 census data. .......................................................................................... 198 Table 3: Kulin percentages of common vocabulary across Victoria. ................................... 211 Table 4: Missions and Reserves across Victoria in 1883. .................................................... 215 Table 5: List of Christian run Missions and government run Reserves throughout Australia. .............................................................................................................................................. 224 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xvi Table of Figures Figure 0-1: Tae’rak (Lake Condah) in autumn (Nicholson, 2017c, 63).....................................l Figure 1-1: Tae'rak (Lake Condah) at sunset (Nicholson, 2017c). .......................................... 1 Figure 2-1: Author at Cape Nelson petrified forest near Portland on Gunditjmara Country. Photo by Damein Bell, 2017. ................................................................................................. 14 Figure 3-1: Lake Condah Cloak, a cultural map of Gunditjmara Country, collected in 1872. Photo by Rodney Start (Museums Victoria, 2019). ............................................................... 18 Figure 3-2: First Nation Australia, with its many Countries (Rizk, 2019). ............................ 19 Figure 3-3: Time immemorial encapsulates Deep Time, Genetic Time, Spiritual Time, physical time, present time, and future time, defined as a cyclical sequence and are all connected to the philosophy of Country. Source: author. ...................................................... 21 Figure 3-4: The comparison between Genetic Time and physical time. Source: author. ....... 22 Figure 3-5: The different ‘phases’ of Deep Time, Genetic, Spiritual and Physical. Source: author...................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 3-6: The separate but overlapping Countries of the Gunditjmara. Source: author. .... 23 Figure 3-7: Intangible Gunditjmara Countries, Star Country, Spirit Country, and Spiritual Protector Country. Source: author .......................................................................................... 24 Figure 3-8: GMTOAC member views of connection to Country.Source: author. ................. 25 Figure 3-9: Is Country Spiritual, Physical or Both? Source: questionnaire responses, 2020. 25 Figure 3-10: UNESCOs definitions of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO, 2020c). ................. 27 Figure 3-11: Close up map of Gunditjmara native title determinations Part A & B. Source: (DSE, 2007). For a full-scale map of the entire Part A & Part B Gunditjmara native title determinations, see Appendix E. ............................................................................................ 28 Figure 3-12: Showing how Water Country is the key to life and is present in everything around us and how it is embedded in each layer of Country. Source: author. ....................... 28 Figure 3-13: Language placenames that hold clues to locations of food and fibre resources, animals, Creation Narratives, and fishing spots. Source: (Clark, 2002, 114, 88, 13, 10, 108, 7, 146, 132) with additions by author in brackets. ..................................................................... 30 Figure 3-14: Comparisons between Country and Landscape. Source: author........................ 31 Figure 3-15: ‘Protective reciprocal symmetry’ - where all work together in harmony and give back to each other. Source: author. ........................................................................................ 32 Figure 3-16: Culturally safe vs culturally unsafe frameworks to create Cultural Safety. Source: author. ....................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 3-17: What cultural elements and practises come under ICIP regulations. Brackets added by author to elaborate or add missing content that should be listed. Source: author (Arts Law, 2020). ................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 3-18: The different research and project trajectories compared to mainstream (straight line) and community-based research techniques/protocols (ever evolving). Source: author. 36 Figure 3-19: Geological map of Newer Volcanic Province (NVP) of Western Victoria, noting the Gunditjmara names included first (Matchan, 2020, 391)................................................. 38 Figure 3-20: The ancient path of the lava flowing across the landscape. The lava hardens and splits like a loaf of bread (Lovett-Murray, 2017). .................................................................. 39 Figure 3-21: Gunditjmara questionnaire responses to how long their family have been On Country. .................................................................................................................................. 40 Figure 3-22: The glow coming from the summer 2020 fires from Allambie IPA on the 1st January, noting the southern cross and the pointer stars (Lovett-Murray, 2020b). ................ 41 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xvii Figure 3-23: Massacre map of Australia between 1776 and 1928 (University of Newcastle Colonial Frontier Massacres Project, 2019). .......................................................................... 42 Figure 3-24: Map of known massacre sites in Victoria between 1836 and 1853. ‘The deaths of several thousand are represented. Many thousands more died beyond prying eyes’ (Koorie Heritage Trust, 1991). ............................................................................................................ 43 Figure 3-25: Map of the squatters runs overlaying Gunditjmara Country and ‘stony rises’ lava flow (McNiven, 2017b, 176). ......................................................................................... 44 Figure 3-26: A section of previously culturally burnt ground at Allambie IPA that didn’t reburn in the January 2020 fires 3 months later (Lovett-Murray, 2020a). ............................. 49 Figure 3-27: Gunditjmara IPAs, including declared and/or proposed. Note: Lake Condah IPA includes Mission, Allambie and Muldoon’s (Parks Victoria, 2015, 3). ................................. 50 Figure 3-28: Aims of IPAs for co-management of Gunditjmara owned properties (Parks Victoria, 2015, ix). ................................................................................................................. 51 Figure 3-29: Gunditjmara rangers performing cultural burn (Lovett-Murray, 2019b). ......... 51 Figure 3-30: Tae-rak reflooded, 15th Feb 2016, revitalising the eel channels the Gunditjmara built generations ago (Lovett-Murray, 2016). ........................................................................ 52 Figure 3-31: ‘Reclaimed’ Tae’rak landscape with much birdlife, including ducks, swamp hens, fish, eels, cockatoos, corellas, and black swans nesting. Source: author, June 2017. ... 52 Figure 3-32: The signs from the environment, a key to predicting seasons and survival. Source: (derived from Dawson, 1881, 98) ............................................................................. 53 Figure 3-33: Egalitarian structured society, showing the paternal and maternal roles of aunties and uncles in raising all the children. Source: author. ............................................... 54 Figure 3-34: The structure of an egalitarian society. Source: author. .................................... 54 Figure 3-35: Role of Headman pre-1788; most roles still exist today. Source: author. ......... 55 Figure 3-36: Re-working of Howitt’s 1904 map of patrilineal and matrilineal divisions throughout Victoria, into South Australia and New South Wales. Classes as noted by Howitt are the Spiritual Protectors (totems). Source: author derived from (Howitt, 1904, 832-833). 56 Figure 3-37: Murrum Turrukurruk (Coming of Age) ba Wominjeka Bubup-al Biik-u (Welcome Baby to Country) ceremony in 2019. Invitees included Māori, Sudanese, other Language Group members and families for the largest full ceremony for over 189 years. The Gunditjmara also have a similar ceremony that the author took part in. Source: author. ...... 57 Figure 3-38: Tanderrum 2017, members of the Central/Eastern Gulinj (Kulin) Nation, Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wadawurrung, Boon wurrung and Taungurung. Photo: James Henry. ......................................................................................................................... 58 Figure 3-39: Yapenya 2019, Dja Dja Wurrung Elders and Community Leaders telling the narrative of Dja Dja Wurrung people and Country. Source: author. ..................................... 58 Figure 3-40: ‘People from all parts of the community coming together to acknowledge and validate the experience of Aboriginal people’ (Lovett-Murray, 2020c). Gunditjmara people remembering the Convincing Ground massacre. See Figure 3-41 showing the remains of the pylons of the whaling station.................................................................................................. 58 Figure 3-41: ‘Old pylons that once supported a slipway for whalers’ boats at The Convincing Ground, the site of Victoria’s first massacre …’ (Wright, 2020). .......................................... 60 Figure 3-42: Contemporary roles and responsibilities of First Nation communities (Traditional Custodian) (TC). Source: author. ....................................................................... 61 Figure 3-43: The responsibilities and requirements of FNLC/C’s, Stakeholders and Cultural Heritage Organisations. Source: author. ................................................................................. 62 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xviii Figure 3-44: The different Language Groups who have had successful and unsuccessful native title claims in Victoria since native title rights were recognised Australia wide in 1992 and in Victoria in 1994 (DJCSV, 2021). ................................................................................ 63 Figure 3-45: The three different ‘types’ of Elders and their roles in First Nations Society. Source: author. ....................................................................................................................... 65 Figure 3-46: The contemporary role of Elders. Elders core role remains but they have many more responsibilities in modern times such as being on the Committee of Management (or similar) in Land Councils/Corporations. Source: author. ....................................................... 67 Figure 4-1: View from Bridgewater near Portland (Nicholson, 2017e). ................................ 69 Figure 4-2: Gunditjmara Countries, including waterways, volcanos, and islands. Also includes surrounding Language Groups. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 12) Note: This is not the full extent of Gunditjmara Country, it only shows GMTOAC native title land, not the Eastern Marr native title land (both Gunditjmara Corporations). ..................... 70 Figure 4-3: Gunditjmara ‘Statement of Significance’. Source: (Parks Victoria, 2015, 23) ... 71 Figure 4-4: The four Countries recognised by the Gunditjmara. Source: (Parks Victoria, 2015, 5)................................................................................................................................... 72 Figure 4-5: The four Gunditjmara Countries, their location, and attributes, adapted from source. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 14). ..................................................... 73 Figure 4-6: A Marker Tree referred to as a Ring Tree in Watti Watti Country in north west Victoria, with evidence of contemporary ringbarking at the base of its trunk (Power, 2018). ................................................................................................................................................ 74 Figure 4-7: Scar tree at Budj Bim. Source: (GMTOAC, 2013). ............................................. 74 Figure 4-8: A Smoking Tree near Tae’rak used for general cooking and smoking of kuyang for preservation (Perkins, 2019). ............................................................................................ 75 Figure 4-9: Gunditjmara waterhole Creation Narrative. Source: (Dawson, 1881, 106). ....... 75 Figure 4-10: Muldoon’s Trap Complex excavation of a kuyang (eel) channel. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 15). ............................................................................... 76 Figure 4-11: The extent of kuyang channels and stone houses (‘C’ shaped features) at Tae’rak’s Muldoon’s Trap Complex Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 121)...... 77 Figure 4-12: Aerial view of the fires that swept through 70 km² of Budj Bim Country in January 2020. Source: (Johnson, 2020a). ............................................................................... 77 Figure 4-13: Eel channels newly revealed after January 2020 fires at Muldoon’s Trap Complex, on the southern edge of Tae'rak. Source: (Johnson, 2020a). ................................. 78 Figure 4-14: Budj Bim Ranger Leigh Boyer describing the reconstructed stone house built on the original foundations at Tyrendarra IPA. Source: (GHCMA, 2020). ................................ 78 Figure 4-15: The inside of a reconstructed residence at Tyrendarra IPA, part of the Budj Bim landscape. Source: (GHCMA, 2020). .................................................................................... 79 Figure 4-16: GMTOAC RAP area in green, incorporating EMAC outlined in purple. Note: RAP boundaries do not show the full extent of traditional boundaries. Source: (VAHC, 2021b)..................................................................................................................................... 80 Figure 4-17: The extent of GMTOAC and EMAC RAP appointed areas, with a jointly managed area near the border of the two zones seen in Figure 4-16. GMTOAC is the thesis study area. Adapted and combined from (VAHC, n.d). ......................................................... 80 Figure 4-18: Gunditjmara languages according to Dawson (1881, 2). .................................. 81 Figure 4-19: Gunditjmara dialect boundaries according to Clark: Dhauwurd wurrung, Wullu wurrung, Gai wurrung, Gurngubanud and Peek wurrung61F. Adapted from source (1990, 54). ................................................................................................................................................ 82 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xix Figure 4-20: Gunditjmara Languages, meanings, and general locations (Dawson, 1881, 2-3), additional locations added in bold by author, derived from (AIATSIS, n.d-c). ..................... 84 Figure 4-21: Some well-known place names in Western Victoria derived from the local Dhauwurd wurrung language. (Dawson, 1881, 1xxix, 1xxx, 1xxxi, Lane in Smyth, 1878b, 187, Clark, 2002, 25, 117, 174) .............................................................................................. 85 Figure 4-22: Murderer's Flat site, near Lake Condah Mission. Adapted from (Clarke, 1995, 53)........................................................................................................................................... 87 Figure 4-23: Location of whaling stations and European residences in relation to the site of the Convincing Ground massacre. Adapted from source. Source: (Clarke, 1995, 20)........... 87 Figure 4-24: Gunditjmara (noted by source as Dhauwurd wurrung) Clan distribution (Clark, 1990, 54)................................................................................................................................. 88 Figure 4-25: ‘Places’ new connections have been created67F. Source: Aboriginal Victoria (2019b). .................................................................................................................................. 90 Figure 4-26: Gunditjmara living On and Off Country variables. Source: questionnaire data. ................................................................................................................................................ 91 Figure 4-27: Gunditjmara ‘Sub-Totems’ or Spiritual Protectors within their moiety system. Stähle’s spelling and terminology used, additional spellings derived from Dawson’s (1881) spelling. Source: (in Howitt, 1904, 124). ............................................................................... 92 Figure 4-28: The Spiritual Protector associations of Gunditjmara individuals, Source: (Dawson, 1881, 26) ................................................................................................................ 92 Figure 4-29: Gendered Spiritual Protectors of the Gunditjmara (Dawson, 1881, 26). .......... 93 Figure 4-30: The rules that dictate marriages. Dawson’s spelling used with female indicated with female suffix ‘-heear’. Source: Dawson (1881, 26). ...................................................... 94 Figure 4-31: Marriages that are forbidden as they are classified as ‘sister classes’ (Dawson, 1881, 26)................................................................................................................................. 95 Figure 4-32: The six Gunditjmara cultural seasons, noting the regular overlapping. Source: (Parks Victoria, 2015, 7). ....................................................................................................... 96 Figure 4-33: Sick Country vs Healthy Country and how fire heals Country and people. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2020, 10). .................................................................. 97 Figure 4-34: Budj Bim Rangers Sean Bell and Josh Ferguson conducting a cultural burn. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 74). .................................................................. 97 Figure 4-35: Lake Surprise, part of Budj Bim landscape, spring 2019. (Nicholson, 2019) .... 98 Figure 4-36: Lava flow from Budj Bim (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 3). .................. 99 Figure 4-37: Gunditjmara example of spiritual belief in good and evil. Source: (Dawson, 1881, 49)............................................................................................................................... 100 Figure 4-38: An example of how Gunditjmara are keeping their culture alive today. Basalt sculpture titled Fresh & Salty, South West Earth sculpture, at Kurtonitj IPA, created by Keerray Woorroong artist Vicki Couzens and Celtic artist Carmel Wallace. Source: (Groundwork, 2008, cover , Budj Bim, 2021, Johnson, 2008, 16). ..................................... 101 Figure 4-39: Key fundamental aims of WMAC’s Lake Condah Sustainability Development Plan (Johnson, 2008, 7). ...................................................................................................... 102 Figure 4-40: Lake Condah Restoration Project (LCRP) stages (GMTOAC, n.d-d). ........... 103 Figure 4-41: Gunditjmara’s Conservation Management Plan (CMP). Source: (in Johnson, 2008, 7-8). ............................................................................................................................ 103 Figure 4-42: Migration of the kuyang. Source: (GHCMA, 2020). ....................................... 104 Figure 4-43: The life cycle of the anguillid eel, including the short-finned eel (Henkel, 2012). .............................................................................................................................................. 105 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xx Figure 4-44: Computer generated distribution map of the kuyang (Scarponi, 2018). .......... 105 Figure 4-45: Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation collaborative projects and programs on Gunditjmara Country (Johnson, 2008, 7)............................................................................. 106 Figure 4-46: Reconstruction of a thatched wooden weir to catch kuyang (GHCMA, 2020). .............................................................................................................................................. 107 Figure 4-47: Leigh Boyer, Budj Bim ranger, shows how a gnarraban is placed within a stone weir structure (GHCMA, 2020). .......................................................................................... 108 Figure 4-48: The new Keeping Place on the old Condah Mission site (GMTOAC in, Wright, 2020). Inset photo taken earlier in construction (Nicholson-Bux, 2020a). Also see (Nicholson Construction, 2021). Compare with Figure 4-78.................................................................. 108 Figure 4-49: Native title ‘rights and interests’. .................................................................... 110 Figure 4-50: Mabo, Wik and Timber Creek custodial rights recognised (Planning Institute Australia, 2019). ................................................................................................................... 111 Figure 4-51: The differences between a native title determination and a consent determination. Source: (NNTT, 2007b). .............................................................................. 111 Figure 4-52: Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic) recognising cultural connections to land. .................................................................................................................................. 112 Figure 4-53: Recognition and Settlement Agreement (RSA), recognition of rights. ........... 113 Figure 4-54: Gunditjmara and Eastern Marr descendants. Source: (NNTT, 2011b). ........ 114 Figure 4-55: The six Gunditjmara native title registration claims that were combined (NNTT, 2008, 15-16). ........................................................................................................................ 115 Figure 4-56: Conditions that had to be met to combine native title application (in NNTT, 2006, 6-8, 14). ...................................................................................................................... 115 Figure 4-57: Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara people v State of Victoria (Part A), aqua outline. Adapted by author. Source: (NNTT, n.d-b). ........................................................... 116 Figure 4-58: Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara People v State of Victoria (No 5) (Part B), aqua areas. Adapted by author. Source: (NNTT, n.d.-b). ..................................................... 117 Figure 4-59: Boundaries of Part A and B consent determination areas (Department of Justice and Regulation, 2011, 1). ..................................................................................................... 117 Figure 4-60: Map of Gunditjmara Country, showing areas where it has been ‘determined’ native title does and does not exist, including GMTOAC native title area (Part A) and EMAC native title area (Part B). Part A and Part B boundaries are defined in Figure 4-59. Adapted from source. Source: (NNTT, 2020c)................................................................................... 118 Figure 4-61: The extended time periods it takes for native title outcomes under the mitigation process (Tan, 2015). ............................................................................................................. 119 Figure 4-62: Native title outcomes by state in 2015. Source: (Tan, 2015) ........................... 120 Figure 4-63: Current native title applications as at 7th October 2020 (NNTT, 2020d). ....... 121 Figure 4-64: Current native title determinations as at 7th October 2020 (NNTT, 2020d). ... 121 Figure 4-65: Description of what an ILUA is and can include. Source: (NNTT, n.d-a). ..... 122 Figure 4-66: GMTOAC and EMAC ILUA areas. Circle added by author. Source: (NNTT, 2020a). .................................................................................................................................. 123 Figure 4-67: The three Gunditjmara Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) (NNTT, 2020b)................................................................................................................................... 123 Figure 4-68: Kuyang (eel) in Killara (Darlots Creek). Source: (Perkins, 2019). ................. 124 Figure 4-69: ‘G.A. Robinson’s journey through the Western District 20 March to 15 August 1841.’ Source: (in Presland, 1980, 203). .............................................................................. 125 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxi Figure 4-70: A weir observed on the Hopkins River, ‘ … made by blackfellows for catching eels when the big water came …’ (1841, 145). .................................................................... 126 Figure 4-71: ‘front of a yere.roc or were [weir] and eel pot or arrabine[gnarraban]’ (Robinson, 1841, 177). ......................................................................................................... 126 Figure 4-72: ‘arrabine[gnarraban] 7 feet [eel trap]’ (Robinson, 1841, 178). ....................... 127 Figure 4-73: ‘Back of a yere.roc’ (weir). Source: (Robinson, 1841, 163, 178). .................. 127 Figure 4-74: The remotely operated weir installed in 2010 on Darlots Creek with a surface water monitoring gauge to maintain water levels. Circle added by author. Source: (GHCMA, n.d.-a, GHCMA, 2021)......................................................................................................... 127 Figure 4-75: Gunditjmara young men Tyson Lovett-Murray and Sean Bell with an arrabine/gnarraban in situ at Tyrendarra IPA. Source: (Bell, 2010). ................................. 128 Figure 4-76: An example of a yere.roc with its ‘ ... convex side against the current...’ (1841, 163, 178)............................................................................................................................... 128 Figure 4-77: Sketch of beehive like residences. Source: (Thomas, c. 1840)........................ 129 Figure 4-78: Panoramic view of, Lake Condah ‘villages’. Source: (Thomas, c. 1840) ....... 129 Figure 4-79: Contemporary (reconstructed) ‘stone huts’ covered in earth, Tyrendarra IPA (GHCMA, n.d.-a) ................................................................................................................. 130 Figure 4-80: Earliest mapping of Tae'rak and Condah Swamp before first phase of draining for farming purposes, drawn by surveyor Alexander Ingram in 1893 based on observations in 1883 (in Richards, 2011, 67). ............................................................................................... 131 Figure 4-81: Current image of the eel channel structures illustrated in Ingram’s map in Figure 4-80. Note: Further channels were rediscovered in the aftermath of the 2020 fires that swept through the Budj Bim Landscape. Source: (Richards, 2011, 78). ......................................... 132 Figure 4-82: Phases of channel ‘F10’ construction and infilling. Monash University students are shown at Muldoon’s Trap Complex in Figure 4-83. Source: (McNiven, 2012, 283). ... 133 Figure 4-83: Damein Bell (left), Prof. Ian McNiven (right), and Monash University students, Muldoon’s Trap Complex, Tae’rak, 2007. Author wearing hat (Wettenhall, 2010, 22). Photo: Ian McNiven. ........................................................................................................................ 133 Figure 4-84: Criteria for National Heritage registration of the Budj Bim cultural landscape. Source: (Australian Heritage Database, 2004). .................................................................... 135 Figure 4-85: The Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape, part of Gunditjmara Country (Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2008). ........................................................ 136 Figure 4-86: Crater at Budj Bim (Lake Surprise at Mount Eccles). Source: (von Guerard, c. 1860s). .................................................................................................................................. 137 Figure 4-87: Crater at Budj Bim today (Lake Surprise at Mount Eccles). Source: (Guy, 2020). .............................................................................................................................................. 137 Figure 4-88: A extensive ‘fish trap’ channel mapped by Peter Coutts team at lake Condah. Source: (Coutts, 1978, 17).................................................................................................... 138 Figure 4-89: The five stages that needs to be passed to be listed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2020e). .............................................................................................................. 139 Figure 4-90: Gunditjmara celebrating the inscription of Budj Bim onto the World Heritage List at the UNESCO World Heritage meeting in Azerbaijan in 2019. Source: (Graham, 2019)..................................................................................................................................... 140 Figure 4-91: Park ranger Peter Hill at the entrance to a lava cave at Mt Eccles, which is the source of a lava flow that extends 50km to the coast (Bourke, 2017). ................................. 140 Figure 4-92: Budj Bim Cultural Landscape: Nominated property boundary. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 3). ............................................................................... 141 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxii Figure 4-93: World Heritage List criteria that Budj Bim Cultural Landscape fulfilled. Source (UNESCO, 2020a). .............................................................................................................. 142 Figure 4-94: How Budj Bim met criteria to be inscribed on the World Heritage List (Budj Bim, 2020a). ......................................................................................................................... 143 Figure 4-95: Tyrendarra IPA Gilgar Gunditj Visitor Place (WMAC, 2020). ...................... 144 Figure 4-96: Description of joint management regimes. Source: (Budj Bim, 2020a). ......... 144 Figure 4-97: Tae’rak Aquaculture Centre, opened in June 2022 (Turtle, 2022) .................. 145 Figure 4-98: Map of Budj Bim Master Plan Key Projects and Priorities. Source: (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 72)............................................................................. 146 Figure 4-99: Aspirations of the Gunditjmara listed in the Budj Bim Masterplan. (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 7)............................................................................... 146 Figure 4-100: Five key directions of Budj Bim Masterplan toward long term vision and goals for 2030 (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 68). ............................................ 147 Figure 4-101: Key project progress to date across Budj Bim landscape. (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 31)............................................................................. 147 Figure 4-102: Timelines for completion of key projects in the Budj Bim Masterplan 20222030. (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 119)................................................ 148 Figure 4-103: The multifaceted benefits of five key directions of the Budj Bim Masterplan 2022-2030............................................................................................................................. 148 Figure 4-104: Responsibilities of a RNTBC. Source: (nativetitle.org.au, n.d). ................... 150 Figure 5-1: Gunditjmara man Troy Lovett in Budj Bim's volcanic landscape in Spring (Lovett-Murray, 2018).......................................................................................................... 152 Figure 5-2: Connection to Country, questions that are raised if you live Off Country. ....... 153 Figure 5-3: Photo of Gunditjmara men in full paint up at Portland taken in 1859. Source: (Glenelg Shire Council, n.d.)................................................................................................ 154 Figure 5-4: The Fighting Gunditjmara dance group, noting the same ‘paint up’ as the older reference in Figure 5-3. (The Fighting Gunditjmara, 2018). ............................................... 155 Figure 5-5: Women dancing near the Wannon River, on 4th June 1841, to entertain Robinson’s party. Source: (Robinson, 1841, 289). .............................................................. 155 Figure 5-6: Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta and Gunaikurnai woman Teena Moffatt holding son Ryder and daughter Tiannah at Dupang Festival, Adelaide 2019. Source: (Moffatt, 2017). 156 Figure 5-7: Dance is connected to Ceremony; Ceremony is connected to Language; Language is connected to Country; Country is connected to Spirituality. Source: author. .. 156 Figure 5-8: St Mary's Church at Lake Condah Mission (now demolished). The first bluestone block was laid in 1882, and opened in 1885 with many Mission residents assisting in its construction (McVicker, 2007, 44). ..................................................................................... 158 Figure 5-9: Aunty Laura Bell standing near the honour roll from St Mary's church, Lake Condah Mission (Wright, 2019). .......................................................................................... 158 Figure 5-10: Lovett house at the Lake Condah Mission. Photo Dharna Nicholson-Bux (Nicholson-Bux, 2020b). ...................................................................................................... 159 Figure 5-11: ‘The Emu in the Sky, early evening in August’ (Fuller, 2014, 11). ................ 163 Figure 5-12: Deen Maar, the final journey of Gunditjmara who have passed (Dunens, 2017). .............................................................................................................................................. 166 Figure 5-13: Celestial bodies identified by the Gunditjmara, adapted from Dawson (1881, 99-101). ................................................................................................................................ 167 Figure 5-14: Bunjil on Djap Wurrung and Jardwadjali Country, in the form of a male figure with his two dingo helpers (Clarke, 2017, 190). .................................................................. 169 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxiii Figure 5-15: Known cave sites throughout Victoria noted by Clarke (2007a, 4). Key is for original source not this thesis. .............................................................................................. 170 Figure 5-16: The old tree being the metaphor for culture, with the roots being language. Redgum near Little River on Wadawurrung Country, 2010. Source: author....................... 171 Figure 5-17: How the Gunditjmara are connected spiritually to animals, including food taboos Source: (Dawson, 1881, 53)...................................................................................... 173 Figure 5-18: Gunditjmara dancers preparing for ceremony at the World Heritage listing celebration in September 2019. Source: author. ................................................................... 175 Figure 5-19: Gunditjmara dancers at the Budj Bim World Heritage Listing celebration in September 2019 (Lovett-Murray, 2019a). ............................................................................ 176 Figure 5-20: Preparations for Tanderrum ceremony of the Central/Eastern Gulinj (Kulin), Melbourne 2018. Source: author. ........................................................................................ 177 Figure 5-21: The use of projection for the Dja Dja wurrung for their Yapenya ceremony in Bendigo 2018. Photo: author. ............................................................................................... 177 Figure 5-22: Viewed from a different angle. Australia, seen here in a postcard is comparative to the diversity of First Nation cultures, languages, and beliefs to the obvious differences between the cultures and languages of the world shown here. Source: (Blue Carpet Collective, 2021). ................................................................................................................. 178 Figure 5-23: First Nation languages still spoken as compared to English (@NACCHOAustralia). Also see (RUIL, n.d.).................................................................... 179 Figure 5-24: Cultural knowledge embedded in a single word. Source: (in Nicholson, 2013b). .............................................................................................................................................. 181 Figure 5-25: Victorian language map showing the 38 distinct languages and some of the regional dialects (VACL, 2016a). ........................................................................................ 182 Figure 5-26: Australian First Nation Language Map with over 250 recognised languages, within which there are numerous regional dialects making over 600 languages throughout the continent (Horton, 1996). ............................................................................................... 183 Figure 5-27: First Languages Australia (FLA) Gambay interactive language map, allowing access to language resource Off Country (FLA, 2017). ....................................................... 184 Figure 5-28: Victorian Elders in cloaks at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the largest gathering of Victorian Elders in cloaks since European invasion, reaffirming that Victorian First Nation culture is alive and well (Harding, 2006). ........................................................ 186 Figure 5-29: Replica of the Condah cloak, made by Keerray Woorroong sisters, Vicki and Deborah Couzens, 2002 (National Museum Australia, n.d)................................................. 187 Figure 5-30: Drone image of kuyang channel/weir whose structure is defined from above (Lovett-Murray, 2020d)........................................................................................................ 188 Figure 5-31: Comparisons between what can be seen with the naked eye and how this can be complimented with topology mapping technology (LiDAR) of an eel channel (LovettMurray, 2020d)..................................................................................................................... 189 Figure 5-32: UGV travelling up a kuyang causeway creating LiDAR imagery (Melbourne University, 2019b). ............................................................................................................... 189 Figure 5-33: Photogrammetry 3D model of some wuurn (houses) at Tae’rak (Lovett-Murray, 2020e). .................................................................................................................................. 190 Figure 6-1: First Nation world map (National Geographic, n.a). ......................................... 191 Figure 6-2: 'Numerically, around 90 percent of the world had faced a British invasion, which in a modern world makes it some 180 countries out of 200' (Maps of the World, 2018). Highlighted areas were not invaded by the British. ............................................................. 192 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxiv Figure 6-3: Estimated Victorian First Nation population in 1861. Complied by R. Brough Smyth, Secretary to the Central Board for Aborigines (ABS, 1862, 33, see BPA, 1861, 13). .............................................................................................................................................. 194 Figure 6-4: Minimum estimates of the First Nation population of Australian States and Territories between 1788 – 1971. Noting that ACT recordings began in 1911. Source: Derived from (Smith, 1980). ................................................................................................ 196 Figure 6-5: ‘Population takeover: Aboriginal & Colonists populations, 1788-1850’ (Hunter, 2015, 22, see Reynolds, 1981, 11, White, 1987, 117). ......................................................... 197 Figure 6-6: ‘Cross-section through Squares B and C located 10cm out from the east wall of the excavation trench. Loose rocks represent blocks forming the constructed channel walls. Bedrock exposed following removal of basalt blocks to form the North and South Channels’ (McNiven, 2012, 276). ......................................................................................................... 199 Figure 6-7: Extent of Victoria’s NVP, showing types of volcanic eruptions (Boyce, 2014, 450)....................................................................................................................................... 200 Figure 6-8: Examples of placenames relating to lava, lava flow and lava stone (Dawson, 1881, 1xxx, Robinson, 1866 , 200, Porteous in Smyth, 1878b, 179). .................................. 201 Figure 6-9: The new weir constructed in 2010, renewing the sleeping aquaculture system of Tae’rak (VAHC, 2021b). ..................................................................................................... 202 Figure 6-10: Aerial view of the reclaimed Tae’rak. Source: (VAHC, 2021b). .................... 203 Figure 6-11: Message sticks from all over Australia, held in a foreign museum of Howitt’s collection from 1888. The smallest thin one being a Gunditjmara message stick (Pitt Rivers Museum, 2012)..................................................................................................................... 204 Figure 6-12: ‘Summary of the major ethnohistorical information on location of organised meeting or large gatherings and the documented movements of people to attend these’ (McBryde, 1984a, 138). ....................................................................................................... 205 Figure 6-13: The location of Kurtonitj stone house and other excavated stone house sites across Gunditjmara country: Kinghorn (1-4); Allambie (5); Gorrie Swamp (6); Thomas’ (7111); Tyrendarra (12-15) and Muldoon’s (16) (McNiven, 2017b, 173). ............................... 206 Figure 6-14: Locality of Caramut in Western Victoria, a site of large gatherings and permanent stone dwellings and large oven mounds (Williams, 1987, 312). ........................ 207 Figure 6-15: Swamplands and earth mounds (ovens) around the Caramut area in Western Victoria on Gunditjmara Country (Williams, 1987, 314). ................................................... 208 Figure 6-16: The Language Groups and Clans of Western Victoria: (1) Bunganditj; (2) Gunditjmara; (3) Jaadwa; (4) Jaara; (5) Katubanut; (6) Kirrae; Kolakngat; (8) Tjapwurong; (9) Wathaurong (Lourandos, 1980, 247)............................................................................. 209 Figure 6-17: Trade routes exposed by trade of greenstone from Wil-im-ee Moor-ing (Mt William) meaning place of the axe near Lancefield on Wurundjeri Country and other stone quarries (McBryde, 1984b, 268). ......................................................................................... 210 Figure 6-18: Summary of the major ethnohistorical information on a range of goods exchanged in south-eastern Australia and their movement from source to exchange centre (McBryde, 1984a, 136). ....................................................................................................... 210 Figure 6-19: The 7 language families across Victoria showing how similarities rely on geographic location (Hercus, 1986, viii). ............................................................................. 212 Figure 6-20: The eight main Missions (Christian run) and Reserves (Government run) of Victoria between 1858-1953. Adapted from Barwick (in Mulvaney, 1971, 290) with additions by author. .............................................................................................................. 214 Figure 6-21: First Nations residents on Missions and Reserves with Mixed Heritage in 1925 (BPA, 1925, 4). .................................................................................................................... 217 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxv Figure 6-22: Comparisons between births and deaths in selected years between 1871 and 1925. Source: (BPA, 1871, 4, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1894, 5-9, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1911, 3, BPA, 1922, 2, BPA, 1925, 4, BPA, 1884b, 3). .................................................................... 217 Figure 6-23: Lake Condah Mission averaged populations between 1871-1925. Lake Condah Mission officially closed in 1918, but some residents remained until 1957. Source: (BPA, 1871, 3, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1884a, 3, BPA, 1894, 3, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1911, 3, BPA, 1925, 4, BPA, 1922, 4, BPA, 1869, 13). .............................................................................. 218 Figure 6-24: First Nation population in Victoria originating from other states of Australia, 1881. Source: (Office of the Government Statist, 1883, 28). ............................................... 219 Figure 6-25: Percentages of total population of Lake Condah, compared to births and deaths. Source: (BPA, 1871, 4, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1884a, 3, BPA, 1894, 3, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1911, 4, BPA, 1912, 3, BPA, 1922, 4, BPA, 1923, 4, BPA, 1925, 4). ................................. 220 Figure 6-26: Lake Condah Mission births and deaths between 1871 – 1925. Source: (BPA, 1871, 4, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1878, 3, BPA, 1879, 3, BPA, 1880, 3, BPA, 1881, 3, BPA, 1882, 3, BPA, 1884a, 3, BPA, 3, BPA, 1884b, 3, BPA, 1885, 3, BPA, 1886, 3, BPA, 1887, 3, BPA, 1888, 4, BPA, 1889, 3, BPA, 1890, 3, BPA, 1891, 3, BPA, 1892, 3, BPA, 1893, 3, BPA, 1894, 3, BPA, 1895, 3, BPA, 1896, 3, BPA, 1897, 3, BPA, 1898, 3, BPA, 1899, 3, BPA, 1900, 3, BPA, 1901, 3, BPA, 1902, 3, BPA, 1903, 3, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1905, 3, BPA, 1906, 3, BPA, 1907, 3, BPA, 1909, 3, BPA, 1910, 3, BPA, 1911, 3, BPA, 1912, 3, BPA, 1922, 3, BPA, 1923, 3, BPA, 1925, 3). ...................................................................... 220 Figure 6-27: ‘"T.W. Cameron, Slide Specialist, 430 Bourke St, Melb." Map shows proposed A.I.M patrol areas of Kimberley, Katherine, Gulf, York, Diamantina, Central, Coolgardie, Murchison, Gascoyne, and Pilbara. Inset shows map of Victoria with numbers of deaconesses, ministers, and missionaries.’ Source: (Graham, 1914). .................................. 225 Figure 6-28: Missions (Christian run) and Reserves (Government run) in Victoria and Southern New South Wales between 1860-1966. (Barwick in Mulvaney, 1971, 290), including other ‘settlements’ of significance (PROV, 2020). Adapted from dual sources by author.................................................................................................................................... 226 Figure 6-29: Missions and Reserves in Australia Source: (Horton, 1994, 709). .................. 226 Figure 6-30: Sample of an Exemption Certificate to be released from the ‘protection’ of the Board (Freeman, 2012)......................................................................................................... 227 Figure 6-31: Summary of restrictions on Missions and Reserves. Source: author. .............. 228 Figure 6-32: School attendance at Missions/Reserves around Victoria in 1884 (BPA, 1884a, 3)........................................................................................................................................... 229 Figure 6-33: Permit to be absent from Cherbourg First Nation Settlement c1954. Source: (Queensland State Archives, n.d). ........................................................................................ 232 Figure 6-34: ‘Slave Map’ of Australia in 1891, disproving the myth there was no slavery in Australia. Source: (The Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1891, 26). .................................................. 233 Figure 6-35: ‘Lithograph of a corroboree’, published in Missionblatt in 1859 (in Jensz, 2010, 124)....................................................................................................................................... 234 Figure 6-36: Timeline of the opening of Lake Condah Mission. Adapted from source 18671875 data (McVicker, 2007, 42) and 1882-1957 data (Massola, 1970, 108-109)................ 235 Figure 6-37: A wood engraving of Lake Condah Mission in 1874, with a cricket game underway. (Anon, 1874)....................................................................................................... 236 Figure 6-38: Aerial view of the old Lake Condah Mission (Budj Bim, 2020c). .................. 236 Figure 6-39: Inside St Mary’s Church at Lake Condah Mission (Boobook48, 2008). ........ 237 Figure 6-40: How population has dispersed during the Mission Period, also linked to language proficiencies. Even though forbidden from speaking language, some words and Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxvi phrases remained and were ‘adopted’ generally across Victoria14F. Source: (VACL unpublished ppt). .................................................................................................................. 238 Figure 6-41: Locations people lived after Lake Condah Mission closed (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 55). ............................................................................................................. 239 Figure 6-42: Pre-invasion movements of different Language Groups throughout Western Victoria. Source: (Lourandos, 1977, 210). ........................................................................... 240 Figure 6-43: ‘[Aunty] Laura Bell, … walks through the ruins at Lake Condah Mission. The Mission has been in the [legal] ownership of the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners since 1984.’ (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 63, also see Victorian Heritage Council, n.d).241 Figure 6-44: The ‘power’ of management of Tae’rak after it was officially ‘returned’ to the Gunditjmara (Austlii, n.d.). .................................................................................................. 242 Figure 6-45: From a 1930s Northern Territory newspaper. Children of dual and mixed First Nation heritage in Darwin, labelled in derogatory terms ‘quadroon’ and ‘octoroon’. Handwriting reads, ‘ I Like the little girl in centre of group, but if taken by anyone else, any of the others would do, as long as they are strong’ (NAA, 1934-1935)............................... 243 Figure 6-46: Estimated First Nation populations in Australia, by location in 2018 (AIHW, 2021b)................................................................................................................................... 244 Figure 6-47: People who identify as First Nation in Australia in 2016 census data. Source: (AIHW, 2021b). ................................................................................................................... 245 Figure 6-48: ABS data on Cultural connectedness of First Nations populations aged 15 and above, by location. Source: (AIHW, 2021a). ....................................................................... 245 Figure 6-49: Estimated First Nation populations in Australia in 2016. Note: First Nation populations include Torres Strait Islanders. Source: (ABS, 2018b)..................................... 246 Figure 7-1: Coded system used for questionnaire responders. ............................................. 247 Figure 7-2: Questionnaire categories. .................................................................................. 248 Figure 7-3: Descriptive terms given by questionnaire responders in response to Q2 ‘What does it mean to you to be Gunditjmara?’ ............................................................................. 249 Figure 7-4: Responders and which family or Apical Ancestor they are connected to. ........ 251 Figure 7-5: Responders Multiclan connections via state and territory. ................................ 252 Figure 7-6: Questionnaire responses to Q4 ‘Are you connected to other First Nation Language Groups (Multiclan)?’ For Victorian locations see Figure 7-7, Australia-wide see (Horton, 1996). ..................................................................................................................... 253 Figure 7-7: Response to Q4: ‘Are you Multiclan?’ Map of responders Multiclan connections (indicated by a white star) in Victoria including those in all other states except Tasmania. Adapted from source (VACL, 2016b). ................................................................................. 253 Figure 7-8: If Multiclan questionnaire responders live On or Off their other Clan’s Country. .............................................................................................................................................. 254 Figure 7-9: Referring to Q6: ‘If you are Multiclan, what town/city do you live in?’ Map of Multiclan Gunditjmara who live Off Gunditjmara Country in Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia. Also, those who are Multiclan that live On Gunditjmara Country (indicated by a black star) ..................................................................................................................... 254 Figure 7-10: Multiclan questionnaire responders who have lived On or Off their other Clan's Country. ................................................................................................................................ 255 Figure 7-11: Multiclan questionnaire responders, born On/Off, generationally On/Off, most of time On/Off, sometimes On/Off, Never On/Off – by age................................................ 256 Figure 7-12: Multiclan questionnaire responders in terms of if they are living On Gunditjmara Country currently – by age and gender. .......................................................... 256 Figure 7-13: Questionnaire responders who have non-First Nation heritage. ...................... 257 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxvii Figure 7-14: Questionnaire responders by age and gender. ................................................. 258 Figure 7-15: Questionnaire responses to Q15 ‘How do Gunditjmara care for Country?’ ... 261 Figure 7-16: Responses to Q16: ‘Are there special NON-SECRET places that are for public knowledge, that you are willing to share?’ ........................................................................... 262 Figure 7-17: Questionnaire responses to Q18: ‘Country: spiritual, physical, tangible, intangible ... do you have to live ON Country to feel connected to it?’ ............................... 264 Figure 7-18: Q20 ‘Do you live ON Gunditjmara Country currently?’ ................................ 267 Figure 7-19: Gunditjmara from questionnaire data living On and Off Country by gender between 2017-2020 (research period) compared to 2013 GMTOAC members.................. 267 Figure 7-20: Gunditjmara questionnaire data (totalling 57 responders) living On and Off Country, based on age groups at time of data collection between 2017 and 2020. .............. 268 Figure 7-21: Q21-24 - Comparison between immediate and extended family members living On Country, compared to if responder lives On or Off Country. ......................................... 269 Figure 7-22: Q25 and Q26 - How long responders immediate family members have lived On Country. ................................................................................................................................ 269 Figure 7-23: Q27 and Q28 - Questionnaire responders who live On Country sporadically. 270 Figure 7-24: Q29 - Responder’s grandparents who still live On Country............................ 270 Figure 7-25: Response to Q30 ‘What opportunities are there for ON Country cultural practises?’ ............................................................................................................................. 271 Figure 7-26: Q31 ‘Do you know of any new ways of culturally mapping Gunditjmara Country?’.............................................................................................................................. 272 Figure 7-27: Q32 - Responders whose families were moved to a Mission, Reserve, Fringe Community, or city. ............................................................................................................. 273 Figure 7-28: Q33 and Q34 - If responder’s immediate families were moved to a Mission/Reserve and if they remained Off Gunditjmara Country. ...................................... 274 Figure 7-29: Selected families living in different regions across Australia. Note: Statistics are from 2007-2013 only as data is privacy restricted from 2017-2022. ................................... 275 Figure 7-30: Q35 - What questionnaire responders hold dear about Lake Condah Mission site. ....................................................................................................................................... 276 Figure 7-31: Negative responses to Q35: ‘What do you hold dear about Lake Condah Mission site?’ ....................................................................................................................... 277 Figure 7-32: Q36 ‘How long have you lived Off Country?’ ................................................ 278 Figure 7-33: Q37 – ‘Does living geographically far from Country change your connection to it?’......................................................................................................................................... 279 Figure 7-34: Q38 - What helps questionnaire responders keep connected to Country when they live Off Country. .......................................................................................................... 282 Figure 7-35: Q39 - When responders live Off Country for extended times, do they have access to any other First Nation cultural activities from other First Nation communities. .. 283 Figure 7-36: Q40 - Struggles faced by responders when living Off Country and living in a major city.............................................................................................................................. 284 Figure 7-37: Q41 - Do you feel you have opportunities for input into cultural heritage management/partnerships/consultation processes when Off Country for extended periods of time or generationally? ......................................................................................................... 285 Figure 7-38: Responses to Q42 & Q43 ‘Is there any language programs that you feel are easily assessable to Gunditjmara that live OFF Country?’ .................................................. 286 Figure 7-39: Questionnaire responses to Q43 ‘How regular are these language programs/workshops, and do you think there should be more?’ .......................................... 287 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxviii Figure 7-40: GMTOAC meeting attendance by questionnaire responders, by gender, age and if they live On or Off Country. Responses to Q47 ‘Do you attend GMTOAC meetings?’ With answers separated into age, gender and if they live On or Off Country’. ............................ 288 Figure 7-41: Q48 ‘At the GMTOAC meetings, do you attend as an individual or a representative of your family?’ ............................................................................................ 289 Figure 7-42: Response to Q49 ‘How often do you attend GMTOAC meetings?’ This is compared age and gender. .................................................................................................... 289 Figure 7-43: Response to Q 50 Where do you have to travel from to attend GMTOAC meetings? (mapped in Figure 7-44)...................................................................................... 290 Figure 7-44: Response to Q50, map of the districts where GMTOAC attendees travel from. .............................................................................................................................................. 290 Figure 7-45: Q 51 ‘Do you feel the GMTOAC meeting structure keeps all members informed of cultural, heritage management, language etc matters?’ ................................................... 291 Figure 7-46: Q52 ‘What are the difficulties of attending GMTOAC meetings?’ ................ 292 Figure 7-47: Q53 &Q54 ‘If you do not attend GMTOAC meeting regularly or at all, do you still receive the information that is discussed in the meetings? In what form do you receive the information?’ .................................................................................................................. 292 Figure 7-48: Q55 ‘Is there anything else that hinders your attendance at GMTOAC meetings?’ ............................................................................................................................ 293 Figure 7-49: GMTOAC membership numbers 2007-2020. Source: GMTOAC membership lists. ...................................................................................................................................... 294 Figure 7-50: Current 2020 GMTOAC Directors including birthplace and if they currently live On or Off Country. Source: (ORIC, 2021a, 1-2).................................................................. 295 Figure 7-51: GMTOAC memberships from 2007-2020 by gender. Source: GMTOAC membership lists 2001-2020 seen in Appendix P. ............................................................... 296 Figure 7-52: GMTOAC members living On and Off Country, by gender, between 20072013. Source: GMTOAC membership lists. ........................................................................ 297 Figure 7-53: GMTOAC membership movements listed by year. Data only available until 2013 as 2015-2020 addresses have been omitted due to privacy. Source: GMTOAC membership lists. .................................................................................................................. 298 Figure 7-54: GMTOAC members by gender who have moved either back or Off Country between 2011 and 2013. Source: GMTOAC membership lists. .......................................... 298 Figure 7-55: Gunditjmara groupings GMTOAC meetings and visitation to Country. Source: questionnaire data. ................................................................................................................ 299 Figure 7-56: Where GMTOAC members live and travel from to attend meetings and if they live on their other Clan’s Country – Multiclan. ................................................................... 300 Figure 7-57: Gunditjmara population clusters throughout Victoria from GMTOAC membership lists between 2007-2013. ................................................................................. 300 Figure 7-58: Number of Gunditjmara living Off Country from GMTOAC membership lists between 2007-2013. ............................................................................................................. 301 Figure 7-59 : Gunditjmara populations On Country by town from GMTOAC membership lists between 2007-2013. ...................................................................................................... 301 Figure 7-60: Gunditjmara populations Australia wide per state, defined by urban and regional from GMTOAC membership lists between 2007-2013. ........................................ 302 Figure 7-61: Gunditjmara population clusters Australia-wide, less Victoria and South Australia, from GMTOAC membership lists between 2007-2013. Numbers indicate number of individuals. ....................................................................................................................... 303 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxix Figure 7-62: Gunditjmara populations in South Australia, from GMTOAC membership lists between 2007-2013. ............................................................................................................. 303 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxx List of Abbreviations AAL Aborigines Advancement League ACES Aboriginal Community Elders Service ACHIP Aboriginal Community Heritage Investigation Program AHV Aboriginal Housing Victoria AV Aboriginal Victoria - provides advise to the Victorian Government on First Nation policy and planning AWM Australian War Museum CHMP Cultural Heritage Management Plan CMP Conservation Management Plan DELWP Department of Environment Land Water and Planning DDWCAC Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation DPC Department of Premier and Cabinet DSE Department of Sustainability and Environment EPBC Australian Environment Protection Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) EMAC Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation FB ‘Full-blood’ derogatory blood quantum reference to a First Nation individual, replaced throughout document with ‘mono heritage’ FLA First Languages Australia FNLC/C First Nation Land Council/Corporation GHCMA Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority GMTOAC Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation GLaWAC Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation HC ‘Half-caste’ derogatory blood quantum reference to a First Nation individual, replaced throughout document with ‘dual heritage’ IPA Indigenous Protected Area and Biodiversity Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxi ICIP Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property ILUA Indigenous Land Use Agreement LiDAR Light Detection and Ranging used for 3D mapping LCRP Lake Condah Restoration Project LCSDP Lake Condah Sustainable Development Project NAIDOC National Aborigines and Islander Day of Observance Committee MH ‘Mixed Heritage’, replacing derogatory blood quantum terms of reference ‘quadroon’ and ‘octoroon’ ORIC Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations PBC Prescribed Body Corporate PV Parks Victoria RAP Registered Aboriginal Party RecAP Reconciliation Action Plan differentiate between RAP) RNTBC Registered Native Title Body Corporate RSA Recognition and Settlement Agreement SRW Southern Rural Water SWALP South West Aboriginal Language Program TLaWCAC Taungurung Land and Waters Council Aboriginal Corporation TEK Traditional Ecological Knowledge TOSA Traditional Owner Settlement Agreement UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UGV Unmanned Ground Vehicles VACCA Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency VACCHO Victorian Aboriginal Organisation VACL Victorian Aboriginal Language Corporation VAHC Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council (abbreviation Community adapted Controlled to Health Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxii VAHS Victorian Aboriginal Health Service VALS Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service WMAC Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation, oversees the Budj Bim Ranger Program. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxiii List of Abbreviations – questionnaire coding MO Male On Country MX Male Off Country MO18-24#1 Male On Country aged 18-24 with responder reference number (1,.2,.3, etc) FO Female On Country FX Female Off Country FX25-3#1 Female Off Country aged 25-34 with responder reference number (1, .2,.3 etc) FO65+#1 Female Elder (aged 65 years+) On Country with responder reference number (1,.2,.3 etc) MX65+#1 Male Elder (aged 65 years+) Off Country with responder reference number (1,.2,.3 etc) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxiv Definitions Aboriginal/Indigenous/ First Nation/s Are all terms given to the First People of their apical homelands, throughout this paper I will refer to local groups by their Language Group name, and more broadly as First Nations. Ancestors Spiritual Beings that created the earth, people, animals, and plants. When they created the world, they left Songlines and/or Creation Narratives behind. Ancestors can also refer to blood kin that have passed generations ago. Apical Direct bloodline from an Apical Ancestor, connecting you to your Language Group and custodial lands. Aunties They hold the extremely important role of the second, third etc., mother of the female children of the Clan, helping to raise them culturally and ceremonially. Baban Darrang Woiwurrung name for Mother Tree. The metaphor for cultural survival. Budj Bim Gunditjmara Cultural and Spiritual Landscape connected to its creation via the volcanic activity they witnessed thousands of years earlier. Ceremony Includes things like celebration, remembrance, large gatherings, death, marriage, and Coming of Age. Clan Regionally based members of a Language Group with further regional variances within their umbrella language, for example Peek Whurrung individual of the Gunditjmara people. Coming of Age ceremony When a teenage boy or girl has come of age to become a man or woman through ceremony gaining cultural responsibilities. Connection Being attached to something (i.e., land) or someone (i.e., Ancestors) by blood, also incorporates spiritual connectivity. Contact Period When First Nations populations encountered Europeans for the first period of invasion of Australia. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxv Coranderrk Government-run Reserve in Healesville operating from 1863 to 1924. Creation Trails Avoiding non-First Nations terms of reference, such as ‘Dreaming’ or ‘Dreamtime’. Crown Land Land that is under the control of the Crown. Cultural Burning The practise of ‘cool burning’ to encourage swift ecosystem recovery and renewed resources. Cultural Business Includes ceremony, gendered ceremony and cultural activities and information sharing. Cultural Law Set of rules, regulations, obligations, cultural responsibilities, revolving around respect for Self and others and for Country. Cultural Law is above all other Laws, both First Nation and mainstream. I use ‘Cultural Law’ throughout this research and omit Cultural ‘Lore’ as that denotes a fairy tale. Cultural Narratives An individual’s narrative of their unique spirituality, culture and language that connects them to their Country. Cultural protocols and taboos A set of rules followed while On or Off Country. This can also include when and where to do ceremony, i.e.., smoking ceremonies On someone else’s Country. Taboos can include food, instruments (i.e., yidarki men play), gendered ceremony, and cultural activity avoidance. Cultural raising Community collectively raising their children culturally Culturally safe This can relate to place, people, or an individual. It refers to where people can enact their culture or express their identity without hindrance or retribution. Culturally unsafe Where a person, people or community cannot enact their culture without restriction or retribution. Community Leaders (Traditional Custodian) Those yet to be Elders but hold significant roles within their community in teaching and educating others, especially younger members. Community Leaders Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxvi (non-Traditional Custodian) Those yet to be Elders living Off their traditional Country. Also, with an important role of educating. Consent Determination Where mediation results in an agreement between parties out of court (e.g. native title). Co-operative Management Agreement Co-operative management between Traditional Custodians (TC’s) and the Victorian Government, providing an avenue for TC’s to participate in management of their parks and reserves. Country/ies Country 4 with a capital C denotes a proper noun and is used throughout this thesis to refer to First Nation’s homeland, kin Country defined by apical ancestry, and entails cultural responsibilities for that land. ‘Countries’ refers to definitions of plural Countries within an umbrella term of Country i.e., Sea Country, Sky Country. Cultural seasons Seasons away from the Western definition of seasons, revolving around wind changes, weather patterns, plant and animal behaviours as well as cultural obligations such as defining ceremony times. Custodial Blood lineage connection to pockets of land, for which one has cultural obligations. Deep Past Exceeding geological time, relates to connection and foundations of culture, Country, and Self. Deep Time Reclaiming/redefining the academic term. From time immemorial, with no linear beginning, middle, or end, it is cylindrical. Dhauwurd wurrung Language of the Gunditjmara people from the Heywood, Lake Condah area of Western Victoria. Dreaming/Dreamtime Referred to throughout this thesis as Creation Time or Creation Narrative as Dreaming/Dreamtime is an implied term of reference. 4 2F Note that in this thesis I use the word ‘Countries’ for plural Country’s noting that there is no consistent convention for the spelling of this word across Australia’s First Nations Peoples. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxvii Dual heritage Term used in this thesis to replace derogatory blood quantum term ‘Half-Caste’ or someone with a First Nation and non-First Nation parent (see ‘Mixed heritage’). Elder/s With a capital E, cultural knowledge holders, and mentors for their community as well as the wider First Nation and non-First Nation communities (see kinElder’ and ‘TC Elder’ and ‘non-TC Elder’) Eastern Maar Gunditjmara descendants that were part of the Gunditjmara native title claim Part B, through Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation in conjunction with GMTOAC. First Nation Term used by author to describe non-First Nation terms of reference such as Indigenous, Aboriginal etc. Framlingham Mission Christian-run Mission located on Kirrae Wurrung Country along the banks of the Hopkins River on Gunditjmara Country. Frontier Wars Resistance wars between First Nations populations and European invaders. Eumerella War Guerrilla warfare that Gunditjmara sustained for over 20 years vs squatters in Western Victoria. Keeping Place A special place where precious cultural items can be housed in museum-like conditions, but on the Country that it was made and cared for by the Traditional Custodians. Keerray Wooroong A language under the Gunditjmara umbrella, located around the Framlingham Mission area. Kin-Elder An Elder you are connected to by blood (see ‘Elder/s’, ‘non-kin Elders’, ‘TC Elder’ and non-TC-Elder’) Genetic Memory Memory that is carried through your genes, this can be things like Ancestral knowledge, or even trauma (see ‘Transgenerational trauma’). Gunditjmara Gunditjmara refers to the Traditional Custodians of the research area of Western Victoria. Invader British invaders to Australia in the 1780s. Laka Gunditj Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxviii Language Program Create Gunditjmara language programs in Western Victoria including the creation of resources to promote and educate. Language Language names are used first throughout this thesis followed by the English translation where appropriate. Language Group A distinct group of people who speak the same language, with varying dialects connected to the Clans (within each Language Group. Martang Registered Aboriginal Party based in Gariwerd, Halls Gap. Men’s Business Includes things like gendered ceremonies - initiation ceremonies, selected cultural information, instrument taboos (i.e., yidarki -didgeridoo). Mission Period When First Nation populations were being slaughtered and pushed off their Traditional Homelands and rounded up on to Missions and Reserves. Mixed heritage Term used in this thesis to define someone with generational First Nation and non-First Nation heritage, away from derogatory blood quantum terms of reference, such as ‘quadroon’ and ‘octoroon’ (see ‘dual heritage’). Mob/s Common term of reference for a group of First Nation people, be it a family group, or on a larger Language Group or Country scale. Mono heritage Term used in this thesis to describe someone with two First Nation parents, away from the derogatory blood quantum term ‘full blood’, see ‘Dual heritage’ and ‘Mixed heritage’. Murrum Turrukurruk Ceremony Wurundjeri Coming of Age ceremony Murrum/Marram = body; Turru/Toorak= reeds; kurruk/grook = female suffix. Narrm Woiwurrung name for Melbourne, meaning scrubland. Native title Native title is the recognition in Australian Commonwealth law of First Nation people’s rights and interests in their traditional lands and waters. Native title Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xxxix determination A decision on whether native title exists in relation to a particular area of land or waters. Non-kin Elder Elders who you are not blood connected to but maintain Elder role in community (see ‘Elder/s’, ‘kin-Elder’, ‘TCElder’, ‘non-TC Elder’). Non-TC-Elder A Non-Traditional Custodian-Elder who lives Off their Country but still holds Eldership roles within the community they live (see ‘TC Elder’). Old People Refers to the spiritual realm of those passed. Ancestors created everything; Old People guide our spirits. Oral History/ies/ Tradition A culture that has passed knowledge through the generations without a written form. Paint up Daubing the body in various designs with ochre before dancing or participating in ceremony. Possum skins/pelts Used for cloaks and dance/ceremonial attire. Possum Skin Cloak Brush-tailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) pelts sewn together and engraved with markings unique to you and your Country. Very important cultural item, babies are wrapped in them when born, and people are buried in them. Pulling up Cultural disciplinary action from Elders/Aunties/Uncles for breaking Cultural Law (see ‘Cultural Law’). Protective reciprocal symmetry Working together to protect each other – Country and Self. Senior Elder Overarching authority, senior knowledge holder. Shaming Retribution for Breaking Cultural Law (see ‘Cultural Law’). Spiritual Protectors Often referred to as Totems, each individual has a Spirit Protector, or spirit animal that is gifted them at birth. This is alongside the gender-based Spiritual Protectors. Star Narrative Creation Narratives mapped and told through the stars; also, the cultural seasons. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xl Tae’rak/Tyaark Original name for Lake Condah meaning Common Reed. TC-Elder Traditional Custodian-Elder who live On their Country and have custodial bloodline rights to that Country (see ‘non-TC Elder’) Torres Strait Islander First Nation peoples of the islands and seas north of Cape York, Queensland and are included in the commonwealth of Australia. Traditional Traditional cultural practises handed down from our Old People from the past, used in the present and will be used in the future. Traditional Owners Settlement Act 2010 (Vic) Allows native title cases to be decided out of court, preventing lengthy hearings. Transgenerational Trauma Inherited trauma that is passed through the genes, and future generations suffering the consequences of the intense trauma that First Nations people have suffered since invasion that continues today. Stolen Generation Those children forcibly taken, but legally by the Australian government from their families and Country and put in white foster care or institutions such as orphanages ‘officially’ from the 1900s until the 1970s, but continues today. Songlines Songlines tell the narrative of both the physical and spiritual Country. There are also Wind Lines and Water Lines through which these narratives travel. Defining Country includes the water, sky, and land. Uncle/s In a cultural context, Uncles’ role is to help culturally raise the boys in their community, today, also the wider First Nation community if the boys live Off their Country. Victorian Heritage Council An independent statutory body that advises government and others how to conserve and protect historically important objects and places. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xli Welcome Baby to Country Ceremony A baby is daubed with ashes or ochre and smoked after birth to Welcome them to Mother Earth. Welcome to Country Verbal or alongside a Smoking Ceremony where visitors are asked to pass through smoke that has healing properties to make the space culturally safe. Western District The far southwestern region of the state of Victoria. Generally termed as Gunditjmara Country. Woiwurrung Language of the Wurundjeri people (see Wurundjeri). Women’s Business Includes things like gendered ceremonies - initiation ceremonies, instrument taboos (i.e., yidarki didgeridoo), selected cultural information (i.e., childbirth). Wurundjeri Traditional Custodians of Narrm (Melbourne) and surrounds. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xlii List of Gunditjmara Language used All Gunditjmara language words used are derived from the different Gunditjmara languages, listed by predominantly by James Dawson, the Chaap wuurong, Kuurn Kopan noot and Peek whuurong as well as some references from George Augustus Robinson, Chief Protector for Aborigines, and occasional references from anthropologist Norman Tindale. Stars and constellations Barnk Milky Way Barrukill Hydra Burtit tuung tirng Jupiter Butt kuee tuukuung Antares Butt kuee tuukuung's two stars near Antares Buunjill Fomalhaut Guearang kuuronn Smaller Magellanic cloud Gneeangar Sirius Gnummæ waar meteor Kakii tirng larger stars Kappiheear puuron upper arch Kullat crepuscular arch in west in the morning Kummim bieetch stars in Scorpio's tail Kunkun Tuuromballank Southern Cross Kuppiheear three stars in Orion's belt Kuukuu narranuung three stars below Antares Kuupartakil/Moroitch stars in Orion Kuurn kuuronn Magellanic cloud Kuurokeheear Pleiades Kuurokeheear puuron upper crepuscular arch in east at sunset Meeheaarong moon Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xliii Narweetch maering star earth (smaller stars) Parrupum Mars Puae buae Aurora Australis Puurt Kuurnuuk comet Taaruuk neung new moon Tirng sun Torong Coal Sack Tuulirmp Centourie Waa Canopus Wang'uul Venus Gunditjmara Countries Bocara Woorrowarook River Forest Country Tungatt Mirring Stone Country Koonang Mirring Sea Country Woorrowarook Mirring Forest Country Places Bocara Glenelg River Bo’ok Mt Shadwell Budj Bim also ‘Putj peem’ (Clarke), or ‘Puint pino’ (Lane in Smyth) Culer-culerr Mount Sugarloaf ‘lava stone’ in Tyakoort Woorroong Deen Maar ‘A, this, that’ with Maar meaning ‘Aborigine’. Alternate names, Din Mar ‘this blackfellow here’ (Dawson), Tirngoona ‘where the sun go away longa [sic] night; Lady Juliette Percy Island (Port Fairy Gazette in Clark) Killara Darlot/s Creek Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xliv Kunang excrement (Warrnambool waterhole) Kuulin spring near Mortlake, ‘lava hole’ in Keerray woorroong Kuulokaar Port fairy – pond ‘lava hole’ in Dhauwurd wurrung Kuulokaar lava hole (Port Fairy – Pond) Kurtonitj where the water crosses the stones Kulurr Kolora Lagoon south of Mortlake ‘lava stone used to rub ochre’ in Djabwurrung Leywhollot ‘whollet’ = kangaroo grass; Pulembeet ‘bete’ = water, lake (Portland) Nyamat ‘sea’; Puyupkil = ‘pig face’ (Port Fairy) Mopor Spring Creek tribe, member of tribe is Mopor kurrndit’ Peetoop small sandpiper; worn = house (Warrnambool) Tae’rak Lake Condah Tangang punhart Hopkins Falls = ‘eels bite the stones’ Tappoc Mount Napier Tarnpirr Mount Emu Creek = ‘flowing water’ Terrinallum/Derrinallum Mount Elephant = ‘home of swallows or terns’ Tinææn active volcano Tuunuunbee heear Mount Leura = moving moving female Tyalingin man’s tongue = Port Fairy East Palawarra Fitzroy River, alternate spelling Robinson ‘Pol’ler’wor’rer’ Poter.run/Po.ter.run Surrey River (Robinson) Ulimaroa end of river = Port Fairy – Battery Hill wirn-wirn back teeth = Mount Taurus Walpa kuulor burning hill in Chaapwuurong, (also Baawan kuulor in Kuurn Kopan noot) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xlv Spirit Protectors Kappatch banksia cockatoo (yellow-tailed black cockatoo) Kappaheear female banksia cockatoo (yellow-tailed black cockatoo) Kartœrapp pelican Kartœrapp heear female pelican Kirtuuk boa snake Kirtuuk heear female boa snake Kuunamit quail Kuunamit heear female quail Kuurokeetch long-billed cockatoo (long-billed corella) Kuurokaheear female long-billed cockatoo (long-billed corella) Animals Kuront brolga kuuramuuk common brush tail possum kuyang short-finned eel (Anguilla australis) Waa raven General Gunditjmara words and phrases ‘King ngakka ngal’ ‘We have done him.’ Gilgar Gunditj Visitor Place = name of Clan of Tae’rak area. heearr female suffix Kuurndit ‘member of’ maar ‘Aborigines generally’ mara/ma:r ‘man’ (Tindale), see ‘maar’ Ngatanwarr Welcome Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xlvi Ngatanwarr wartee pa kakay teen Gunditjmara mirring Welcome brothers and sisters to Gunditjmara Country Ngootyoong Gunditj Ngootyoong Mara Healthy Country Healthy People Porran porran koola moothang The storm that destroys the wattle blossoms (VACL) Wunget Chief (quoted by FX45-54#14) Yarkeem empowering Gunditjmara vision Cultural items arrabine eel basket (Robinson’s spelling) see ‘gnarraban’ baaluun large possum skin cloak gnarraban eel basket/trap (Dawson’s spelling), see arrabine kirrambirn bunch of leaves tied around ankles lædæ lædim boomerangs millæ wuuk Strip of possum skin for upper arm muuloteen peem headbands made of plaited bark pun’yin/muurang/ large possum skin cloak parrang geetch possum skin for dance belts Tulluukuut mannæn/Knæræt small possum skin cloak tuurnuut nose peg war war club wuurn homes/shelters yere.roc weir made for catching kuyang (eels) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xlvii People/Spiritual Pirnmeheeal/Prenheal the good spirit/the Great Spirit Piyaar Messenger in Chaap wuurrung/Djap wurrung/Tjap wurrung Wækerr Messenger in Chaap wuurong and Kuurn Kopan noot, see Weehnirr Weehnirr Messenger in Peek Woorroong Food plants pun’yin/muurang/keerang murnong (yam daisy) tuber taaruuk native convolvulus called (see Taaruuk neung) Names for Tae’rak (Lake Condah) Karrap ‘lake’ alternate name for Tae’rak (lake Condah) Koondoom ‘water’ alternate name for Tae’rak (lake Condah) Tyaark ‘common reed’ alternate name for Tae’rak (lake Condah) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xlviii Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - xlix Being On Country Off Country Figure 0-1: Tae’rak (Lake Condah) in autumn (Nicholson, 2017c, 63). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - l Chapter 1 Introduction Figure 1-1: Tae'rak (Lake Condah) at sunset (Nicholson, 2017c). 1.1 Research focus This thesis formed the core of a research project funded through Deakin University and the ARC (Australian Research Council). The ARC project was titled ‘On Country Off Country’ and aimed to ‘explore regional and urban residency relationships in relation to Aboriginal Corporation membership eligibility and to Country self-nurture and custodianship relationships 5’ (Australian Research Council, 2019). This project was headed up by Chief Investigators Dr David Jones (formally Deakin University), Prof Darryl Low Choy (Griffith University), Prof Mark Rose (Deakin University, formally La Trobe University) and Dr Silvia Serrao-Neumann (Griffith University). 3F The focus of this research is the Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria. Prominent Gunditjmara ally and researcher, James Dawson, describes Kuurndit to mean ‘member of [a] ‘tribe’ and maar as ‘Aborigines generally’. According to Hercus (1986, viii), Gunditjmara people form part of the Gunditj family of languages. Also, Gunditjmara language specialist Joel Wright describes 10 Language Groups within the Gunditjmara traditional boundaries (Warrnambool City Council, 2020). Within these Language Groups there are localised Clans, some with slight variations of dialect 6. These Clans and Language Groups are connected specifically to identity or location markers as seen through their names (discussed in Figure 4-18). 4F Unlike many other Language Groups across Australia, the Gunditjmara maintained permanent stone dwellings and managed a successful large-scale kuyang (eel) aquaculture system. The Gunditjmara as a collective, including those connected to Tae’rak (Lake Condah)/Heywood area, Lake Condah Mission, and members of Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owner Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC), still maintain Country and cultural practises, however the scope of this research is the Tae’rak region only. This thesis focuses on how the structure within GMTOAC has changed after they were awarded native title in 2007 and 2011 (discussed in Section 4.9 native title), how 5 6 Appendix B details the ARC funding extract. These slight variances may change over time as discussed in 4.3 Gunditjmara languages. 1 members maintain input into the management of their Country, and how they remain connected when Off Country. Also briefly discussed is whether Gunditjmara who live Off Country are multiclan 7 and live on their other Clan’s Country. This is included to see if they have access to their other Clan’s culture/s. Data collection is via face-to-face interviews and anonymous online questionnaires sent via secure link. A total of 57 responses were collected with 18 On Country and 39 Off Country for comparative purposes. 5F 1.2 The Gunditjmara people and their Country Analysis of GMTOAC membership lists from 2007 to 2015 8 show some members have lived On Country throughout that time, while others have not generationally. Some live close to Country while others live in cities, creating defined population clusters, while a few live in regional Australia or overseas. The Melbourne suburbs clusters include areas that have high First Nation populations (mapped out in Figure 7-57), as well as First Nation health and wellbeing services to support communities. Research has shown that families tried to stay On Country, but the Mission Period disrupted this with only some returning to Country post Mission Period (1850s-1880s). GMTOAC member movements are discussed and mapped in Section 7.2 GMTOAC meetings – questionnaire responders and Section 7.3 GMTOAC - overall membership. Attention is on how population movements have affected individuals and the tactics they use to overcome obstacles of being Off Country. Throughout my writings, I prioritise the Gunditjmara voice, then wider First Nation voices here and overseas. 6F Country is not a singular definition. Country incorporates many layers, as seen later in Figure 4-3. Hence Gunditjmara Countries incorporate the physical with spiritual creation underpinnings. Gunditjmara Country/ies are in Western Victoria and includes a rich and diverse cultural landscape of freshwater and saltwater Country that continues into the sea. It also includes the Newer Volcanics (Boyce, 2013, Cas, 2017). The Gunditjmara witnessed these volcanic eruptions which is evidenced by their Creation Narrative of Budj Bim (discussed in Section 4.7 Gunditjmara Spirituality-Budj Bim). How this is connected to ritual and ceremony will be discussed in Section 5.6 Ceremony. Country defines the Law of its people through ceremony and language. Its Ancestors and Spiritual Protectors define how Country exists and people follow the Law of Country. Country is also defined in part by its animals, both physical and spiritual (seen as physical, or felt on spiritual, or metaphysical levels) which can be defined by the seasons (see Figure 1-3). How the metaphysical philosophy is placed within cultural narratives is explained in Section 5.3 Connection through the stars. For the Gunditjmara, Country is seen universally as evidenced by the questionnaire responses analysed in Chapter 7. This universal oneness includes tangibles, intangibles, people, flora and fauna, unique languages, ceremonies, Creation 7 8 Multiclan means having blood connection to multiple Language Groups. Membership lists for 2017 to 2020 do not include addresses due to privacy. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 2 Narratives, Creation Spirit Protectors, Songlines, distinct art style, well-defined Clans, and Cultural Law, all creating a fluid landscape. Gunditjmara Country incorporates four distinct ‘Countries’. These include Bocara Woorrowarook Mirring (River Forest Country), Tungatt Mirring (Stone Country), Woorrowarook Mirring (Forest Country), and Koonang Mirring (Sea Country) (Parks Victoria, 2015, 5), creating cultural landscapes. These cultural landscapes are mapped and analysed in Figure 4-3 and Figure 4-4. Cultural landscapes that have been disturbed or interrupted can be ‘reawakened’ as seen when Tae’rak was reflooded in 2010 after it was drained for farming. The flora and fauna resource availability are still monitored by the seasons, of which the Gunditjmara recognise six, Drying Out Time, Big Dry, Early Wet, Big Wet, Flowering Time, and Fattening Time which is analysed in Figure 4-29. 1.3 Country, Connection and Population The three elements discussed in this research and defined by the Gunditjmara will be Country, Connection and Population. Explored will be how the intangible underpinnings of language, oral history and spirituality have been affected by invasion causing it to adapt and change over time. How this affects self-identity and cultural activity are under researched. The connection of the Gunditjmara to Western Victoria has been since time-immemorial and, today there are many new ways they express this connection. Exciting developments included the 2008 Land Rights determination and Joint management of Country/ies (see NNTT, 2007b), and also the unique structure of their legal entity/corporation GMTOAC. Their ‘full group’ structure differed up until 2018 from many First Nation Land Councils (FNLC). How this structure worked after the native title decisions is analysed to define if and how it benefits the Gunditjmara community. In 2019, Budj Bim’s tangible and intangible qualities were recognised on a world scale (see F igure 4-84) and successfully added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2019). It encompasses the former Mount Eccles National Park (original name Budj Bim) consisting of 8565 ha (Parks Victoria, 2015, 3). The criteria met by Budj Bim are discussed in 4.11 Budj Bim Cultural Landscape added to World Heritage List. The complete World Heritage citation is included in Appendix D. 1.4 Gunditjmara of Western Victoria For reasons discussed in Chapter 6, many Gunditjmara today do not live On Country. Questions analysed include, how does being Off Country permanently, compare to those who have recently moved away, to those who sporadically move back and forth? How does this affect families who live in distant locations Off Country, generationally? How does being an Elder living away from community effect their roles and responsibilities? How do Gunditjmara members cope when none of their kin-Elders live close by? Also analysed is how this recent past connects to Deep Time 9. Analysed is how connection does not mean one’s physical presence now, but also one’s deeper 7F 9 Deep Time being from the beginning of time, reclaimed and redefined as a First Nation term. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 3 connections to their Old People, Ancestors, and creation. Discussed are reasons why individuals/families do not live On Country, i.e., work/school/marriage, but also deeper levels such as displacement, i.e., Mission period (1850s-80s). Population movement trends are further analysed and how they correspond with the Mission Period and how some displaced Gunditjmara families remained Off Country near those missions. First Nations definitions of Country and connection to it is outside the scope of invader 10 reference. Country includes the physical, the spiritual, what is beneath, on and above the ground, in the sky and the cosmos. It also does not exclude water in all its forms as it is the fundamental element of all layers of Country. Country also has intricate interwoven Songlines and Creation Trails 11 (discussed in Section 5.7 Language). These layers of Country and ways they relate to Gunditjmara peoples are introduced in Chapter 4 and wholistically in Chapter 5. Comparisons will be drawn on how Country is defined in a rural vs urban setting and how this does not change one’s identity or connection. 8F 9F 1.5 Thesis research 1.5.1 Research question Can people be connected to something that they have never seen? If transgenerational trauma has been proven (discussed in Section 3.9 Elders roles and responsibilities today) (e.g., Nazi Holocaust), then can connection through genetic memory exist also? Genetic memory (discussed in Section 3.2 What is Country?) includes spiritual Ancestral memories that are passed through one’s genes. This thesis intends to open the discussion around scope of connection to Country with the research question: Being On Country Off Country: how have the Gunditjmara remained connected to Country from time immemorial, and how will they into the future? 1.5.2 Objectives The research objective is to analyse Gunditjmara knowledge sets related to individual connections to Country and to compile an overall picture of how connection is maintained. This thesis compares individuals who have always lived On Country, through to those who have never seen their Country. This research was originally focused on Gunditjmara associated with GMTOAC and Tae’rak, however ten members’ families and other Gunditjmara not connected to GMTOAC had to be included due to COVID-19 travel restrictions preventing further interviews strictly with members. 10 11 Noting that I prefer not to use the term ‘colonial’ or ‘settler’ or ‘settlement’. I use the term Creation/Creation Trails rather than Dreaming as that is a term defined by another culture, so to keep the integrity of this writing, I will refrain from using any non-First Nation definitions but will use the terms Aboriginal or Indigenous if needed to define organisations or official documents etc, but local names will be used where possible. This does not take away from the fact that some First Nation people have adopted these terms and phrases. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 4 1.5.3 Purpose The purpose of this research is to enable First Nations communities to access additional techniques on how to remain connected to their Countries when they are unable to be On Country. This resource focus has been discussed little in the published literature. This thesis will draw on the knowledge sets of Gunditjmara people and how their ancient links to Country remain through their kin and spiritualities. Also discussed are the hurdles that can hinder being On Country such as physical distance, family, work, or study commitments. Also highlighted are changes to connection over time. These tools could enable other First Nations communities to culturally map their Countries and work alongside cultural heritage agencies for its maintenance and protection. Finally, it enables non-First Nation people to be exposed to, appreciate, and gain knowledge of the richness of Gunditjmara culture. 1.6 Country, this research and COVID-19 Research began in February 2017, with the first year dedicated to research and Gunditjmara Country visits to introduce myself and research focus via GMTOAC community meetings. Their full group meeting format aided successful Gunditjmara native title consent determinations (discussed in section 4.9 Native title). This meeting structure remained following the determinations to assist Gunditjmara as native title holders to negotiate regarding Future Act notifications (seen in Figure 4-56). In 2018, however, this format changed to comply with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC). This meant that they no longer held meetings where all GMTOAC members were invited to attend and have input. This meant that the availability to interview members for my research dwindled. The second year of research was data collection via set questions relating to Country, population, family movements and cultural knowledge/connection. This initially was to be interviews; however, this was disrupted several times due to personal Sorry Business, community Sorry Business and Gunditjmara Sorry Business12 combined. The third year involved collation of the questionnaire data for inclusion in final research findings while adding to chapter writings. Throughout much of the research period COVID-19 forced multiple GMTOAC meetings to be cancelled and travel restrictions being in place made it impossible to gather more in-person interviews. 1.7 Thesis structure 1.7.1 Chapter 1: Introduction Describes who the Gunditjmara people are and where their Country lies. It includes a description of their unique cultural practises of kuyang (eel) farming and building of extensive permanent stone dwellings. It explores their journey through the native title process and its aftermath. Analysis includes the traditional boundaries and affiliations around Tae’rak, Condah Mission and GMTOAC. It highlights the research theme ‘Being On Country, Off Country’ and how people connect to a place without physically ‘Sorry Business’, is when the whole community goes through the mourning process for extended periods of time. 12 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 5 being there. It maps Gunditjmara population movements from pre-invasion, Mission Period and through to the present. Emphasis is placed on how one can be ‘On’ Country while ‘Off’ Country. As there is a lack of research into this area, the objectives highlighted include that a spiritual place ‘Country’ is well defined as an entity that you can take with you, framing any future research into connectedness of First Nations peoples. 1.7.2 Chapter 2: Research Methods Discusses the rationale and reasoning for my interest in researching connection to Country as a First Nations woman. Central to this is that many First Nations People have been displaced and roles have changed. The research methods analyse how Gunditjmara people associated with Tae’rak and Lake Condah Mission continue to maintain cultural obligations On and Off Country. Data collection methods included Country visits, in-person interviews, and online anonymous questionaries. 1.7.3 Chapter 3: Country Focuses on the definition of Country on physical and spiritual levels, with components making up multiple Gunditjmara Countries. These include Stone, Forest, Fresh Water and Sea Countries. Comparisons are made between physical and spiritual and how people connect to Country through both. An evaluation is made between the significance of Country seen through an invader lens (i.e., ‘sacred sites’) versus a ‘sacred landscape’ as defined by Gunditjmara people. Also discussed is how science and culture do not often correlate, but the recognition of the Budj Bim cultural landscape narrative highlights how science can support Gunditjmara oral traditions. Comparisons between ‘ownership’ and ‘custodianship’ are discussed, along with how cultural responsibilities are tied to Country. How Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is utilised to nurture Country (like kin) and compliments old and new knowledge is described. Also discussed is how Country is read to predict the seasons or weather through to using modern drone technology to culturally map Country. How community roles in maintenance of Country have changed over time is highlighted. Also examined is how Elders have maintained their roles to keep culture alive while everything around them has changed. 1.7.4 Chapter 4: Gunditjmara Investigates who the Gunditjmara People are, including traditional boundaries, languages, and population. The datasets gained through GMTOAC membership lists shows how many live On and Off Country, their age and gender 13. It also discusses Gunditjmara culture, Creation Narratives of Tae’rak and Budj Bim. Also discussed is Gunditjmara today gaining RAP (Registered Aboriginal Party status) and its obligations under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic). Native title triumphs are discussed, as are how this has assisted Gunditjmara people to have more control over caring for their Country. Also discussed is the structure of GMTOAC and how this assists members to remain informed and further involved in caring for Country. 10F 13 Data only available from 2007 – 2015, names only from 2017 – 2020. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 6 1.7.5 Chapter 5: Connected Discusses connection and how its forms even before one is physically born. This ‘consciousness’ is explored through the stars, Creation Narratives, spirituality, language, ceremony and how this can be drawn on On and Off Country. Explored is how language forms a strong foundation to culture, as well as how connection has no time limitations and is fluid. Also described are ways that technology such as aerial drone and 3D terrain mapping can assist culturally mapping Country. 1.7.6 Chapter 6: Population Maps the perennial Gunditjmara population movements through time, from preinvasion where movements across Language Group boundaries were contexts for ceremony, settling of politics, arrangement of marriages and strengthening of alliances. The rocky volcanic terrain of Western Victoria provided a rich food resource yearround allowing permanent settlement. European invasion changed movements of large populations through discriminatory government Policy’s and Acts (see section 6.5 Population movements - Mission Period). In addition, First Nation people were separated and moved on mass during one of the most devastating times for First Nation culture, the Mission Period. After Lake Condah Mission closed, many Gunditjmara were moved to other Christian-run Missions or Government-sanctioned Reserves around Victoria. Explored are what ways today’s movements are defined more by age demographics of those more likely to stay On Country, or move Off Country for work etc. 1.7.7 Chapter 7: Quantification of questionnaire responses Includes the synthesis of data collected throughout the research period, including a summary of questionnaire responses. Questions are broken down into three subsections relating to age, gender, and geographic location. Questions revolve around Gunditjmara identity, their cultural practises through time, family associations, individual and family movements, and factors or hurdles that enhance or impede their connection to Country. 1.7.8 Chapter 8: Conclusion Draws on the evidence found via online research as well as data given by the questionnaire responders on how Country is not physical in its definition. Synthesises the findings and conclusions and how these may impact or assist other First Nations communities. Country and connection to it is not an elementary but a multifaceted spiritual entity with many interwoven factors. Findings supporting how Country forms part of one’s spirit and travels with you Off Country. 1.8 A personal rationale and perspective Being born and growing up On Country in Healesville east of Melbourne in south central Victoria provided me a firm cultural foundation. Being involved in Wurundjeri ‘Business’ under the guidance of my father and aunties also allowed me to know who I was and where I was connected. Then, at the age of 13, I moved Off Country. We moved to Boolarra, a small town in Gippsland on Gunnai Country in eastern Victoria. Being Off Country hit me and my siblings hard. We could not relate to the Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 7 people at school as well as the school environment being quite racist and intolerant to other cultures. We felt quite isolated and disconnected from ourselves, culture, and Country. We could also not seek comfort from Country or see our black family regularly. One thing helped, attending a local First Nation university course, that embedded and embraced culture. As soon as the environment changed around me that embraced all these things, I felt my connection to culture and Country was reaffirmed when Off Country and I could express it without exclusion. This was the only opportunity we had to connect to culture on a wider scale until as an adult I moved back On Country, just south east of Narrm (Melbourne). Being On Country again grounded me. I began researching my language, Woiwurrung and eventually become a mentor and teacher through language programs and ceremony. I also became involved in the creation of the Djirri Djirri dance group which helps young Wurundjeri girls and women to express their culture through leadership, song and dance creation. Being connected to Country for me was severely hindered (but not severed) by not physically being On Country, with the key reason being mainstream society not understanding Country. Therefore, mainstream was unable to help break down the barriers of Us and Them but created more of divide for me. This project enables me to see how other First Nation communities remain connected to culture, language, and Country as many live Off Country. Being On Country enables me to embrace my community more firmly and to help mentor others who may find it hard to connect even when they live On Country. Therefore, connection isn’t defined by connection to Country, but connection to Self, first. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 8 Chapter 2 Research Methods It is integral when researching First Nations people to have their voice well represented. It is crucial that they are not simply a research topic, but their narrative is told from their perspective. For this reason, and the nature of this research, members of the Gunditjmara must be interviewed to gain a comprehensive picture of their Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP). Important is for them to gain a thorough understanding of what this research entails and how it will be used. It is also important that the researcher and the Gunditjmara part of this research have a basis of trust and that the information that is gathered will not be made public if they do not wish it to, and they dictate what is available to add to this research. The first steps before any research begins is to meet with them and explain what and why the researcher is asking their permission to research them. This is in addition to the normal university ethic protocols, as cultural protocols outweigh these, especially as a First Nation researcher. These cultural research protocols are underpinned by overarching cultural protocols or ‘Law’ that are well known amongst First Nation communities. These rules include showing cultural respect and a willingness not to break any cultural taboos. These can include not overstepping the gender boundaries of Men’s and Women’s Business and knowing the difference between public and private ceremony and Cultural Business. These also include highly sensitive and often secret cultural and ceremonial activities. Abiding by these protocols enables research projects to be conducted in a culturally respectful way. The research plan included set questions to be asked in a face-to-face interview format. A questionnaire system was set up and responders were categorised to keep them anonymous. The process is described in detail in Chapter 7, although some direct questionnaire quotes are referenced throughout earlier chapters using the coding prescribed to each responder 14. However, a hinderance to gaining more face-to-face interviews was that GMTOAC members were geographically dispersed, making it difficult to get the required 60 interviews, 30 On and 30 Off Country. To overcome this problem, an online questionnaire was created that was easily assessable. In many cases this online format did not suit Elders as they preferred face-to face or did not have the internet at home. The questionnaire was sent electronically to all listed members, via a private questionnaire link. A total of four Gunditjmara Country visits occurred. The final number of 57 responses included 54 online, and 3 face-to-face. This included 10 Gunditjmara non-GMTOAC members. A higher number of face-toface interviews was unable to be obtained due to COVID-19 government-imposed travel restrictions. Communication was also conducted between the author and some members who had answered the questionnaire for clarity if needed. This was only done after visits were conducted during GMTOAC meeting schedules, which gave the opportunity to introduce this research. GMTOAC also informed members to expect to be contacted about this research. An important focus was to make sure that both Elders 1F 14 See Figure 7-2. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 9 and young ones were interviewed to determine how their role in the community is realised. With these roles in mind, a comparison was made between male and female data15. The second method of research was analysing publicly available literature on Gunditjmara population movements, with findings listed in flow charts and mapping. This also included historic publications, with the main historic resource being James Dawson’s 1881 publication Australian Aborigines: The languages and customs of several tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria. Dawson’s book highlights firsthand what he and his daughter Isabella witnessed and took part in by immersing themselves into Gunditjmara culture and language. Even though the Gunditjmara language is a public resource, it is cultural protocol to obtain any Gunditjmara language directly from the Gunditjmara or gain their permission to use it. Permission was sought and granted by Anthony Walker a Gunditjmara, Kerrup Jmara man, with all language sourced from Dawson, with some spelling variations sourced from the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape: World Heritage Nomination Dossier (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017) and some references from the nineteenth century records of Chief Protector for Aborigines, George Augustus Robinson. 2.1 Background and rationale I am a Wurundjeri woman, an Original Custodian of Narrm (Melbourne), with connections through the Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai-illum wurrung Language Groups 16. I lived most of my life On Country 17, but my teenage years were Off Country on Gunnai Country in Gippsland; so, I understand fully the effects of being On and Off Country at crucial times in life. I gained 2nd class honours in Indigenous Archaeology, minoring in Geology, from Monash University in 2011. My thesis titled ‘The Management of Heritage Management’ (Thomas, 2011) 18 investigated how land management agencies were either working tokenistically or collaboratively with the Traditional Custodians. The two case studies were the Post Bushfire Survey, focussing on the non-publicly accessible Wallaby Creek Water Catchment areas in Kinglake, and a publicly accessible Pauls Range/Toolangi State Forest, both part of the southern Great Dividing Range in Victoria. My findings were positive, as most of the time partnerships were collaborative not simply consultative. 12F 13F 14F I have worked over 30 years in First Nation organisations, beginning as a Cultural Heritage Officer at the Wurundjeri Tribe, Land, Compensation Cultural Heritage Council Inc. (WTLCCHC)19, and a Project Officer at Galeena Beek Living Cultural Centre in Healesville both throughout the 1990s. I have also worked as a professional 15 Research often overlooked are those who identify as non-binary, however in this research none of the responders identified as such. 16 Dja Dja wurrung are located around the Bendigo area and Ngurai-illum wurrung located in the Benalla/Wangaratta areas of Victoria. 17 In Healesville, where I have strong family connections and links to Coranderrk, where my grandmother was born, and my great-great-great Grandmother Annie Borate (William Barak’s sister) also lived. 18 My thesis was completed under my previous name Mandy Thomas. 19 Now known as Wurundjeri, Woiwurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation (WWCHAC). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 10 artist for 30 years, and as a cultural consultant, archaeology field representative, contract project archaeologist, cultural mentor to young First Nation girls, and founder, coordinator, sole Director, and songwriter for the Wurundjeri women’s/girl’s Djirri Djirri 20 Dance Group. I have worked at the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL) as a Project Officer, and Woiwurrung language specialist, assisting in reclamation work of Victoria’s revival languages. Having worked in language revival for over 13 years, and researched my language throughout life, and my cultural grounding, I am well positioned to write about the many intricacies and complexities of Victorian First Nation culture, language, people, societal structures, and processes, realising that First Nation culture, customs and beliefs are all unique. In more recent years I have been a Director for the Dja Dja wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation 2018-2019, reserve director from 2020-2022 as well as a Narrap Ranger working On Country in the Conservation Land Management space. In 2023 I created a Company called Djirri Djirri Cultural Services Pty Ltd TA Djirri Djirri and became a senior lecturer and course writer for First Nations Design in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. 16F The topic of research is not Wurundjeri based, but a comparison with other First Nation communities and structures and is essential to put this research in perspective and to allow other First Nation communities to develop strategies to overcome physical and possibly spiritual distance from Country. 2.2 Research problem Most people around the world have a spiritual belief system. For First Nations people, many have been displaced, and forced to follow the invader’s spiritual belief system. In Australia, there were policies and Acts that supported the ideal that the ‘First Nation Australians’ would be ‘better off’ if they ‘assimilate’ into mainstream white society. This agenda overlooks and deliberately shuns First Nation spirituality, culture, language, societal structures and roles and responsibilities. Since the 1800’s for First Nation Australians, genocide was encouraged by the invading British. This was done through the many documented massacres of men, women and children, the forced relocation of entire Clans and indoctrination into Christianity. These onslaughts were all deliberate attempts to destroy a people, and today residual transgenerational trauma exists within First Nation communities. Today it continues, First Nation’s People fight to break the ‘Great Australian Silence’ (Stanner, 1979, 207). This rationale effectively hid the true history of Australia, such as the Frontier Wars (Smith, n.d, Booth, 2017, Reynolds, 1981, The University of Newcastle, 2019) as they were never taught alongside the World Wars and ANZAC in schools or even made publicly available, unless you were a researcher of the archives. With this all being said, how do we reclaim and revive our culture, language, song, and dance today? How do we do it when we live On Country, but especially when we do not? 20 Djirri Djirri meaning Willy Wagtail in Woiwurrung language. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 11 The research focus of this thesis is the Gunditjmara and how they manage/co-manage Country and involve their geographically dispersed community. The Gunditjmara population is concentrated in pockets, those who live On Country, near Country, and Off Country, interstate, and overseas. The period analysed in this research is 20072013, with emphasis on geographical location. The data for 2015-2020 unfortunately does not have addresses attached, due to privacy, so cannot be included in this research. This data has been collected from GMTOAC’s publicly available membership lists. Complimenting this is the 57 questionnaire responses. A longer time frame would allow a more detailed picture of movements and how Gunditjmara have achieved their community roles and responsibilities and continue to. 2.3 Research aims, questions and objectives The aim of this thesis research is to find out how GMTOAC members, who cannot move to/back to or visit Country, remain informed and involved in Gunditjmara cultural business. Analysis indicates that there has not been much movement On or Off Country within the research period, but the majority lived Off Country between 20072013. Another important aim of this research is to find out if community members have lived Off Country generationally, including their parents/grandparents and/or their children/grandchildren. A longer research period would be beneficial here, including the Mission period up until today. This would highlight any differences between those who have lived On Country generationally and the dynamics attached to that. Until early 2018, the full group structure of GMOTOC allowed all members to attend meetings and make decisions on behalf of their families and community. Research included determining how many people attended these meetings and, • • • • • • How frequently? Do they delegate one family member to represent their family, or do several of the same family attend? Do they occasionally attend, if so, what do they get out of it? Do they, due to distance, illness or other, never attend, if so, what do they get out of it? Are minutes distributed to the whole community to keep those who cannot attend fully informed? Do they feel they have a say, and it is heard and implemented? Answers to these questions will determine if the full group setup was successful and still relevant since native title and how this relates to the Gunditjmara gaining World Heritage Listing for the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in 2019. Cross-referenced membership lists were found to be inconsistent within the research period. Some members were listed one year, but not the next, but return on the following list. Analysis will be conducted to determine why this has happened and whether this indicates members just ‘dropping off’, no longer wanting to be involved, Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 12 or simply an administrative error 21. An undetermined number of Gunditjmara are not members of GMTOAC and many are associated more with the Framlingham Mission, also on Gunditjmara Country. The use of the term ‘associated’ in this research simply means connected through GMTOAC and not that other Gunditjmara are not associated or connected Ancestrally to Tae’rak. No disrespect is intended by focussing on a select group of Gunditjmara that fit within the scope of this research. 17F 2.4 Significance of the research Due to the sheer mass of displacement in Australia and around the world in the 1800s, First Nations people will always strive to remain connected to their culture, language, spirituality, and ceremony - all embedded in the definition of Country. The outcomes for this research would allow them to be able to feel they can still connect with Country, even though they are physically away from it. First Nations people must live in two worlds, the cultural world which forms their identity, and spirituality, and the economic world, which has opposing values, mainly profit driven. How these two worlds can work together will benefit in developing strategies to overcome the obstacles faced by those who live Off Country. This research will also help those of the Stolen Generation in understanding that the connection to Country is a spiritual entity. 2.5 Data collection I travelled to Gunditjmara Country a total of four times and was able to be taken on a tour of Tae’rak and Tyrendarra by Gunditjmara man Adam Walker and his son Ryli. I was also taken to the Lake Condah cemetery where I was told some stories of the Aunties and Uncles who were buried there. I was also able to introduce myself and research at three separate full group meetings. Many of the female Elders knew my family, and I had also worked or studied with others. This is a firm foundation for trust to be established for research outcomes. Unfortunately, I was unable to conduct any face-to-face interviews during these full group meetings as their schedule was extremely tight, as they would have concurrent meetings all weekend which covered many demanding topics. Population mapping for the period between 2007-2013 could be analysed successfully, with the 2015 and 2020 mapping unable to be completed due to restricted records. However, data that could be reconciled from the 2015 to 2020 membership lists and then be compared to the 2007-2013 lists is gender ratios. These ratios show there are more women than man, however there are no ages recorded. Age data was collected in the questionnaire. More Country visits were planned, but GMTOAC meetings were cancelled and rescheduled, or I was unable to travel, and eventually COVID-19 prevented all visits. To overcome this limitation, online questionnaires were utilised. By the 30th of January 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, I had received 43 responses and by the end of the data collection phase had received 57. Figure 2-1 shows the author during a Country visit. 21 The reason for this remains unknown after confirmation from GMTOAC. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 13 Figure 2-1: Author at Cape Nelson petrified forest near Portland on Gunditjmara Country. Photo by Damein Bell, 2017. To compliment my research, I have previously written papers on how to connect to Country in the city, including ‘Dhumba-djerring balit-djak [Talking together Powerful Country]: Wurundjeri perspectives towards creating a resilient and sustainable city on Country’ (Nicholson, 2017b) for the EcoCity World Summit. The focus was on the many layers that are included in the term Country and how it remains even when a city is built over it. Living in the city can be compared to living Off Country, as you cannot physically see it under all the concrete and buildings, but you know it’s there, you feel it. Another paper (unpublished) for the State of Australian Cities (SOAC), titled, Dhagung Yurdinj Bilang; No Straight Lines: How do we create culturally safe environments in Narrm [Melbourne] (Nicholson, 2017a) included concepts around cultural mapping and having more First Nations input and authorship into city planning to make Victorian First Nation culture present, relevant and visible in an urban setting. I presented a paper at the Who’s Land is it anyway Symposium, titled Ngoon godgin buladu-biik (Thanks the Big Country): The essence of ‘Country’ acknowledgments and paying respect’ (Nicholson, 2017d), focusing on decolonising research methodologies to create alternative mapping practises. I also submitted a paper for the 14th Urban History Planning History (UHPH) conference in 2018, titled Urban Aboriginal Identity: “I can’t see the durt (stars) in the city” (Nicholson, 2018), focussing on the often-forgotten connection to the highest tier Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 14 of Country, the cosmos. I also presented a co-authored paper at Kuala Lumpur in 2020 titled ‘Being On Country Off Country: Perspectives from Gunditjmara and Quandamooka Country’s’. 18F 2.6 Sorry Business Sorry Business for First Nation communities differs to mainstream Australian mourning processes. Sorry Business includes being a cultural support for the immediate family, but also the wider affected community. This involves providing attention on a personal level, by giving support and comfort, but also a larger scale as the whole community have lost this person. If an Elder, this is more of a cultural beacon, or symbol of cultural survival for the whole community and it hits extremely hard. This is because the knowledge sets and leadership skills they had, are buried with them. Therefore, in the case of an Elder passing, it involves not simply the organisation of a funeral, but cultural practises pre and post funeral. Cultural support continues for wider community through the cultural mourning processes, through ceremony and cultural responsibilities. These responsibilities include helping the community to realign community roles and responsibilities to fill the void that is left by an Elder passing. For these reasons, the projected research milestones could not be reached on schedule as on a personal level I lost an Uncle just as I was to begin my research in January 2017; on top of my cultural responsibilities, I also organised much of the funeral planning and process for my invalid Aunty who lost her husband. After this Sorry Business was over, I began behind schedule in March 2017. In March of the second year of research, I also lost my father suddenly. Often a single Elder will hold knowledge that is pertinent for cultural survival for their immediate family, but also the entire community and those associated with that community. The societal structures that have been in place for many years while they were alive collapse and must be rebuilt. This begins with the families working with community leaders, which takes time to get right as the whole community have different roles to play to regain cultural equilibrium. In my case I was an immediate family member, but also a community leader, with responsibilities outweighing the normal Sorry Business responsibilities. This continues into the wider Narrm (Melbourne) First Nation community. This included conducting ceremonies for six families during the research period. All these Sorry Business commitments prevented me from physically travelling to obtain face-to-face interviews as often as needed. Other commitments that have hindered progress include being the sole provider in our household. Outside my family and community there was also Sorry Business within the Gunditjmara community that hindered my progress due to several community deaths, including a senior Elder. GMTOAC and Gunditjmara Sorry Business The meeting structure of GMTOAC at the beginning of my research included a full group structure, a legacy of the native title efforts of the community numerous years Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 15 prior. This included an open invitation to all members to attend meetings and make decisions together. During my research, however, this structure changed when GMTOAC were put under administration and the structure under ORIC guidelines changed to a Board of Directors structure. This is limited to only 8 members sitting on the Board and consists of representatives of the 14 apical Ancestors of the Gunditjmara people. The benefits found from the full group structure included wholistic informal community meetings/gatherings. In total I visited the community four times, each time finding that they scheduled several highly intense meetings throughout the day to take advantage of the time as many travelled from Melbourne or Bendigo, leaving little time for me to introduce my research and no time for any to sit for an interview. To overcome this issue, it was suggested that I create an online questionnaire. This was highly successful in the initial couple of weeks but fell away not long afterwards. I kept attempting to re-engage the community with the online questionnaire and personally messaged all members that I could find on social media from the GMTOAC membership list (all members were informed that I would be contacting them). Some stated they would complete the questionnaire, but after numerous reminders by me, they did not complete it. A couple of more visits were scheduled but fell through with other personal commitments disallowing me to travel. This included Sorry Business for my father, uncle, and other community members throughout the research period. On top of this I had to follow cultural protocols regarding the Gunditjmara Sorry Business they suffered by not visiting while they were in mourning. My final visit to Gunditjmara Country was over three days and involved attending all their arranged meetings. I reintroduced myself and my research; this however was not fruitful as their meeting schedule was again heavy with breaks that were not long enough for a person to sit with me. I returned the following day but to no avail as I was after males who lived On Country and this meeting was attended by only women who I had already received questionaries from. It is noted that the Gunditjmara women were a lot more willing to do the questionnaire than the men. It also may be the case that I have known several of the women for many years, and they trusted me. On the final day of my last visit, I attended GMTOAC office and received two face-to-face responses to my questionnaire, one being a male Elder. I was still in need of more male On Country questionnaire responses and had arranged to visit one more time to see if I could arrange a group at GMTOAC office. This was planned for late March in 2020 but had to be cancelled due to the travel restrictions put into place in response to the COVID-19 crisis. COVID-19 effects on research The social distancing and travel restrictions associated with COVID-19 made it impossible to get the total of 60 questionnaires completed. Again, I promoted the questionnaire via social media networks and received two more completed by males living On Country, bringing the total count to 18 living On, and 39 living Off Country, totalling 57, with 22 male and 35 females completing the questionnaire. Although this Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 16 research was focused on GMTOAC members, these restrictions forced me to include a small number of non-members (10) to create a more solid data set. Another hurdle faced when researching is lack of access to original research resources as libraries remained closed during the pandemic, so I have had to rely at times on secondary sources that referenced the original. My final year of research at Deakin University was disrupted by COVID-19 such that my supervisor was made redundant. I therefore transferred my candidature to Monash University as it more suited my research topic and research (supervisory) needs. 2.7 Data collection and COVID-19 Country visits and data collection was cut short due to COVID-19. Restrictions brought in by the government disallowed travel from urban centres where I am located, to regional centres for extended periods of time. Country visits were restricted even after travel restrictions were lifted. I was unable to travel to Gunditjmara Country as planned to interview some Elders as this would not have been culturally appropriate for their vulnerable age group. With Narrm (Melbourne) being put in lockdown over several weeks that led into months throughout the research period, this severely hindered further data collection. Due to these COVID-19 restrictions, ten Gunditjmara responders are not GMTOAC members. 2.8 Human ethics This research, entitled ‘On Country Off Country’, is subject to an approved Cultural Heritage Permit WAC-P0031 issued by the Wathaurong Aboriginal Corporation in accordance with s.36 (1) of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic) dated 28 August 2019. Ethics approval was also provided by Deakin and Monash Universities (Appendix A). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 17 Chapter 3 Country Figure 3-1: Lake Condah Cloak, a cultural map of Gunditjmara Country, collected in 1872. Photo by Rodney Start (Museums Victoria, 2019). 3.1 Introduction This chapter delves into the varying definitions of Country from the First Nations perspective (spiritual) with a capital ‘C’; to the physical definitions of country with a lowercase ‘c’ (landscape/scientific/mainstream). How these definitions help define ‘ownership’ vs ‘custodianship’ and changing community roles through time are discussed. Being a First Nations woman, my personal knowledges and understanding underpin this chapter through lived experience of residing On and Off Country for extended periods and how through those times, the multifaceted definitions of Country did not change. 3.2 What is Country? In any culture, the general concept of country (lowercase), is intrinsically linked to a person’s self-identity. A First Nation’s person’s description of Country (with a capital ‘C’) denotes something much deeper. The capitalisation refers to a proper noun, just like ‘Australia’. First Nation people see Country as a living being or life source like the blood flowing through one’s veins. The life source of Country in a physical sense is water which is depicted as a cultural landscape on the Lake Condah cloak seen in Figure 3-1. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 18 Country is also something that one is connected to on a Spiritual Protector/Totemic22 level. These Spiritual Protectors that are gifted by one’s parents, Elders or bloodline dictate one’s connection to it 23. There are many Countries throughout what is now known as Australia, over 250 excluding the many regional specific dialects which could bring the total to well over 650 languages. These Countries are connected to different Language Groups who each have inherited cultural responsibility over specific parcels of land. Figure 3-2 shows every centre metre of land and water has people with custodial responsibilities. These include maintaining a balance between the spiritual and physical landscapes, making Country and Self the same thing. 19F 20F Figure 3-2: First Nation Australia, with its many Countries (Rizk, 2019). The questionnaire forming the foundation of data collection for this thesis asks a series of questions revolving around Country, with Question 14 asking, ‘What does Country mean to you? Could you describe your physical and/or spiritual connection to it?’ Responder MO45-54#56 24 described that connection to Country defines their identity and cultural obligations when answering: 21F ... at the core it’s all that [physical and spiritual] but when you’ve got the outside world, and how we grow up in that and how it influences ya [sic]. I believe in Gunditjmara Country, and believe in our Ancestors and our stories and Law/Lore and how that’s meant to guide us today … Since invasion we’ve had to keep our core but use those other things around us for survival for rites … and to exercise our rights and obligations to Country. The term Spiritual Protectors replaces ‘Totem/Totemic’ to make it local to First Nation Australia. See Figure 4-26. 24 Refer to Figure 7-2 for explanation of coding system. 22 23 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 19 According to Palyku woman Ambelin Kwaymullina (2005), Country contains ‘relations’ in human and non-human forms: For Aboriginal peoples, country is much more than a place. Rock, tree, river, hill, animal, human – all were formed of the same substance by the Ancestors who continue to live in land, water, sky. Country is filled with relations speaking language and following Law, no matter whether the shape of that relation is human, rock, crow, wattle. Country is loved, needed, and cared for, and country loves, needs, and cares for her peoples in turn. Country is family, culture, identity. Country is self. Therefore, if Country is not well then one’s spirit is not well, its people are not well. This passes into the spirit world before and after death. Country lives within, and forms within before being physically born, described as ‘genetic memory’. This kind of memory isn’t physical in the Western sense, but an innate, inbuilt cultural essence. Genetic memory can be in the form of knowledge, the spiritual guidance of Ancestors and in the form of trauma. According to Bombay, an Anishinaabe woman from Canadian Rainy River First Nation: We now know that experiences and the environment can turn on or off genes, so the function of those genes is changed … In terms of how that is transmitted generationally, we know that if those changes happen to be in the germ line, so in the egg or the sperm, they have the potential to be transmitted across generations (CBC News Radio, 2015). Therefore, if trauma can be passed onto the next generation through DNA, or ‘genetic memory’ so can the essence of ones Ancestors. In the case of Ancestral remains that are not returned to their people, their souls do not rest until they are returned to Country. It is very traumatic when overseas institutions, like museums and universities, keep them for study purposes and deny access or repatriation of their kin. A senior Law Man Monty Prior of the Birri Gubba people of North Queensland walked away defeated upon the denial by the Professor of Anatomy at the Edinburgh University to hand over his peoples’ remains for traditional burial, ‘… He gave us all the facts … He said he knew all about us Aboriginal people. He knew everything about us … I just had to get up and leave’ (in Turnbull, 1997, 35). The practise of measuring skulls for intelligence named phrenology was widely practised in the 1800s under the guise that bones were indicators of intelligence (ktitowsky, 2017). Many of these ‘specimens’ were stolen from their burial sites, and many have yet to be returned, remaining in institutional collections Off Country. Ms Colleen Wall, Senior woman from Dauwa Kau’bvai Nation from the Mary River district of south east Queensland, points out the spiritual importance of Ancestral remains being returned and appeased by, ‘Placing them as close to country as possible will settle them down’ (in Cooper, 2016). This highlights that the spirit of First Nation people who have passed are active, agitated and ‘unsettled’ until they are culturally laid to rest. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 20 Genetic memory also plays a role for children taken forcibly from their parents in Australia (Stolen Generation). Between one in three and one in ten children were removed from their families from around 1910 to 1970 (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 31) compared to Canada who had 2800 children die in the residential school system from the late 19th century until the mid-1990s (The Globe and Mail, 2019). Today, sadly, high numbers of children are still being removed from kin (SNAICC, 2020). However, for these children, their genetic memory is carried in a dormant state, and reawakens when they connect/reconnect with culture, family, and Country. But this leaves the question, ‘What if they never find these pathways, how is their genetic memory manifested?’ Sadly, the answer to the question is worthy of much research but is out of the scope of this analysis. The term ‘Deep Time’ is well known as a geological term of reference; however, the true meaning gets ‘lost’ under this scientific lens. Deep Time should be ‘redefined’ and ‘reclaimed’ as a First Nation ideology as Deep Time is a fundamental factor of Country. One’s physical life forms only a small part of Deep Time. One’s spiritual life has been in existence from time immemorial and remains before, during and after one’s life. Deep Time is infinite, cylindrical, the past creates the future and the future feeds from the Deep Past. This philosophy can also be applied to the use of the term ‘traditional’. It is not something from the past but lives in the present and into the future. There are traditional practises being conducted in the present. Deep Time Physical time Genetic Time Time immemorial Future time Spiritual Time Present time Figure 3-3: Time immemorial encapsulates Deep Time, Genetic Time, Spiritual Time, physical time, present time, and future time, defined as a cyclical sequence and are all connected to the philosophy of Country. Source: author. Referring to Figure 3-3, First Nation time is defined as ‘time immemorial’, this includes Deep Time which is continuous and saturated with many cultural values, Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 21 elements, and spiritual fundamentals. Also, Genetic and Spiritual time are the embodiment of Ancestor’s spirits, bringing with it the power of ‘cultural knowing’, of how the world, animals and plants exist while relying on everything else around it. Supporting this, Bradley (2021, 121) describes when senior Yanyuwa, a ngimirringki (custodian), Mavis Timothy a-Muluwamara, custodian of parcels of lands and waters throughout southwest Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia: … speaks of and for this place, she is the authority and knows how to read country, what country might be trying to convey, how it communicates and knows people, and the world it is part of. How our physical body exists, for a fraction of the time our spiritual body exists is demonstrated in Figure 3-4. DEEP TIME Genetic time physical time Figure 3-4: The comparison between Genetic Time and physical time. Source: author. Deep Time redefined has many more facets, there are different ‘phases’ that one goes through in their ‘multiple timelines’. For example, as seen in Figure 3-5, the First Nation philosophy of genetic time has always been from ‘time immemorial’. Spiritual time however is slightly different where although present from time immemorial it has separate phases. Phase 1 occurs before you are physically born, leading into phase 2 with your spirituality already formed and occurs throughout your physical life. Phase 3 is all time thereafter including all your future bloodline, in a cyclical formation. Similarly, this ‘afterlife’ belief is well documented in ancient Egyptian philosophies. Physical time is the time when we are physically born into the world, with this part of one’s journey absorbing all the other elements of Deep Time. We are here physically to help our Ancestors spirits on their journey. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 22 Figure 3-5: The different ‘phases’ of Deep Time, Genetic, Spiritual and Physical. Source: author These ‘Times’ are all imprinted into Country. This knowledge set is only gained through accepting it when it is given. An example of this is when ‘singing Country’. This is not the same voice sung in English, it is much more profound. As Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja wurrung singer, language warrior and culture woman Dr Lou Bennett describes, the Ancestors voice is from your belly or your soul, while your colonial voice is from your throat when you sing/chant (Bennett, 2018). These ‘chants’ ground, heal and connect one to Country and help others to connect on a different level as visitors. This is done to enact one’s cultural obligations as a Traditional Custodian. However, how do First Nations people define Country when not physically on Country and how do they action these obligations when living elsewhere? This thesis research has found that the definition rarely changes from those On to those Off Country. The four different Countries that the Gunditjmara identify include Koonang Mirring (Sea Country); Woorrowarook Mirring (Forest Country); Tungatt Mirring (Stone Country); and Bocara Woorrowarook Mirring (River Forest Country) (Parks Victoria, 2015, 5). Tungatt Mirring (Stone Country) Bocara Woorrowarook Mirring (River Forest Country) Woorrowarook Mirring (Forest Country) Koonang Mirring (Sea Country) Figure 3-6: The separate but overlapping Countries of the Gunditjmara. Source: author. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 23 Figure 3-6 shows the Gunditjmara Countries and highlights how they intersect and rely on each other. The Gunditjmara connect to all these Countries in individual ways. This includes ancient connection through Ancestors, and ‘new’ connections that they have created to remain connected through hard times like the Mission Period 25. A further in-depth description of how these Countries interact is discussed in Chapter 4. 23F There are intangible Countries that also coexist: Star Country, Spirit Country, and Spiritual Protector Country. Figure 3-7 demonstrates how these Countries intersect and unite with the tangible Countries. Intangible Countries Creation narratives Star Country Seasons, reading the stars and animals Spirit Country Spiritual Protector Country Spiritual pathway- Deen Maar resting place for the spirits taken from onshore cave The 5 Spiritual Protectors connecting each person to a specific Clan and their place in Gunditjmara Country and society Figure 3-7: Intangible Gunditjmara Countries, Star Country, Spirit Country, and Spiritual Protector Country. Source: author The GMTOAC member questionnaire responses described Country in both ancient and recent contexts, with no separation between them. This was seen through many commenting that Country contains Songlines, stories, spirit, Ancestors, and the feeling that Country is keeping them safe. Many respondents indicated that these elements do not and will not change or diminish over time, as it is connected to Deep Time. Many also mentioned that if Country is ill, then they are ill. Their emotional connection is overwhelming, with FX45-54#8 stating they receive an ‘electric connection’ when on Country. Further, personal responses are discussed in detail in Chapter 7. Questionnaire responders were asked whether Country was spiritual and/or physical. Figure 3-8 demonstrates how out of the 57 questionnaire responses, the spiritual and physical combined outweighed physical alone. 25 Discussed in Section 6.5 Population movements - Mission Period. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 24 Spiritual Physical Both Songlines Land Management Stories Native title Emotional Spiritual and Physical Cultural Journey Protection Family Belonging and Safety Electric Ancestors Country ill, you ill Figure 3-8: GMTOAC member views of connection to Country. Source: author. Figure 3-9 indicates that no respondent described Country simply as a physical entity. Whether one needed to be physically On Country to feel any of these is analysed in Chapter 7. Is Country Spiritual, Physical or Both? 11% 0% 89% Spiritual Physical Both Figure 3-9: Is Country Spiritual, Physical or Both? Source: questionnaire responses, 2020. Gunditjmara Country has been maintained and allocated by birthright to the separate Gunditjmara Clans. These Clans are discussed in Chapter 4 (see also Appendix L). The five Spiritual Protectors are the Kuurokeetch (long-billed cockatoo); Kartœrapp (pelican); Kappatch (banksia cockatoo); Kirtuuk (boa snake); and Kuunamit (quail) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 25 (Dawson, 1881, 26). These intricate understandings create complicated and interwoven cultural landscapes that differ from Western definitions of landscape and therefore need to be managed differently. 3.3 Landscape vs. Country Many Western definitions of landscape focus on its material presence or function that has been created by human manipulation. Some term this as a ‘cultural landscape’ under the process of consumption and globalization (Myga-Piatek, 2011, 129). Or as Major Mitchell, a 19th century European Surveyor-General in Australia, would have perceived the landscape while travelling through Djabwurrung and Jardwadjali Countries, as ‘… unknown, unmapped and uncategorised in any European manner that was familiar to them. Thus, this landscape was culturally defined by the Europeans as space’ (in Koch, 2009, 195). The term ‘cultural landscape’ was coined by Carl Sauer in 1925: ‘Every field of knowledge is characterized by its declared preoccupation with a certain group of phenomena’ (1925, 297). But the ‘cultural landscape’ for First Nations people differs significantly. UNESCO recognises that there are many dynamic versions of a cultural landscape. To UNESCO, under their World Heritage List regime, a cultural landscape recognises that there exists: ... a great variety of Landscapes that are representative of the different regions of the world. Combined works of nature and humankind, they express a long and intimate relationship between peoples and their natural environment ... Cultural landscapes … testify to the collective genius, social development and the imaginative and spiritual vitality of humanity. They are part of our collective identity (UNESCO, 2020c). Figure 3-10 shows UNESCO’s definition of Cultural Landscapes. Of note are the landscapes that entail intangible aspects that highlight continuation of cultural practises. The sub-categories also differentiate a relic and present culture. Definitions of Landscape depend on one’s definition of Country. If you are a First Nations person, your definition of Landscape is Country. As described by Safir, the ‘real world’ as individual societies see it, are very different: … the ‘real world’ is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habit of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached (Sapir, 1949, 162). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 26 Cultural Landscapes Clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man Landscaped parklands or gardens Organically evolved landscapes Associative cultural landscape Social, economic, administrative and/or religious imperative in association with and response to the environment Powerful religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence A relic (fossil) landscape, that has ended but is still visbible Continuing landscape, retains active social role in contemporary society closely associated with traditional ways Figure 3-10: UNESCOs definitions of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO, 2020c). In comparison, the view of a mountain, river, ocean, or valley in a Western sense has a logical description of its attributes such as flowing water, or elevations/depressions in the terrain. This is similarly seen with descriptions of oceans and shorelines being distinct from each other. On the other hand, the First Nations description of a mountain, river, valley, and ocean is the one entity - Country. Supporting this philosophy of Country, Mahood describes the Seven Sisters Songline being: … like arteries that carry the life force of culture through the body of country … [a] powerful expression of an integrated world view, in which the land is as conscious as the people who live in it, and the relationship between kin and country is indissoluble (2019, 37-38). Furthermore, Bromhead describes a river taking ‘… on the characteristics of the culture of which it is a part’ (2018, 29). Country continues past the shoreline. This fact has now been recognised in native title claims (discussed in Section 4.9 Native Title). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 27 Figure 3-11: Close up map of Gunditjmara native title determinations Part A & B. Source: (DSE, 2007). For a full-scale map of the entire Part A & Part B Gunditjmara native title determinations, see Appendix E. Figure 3-11 shows Part B of the Gunditjmara native title determination that includes 100 metres offshore and incorporates Deen Maar (Lady Juliet Percy Island), a significant spiritual place, discussed in 5.3 Connection through the stars. sustains plant life Below Country subterrainian water sources underground stores sustains animal life WATER Country On Country waterways - salt and fresh rain, snow, sleet, hail, rainbow sustains aquatic life connects the sky to the ground permeates back underground Sky Country mist, dew, fog sustains life on macro scale Wind Country wind, rain clouds wind blows rain clouds Star Country water vapour this is found in all layers and also in the cosmos Figure 3-12: Showing how Water Country is the key to life and is present in everything around us and how it is embedded in each layer of Country. Source: author. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 28 There are six fundamental layers of Country: Below, On, Water, Wind, Sky and Stars. Water is the basic building block for all. Figure 3-12 shows the complexity and connections water plays. These layers include the subterranean, above ground, in the air, in the sky and in the cosmos. Therefore, the definition of a waterway will seem complicated when looking it at from an invader lens. This is because these different ways of knowing about water allows cultural elements like stories, taboos, reading Country and the seasons to be understood. The numerous cultural names for the same waterways would have also been confusing. This is evidenced along the Hopkins River 26 which travels from near Langi Ghiran and Ararat in Djap wurrung Country, to the ocean at Warrnambool in Gunditjmara Country. According to Clark & Heydon, there are 26 names for the river and a separate name for Hopkins Falls Tangang punhart which means ‘eels bite the stones’, referring to them migrating up the falls. The other names include the junctions, waterholes, confluences, and other locations along its length (2002, 92-94). 24F Dawson explains this variation more deeply, noting that the naming of waterways depends on the permanency of flowing water and that there are many names for the same river: It must be noticed that rivers have not the same name from their source to the sea. The majority of Australian streams cease to flow in summer, and are then reduced to a chain of pools or waterholes, all of which, with their intermediate fords, have distinguishing names. The river which connects these waterholes in winter has no name. Every river, however, which forms one continuous stream during both summer and winter has a name which is applied to its whole length. For example, Taylor’s River, or Mount Emu Creek, is called ‘Tarnpirr’, ‘flowing water’, from its source in Lake Burrumbeet to its junction with the Hopkins. At the same time, every local reach in these rivers has a distinguishing name (1881, 1xxviii). Dawson highlights the lack of interest in First Nation culture in general created a void in the knowledge of traditional names in Victoria: It is deeply to be regretted that the opportunity for securing the native names of places has, in many districts, gone for ever. In most localities the aborigines are either dead or too young to have learned the names which their fathers gave to the various features of the country; and in those parts where a few old men are still to be met with, the white inhabitants, generally speaking, take no interest in the matter. With very few worthy exceptions, they have done nothing to ascertain and record even those names which appertain to their own properties. How much more interesting would have been the map of the colony 26 I have attempted to always use First Nation names, but 26 distinct names along the river’s length were too many to include. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 29 of Victoria had this been attended to at an earlier period of its history (1881, 1xxviii). These kinds of attitudes were led by greed and thirst for profit. Most squatters of the 1800s in Australia destroyed any relationships that may have been gained and proven mutually beneficial. This is also relevant today as language holds the key to unlock cultural knowledge as seen around Victoria in Figure 3-13. The cultural knowledge found in language could also help species that are under threat of extinction. For example, a place named after the native cat Koitacha, on Buandig Country (South Australia, just west of Gunditjmara Country) could help map out their original habitat. The Creation Narratives connected to the Gunnai and Woiwurrung examples highlights the spiritual context of language, while others have practical value such as what type of fish is good to catch and where they occur, such as Kuarka-dorla on Wadawurrung Country (southern Central Victoria). Kotupna Gungupna Ballarat • Yorta Yorta • grass to make nets • Yorta Yorta • gupna = deep waterholes where people camped • Wadawurrung • resting place, reclining on elbow Kutbuntaura-wurk (Avon R upper) • Gunnai • wurk = Country, fire carriers Country Kiotacha (Apsley) • Buandig • native cat Kuarka-dorla (Anglesea R) Willam-i-murrung (Mt William) Narrm (Melbourne) • Wadawurrung • place to catch mullett • Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung • home of the stone axe. [greenstone being traded for 100s of kilometres] • Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung • scrubland [Connected to a Wurundjeri Creation Narrative of how the Birrarung (Yarra R) was made] Figure 3-13: Language placenames that hold clues to locations of food and fibre resources, animals, Creation Narratives, and fishing spots. Source: (Clark, 2002, 114, 88, 13, 10, 108, 7, 146, 132) with additions by author in brackets . 25F Today’s Western ‘cultural landscape’ was formed for expenditure and exploitation of its resources such as timber, coal, gas, and oil. It is also formed by ever-growing populations, and the need for infrastructure such as roads and industry. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 30 embodiment animals both physical and spiritual spirituality Country Creation Narratives cultural burning custodianship cultural heritage cultural protocols and responsibilities connectedness health and wellbeing giving (reciprical) physicality flora and fauna Landscape firestorms droughts logging exploitation pollution animal extinctions taking (non-reciprical) oil, gas, forests unhealthy Figure 3-14: Comparisons between Country and Landscape. Source: author. Landscape in a Western sense fails to see Country. These two perspectives are seen in Figure 3-14. Bradley (2011, 50) describes the Yanyuwa peoples understanding of their Country around Borroloola in of the Gulf of Carpentaria in far north Queensland: People speak about country in the same way that they talk about human and nonhuman relatives … there is a deep concern and worry about country ... People listen to country, they visit their country, and speak with love and longing for country that they may not be able to visit [for various reasons] … in return, country listens to people; it can hear, think, and feel about its human relatives; it can be hard or easy, forgiving or unforgiving, just as people can be with eachother [sic]. By accepting Cultural Law (discussed later in this chapter) creates a state of connectedness between the two entities of Country and Self, of dual wellbeing and Cultural Safety. Cultural Safety is a term used by many First Nations communities for a space that you can freely speak, and practise one’s culture without fear of exclusion, denial, racism, negativity, and disempowerment. Being in tune with one’s Country enables the benefits of ‘protective reciprocal symmetry’, which empowers on many levels. Figure 3-15, shows everything working together relying on each other, with Country as the main ‘driver’. 26F Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 31 Wellbeing Self Country Figure 3-15: ‘Protective reciprocal symmetry’ - where all work together in harmony and give back to each other. Source: author. Examining how Cultural Safety relates to Landscape and Country means delving into how inequality and systemic racism has caused an Us and Them mentality. It also means understanding how invader frameworks have impeded the social, cultural, and spiritual wellness of First Nations people for the betterment of themselves. First Nations people had to ‘hide’ identity, cultural practises, mute languages, just to survive. In New Zealand, Māori nurse leaders developed the concept of Cultural Safety in 1992 because of observed ‘structural inequalities, limited life opportunities, and unequal access to healthcare’ (Anderson et al., 2003, 198). This systemic racism is found in the Australian media, and justice and education systems which together have succeeded in creating a divide between white and black Australia. It is an historical void which created stereotypes and lack of valid inclusion in all things related to land management. Different definitions of Landscape vs Country were seeded from things like the education system that deliberately ‘deleting’ First Nations narratives, history, culture, and world view. This is seen by failing to teach ‘Australian’ history prior to 1788 (see Reynolds, 2013, Gammage, 2011, Pascoe, 2014) and failing to highlight the diversity and knowledges of the First Australians, omitting the atrocities, and denying an equal space in Australian society. Cultural Safety is still not achieved! How this is all related to Landscape vs Country is clear; if there is no synchronicity, there is no equality. To take only part of the First Nations philosophies, or what suits at the time, is to deny an understanding of where First Nations people currently sit in society and understanding why. In turn this rejects the full richness of a culture that could create a strong foundation for future partnerships such as land management. According to Bin-Salik, achieving Cultural Safety requires meaningful relationship building: Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 32 Learning a little about culture, or confining learning to the rituals or customs of a particular group, with a “check list” approach, may negate diversity and individual considerations (2003, 21). A comparison of Cultural Safety and ‘Cultural Unsafety’ reveals different trajectories and priorities causing the system to become unbalanced as seen in Figure 3-16. Culturally safe Culturally unsafe Figure 3-16: Culturally safe vs culturally unsafe frameworks to create Cultural Safety. Source: author. This imbalance is easily seen through the contrasting definition of Landscape and Country (see Figure 3-14). However, in more recent times Gunditjmara Country has been recognised by the wider community for its cultural significance. The highly documented intricate kuyang aquaculture system and permanent ‘villages’ debunked the ‘wandering hunter-gatherer’ stereotype embedded in Australian white history books (see Lourandos, 1980, 249). Gunditjmara’s control of their cultural knowledge is now finally taking precedence to the outdated scientific views, of disciplines like early archaeology and anthropology. This was seen in the late 1960s and 1970s with a shift in the way that research was conducted, when archaeology finally saw the value of Traditional Custodian knowledge sets and how these could enrich their research. It also included protection of cultural heritage under Acts such as Victoria’s Archaeological and Aboriginal Relics Preservation Act 1972, which has offenses and penalties attached to a person: • s21(1) ... who wilfully or negligently defaces or damages or otherwise interferes with a relic or carries out an act likely to endanger a relic Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 33 • s26A buy, sell or possess relics (other than portable relics) without consent • 26B to possess or display Aboriginal skeletal remains Similarly, the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 of Victoria has penalties attached: • s28 • s27(a) the person by an act or omission harms Aboriginal cultural heritage • s27(b) at the time of the act ... the person was negligent ... was likely to harm Aboriginal cultural heritage A person must not harm Aboriginal cultural heritage Also, the National Park and Wildlife Act 1974 of Victoria states: • s86 A person must not harm or desecrate an object that the person knows in an Aboriginal object For decades institutions and individual academics dictated how research was done, mainly for the notoriety and ‘ownership’ of the research, theories, concepts, even skeletal remains. Geologist Jim Bowler 27 refers to archaeologist John Mulvaney ‘sweeping’ skeletal remains into his suitcase for study, describing archaeologists as ‘ordained … they are like priests, only they can handle the sensitive objects’ (Daley, 2017, see DPMC, 2018, 34). This completely overlooked First Nations ICIP (Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property) rites of cultural knowledge, TEK, imagery, imaginations, stories, written word, oral histories, song, language. According to Arts Law Australia, ICIP covers all things listed in Figure 3-17. 27F 27 Jim Bowler ‘discovered’ Mungo Lady and Mungo Man in the lunette of Lake Mungo in New South Wales in 1968 and 1974. John Mulvaney was the archaeologist who took the remains of Mungo Man without the Traditional Custodian permission. The remains of Mungo Lady were repatriated in 1992 and Mungo Man in 2017. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 34 writing poetry book [Creation Narratives] music [sung] dance [whole] [written form] performances dance [specific moves] ceremony languages [written] [oral] tangible cultural property sacred sites stories passed on orally burial grounds intangible cultural property [spirituality] [First Nations philosophies] documentation of Indigenuos peoples' heritage in all form of media films reports sound recordings [artworks/style] [regional art style] [cultural motifs] Figure 3-17: What cultural elements and practises come under ICIP regulations. Brackets added by author to elaborate or add missing content that should be listed. Source: author (Arts Law, 2020). The use of these vast cultural knowledge sets, how they were obtained and how they will be used plays a major part in Landscape vs Country. Cultural knowledges obtained from a person, people or group should not be used tokenistically, like being included in the credits at the end of a report. Talking to a couple of Elders at the beginning is not the way Landscape and Country should be ‘revealed’. This ‘tick the box’ approach does not allow for a process of continual relationship building, from before research begins, to after it ends. Avoiding this tokenism allows trust to be gained, and lifelong professional and personal friendships to be created. True respect for Elder’s knowledge grows, as Boyer (1992) states ‘… elders are simply seen as old people who are to be treated kindly and given a measure of respect, but rarely granted recognition for their knowledge and life experiences’. First Nations people are the most researched peoples in the world, communities and Elders are exploited: It is well recognized that research with Indigenous peoples is often subject to cultural bias in interpretation of findings by western-oriented researchers and power imbalance between researchers and community (Busija, 2020, 523). Breaking down these constructs enables communities and individuals to gain confidence in the researcher or heritage organisation that their cultural knowledge will not be misused. It also allows for communities to be fully involved and informed of Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 35 the outcomes and the journey of the research project. This is collaboration, not consultation. Figure 3-18: The different research and project trajectories compared to mainstream (straight line) and community-based research techniques/protocols (ever evolving). Source: author. To get a clearer picture of what Country is to First Nations people is to understand that the engagement process is not like any other. Figure 3-18 demonstrates the different trajectories of mainstream and First Nations research. Mainstream runs in an undeviating straight line towards a deadline. However, First Nations community research only begins after respectful engagement is made to gain trust. So much has been taken since invasion, and it takes a long time to trust people’s agendas, making communities cautious what they share. Examples include the Ancestral remains, artefacts, and priceless artworks remaining in overseas collections even after the ongoing outcry by communities to return their kin to Country (ABC, 2021, Cannane, 2016, Mascarenhas, 2013, Fitzsimmons, 2015). Only now are some of these ancestral remains and object starting to be being returned home (AIATSIS, 2021, NMA, 2021a, DITRDC, n.d., Museums Victoria, 2021, Flaccus, 2018). The First Nations Cultural Heritage space has always been the ICIP of First Nations people, but only recently is starting to be recognised. This requires academics to take a collaborative approach and the authorship to be shared with the community who are the topic of the research. Whitewater describes this as ‘community participatory research’ which builds ‘partnerships between communities and academic researchers to engage in research design, decision making, data collection, and dissemination …’ (2016, 1). Examples for the Gunditjmara include community archaeology led by archaeologists like Professor Ian McNiven and Dr Heather Builth who researched the intricate social and cultural landscape and sustenance practises at Tae’rak (McNiven, 2017a, McNiven, 2012, David, 2006, Builth, 2008, Builth, 2014). Other examples include land management agencies publishing joint management plans such as Ngootyoong Gunditj Ngootyoong Mara South West Management Plan (Parks Victoria, 2015) and ILUA’s (NNTT, n.d.-d), native title (NNTT, n.d.-c), and eventually World Heritage Listing (UNESCO, 2020d). The success of the World Heritage listing was based on the Landscape incorporating Country to create a whole. MO45-54#56 28 stated: 28 F 28 M = Male, O = On Country aged between 45-54, number 56 questionnaire responder. See Figure 7-2 for explanation of coding system. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 36 Lake Condah it’s not a creation story it’s a built story, Lake Condah is a construction … Budj Bim lava flow goes out into the ocean as it is now, 14kms … Lake Condah is 8000 years old … [the Gunditjmara] were there when the oceans came in 10k years ago, so they had to move production, so they had to move up north of the lava flow, build a lake and then carry-on production there. Landscape in its physical form acts as a ‘signpost’ of Country. However, only Country in its spiritual form is a ‘signpost’ to culture. Within Country there are different types of spiritual landscapes which act as these ‘signposts’, such as gender specific Country. According to Grieves, First Nation ‘…landscapes are gendered in accordance with the Law [Cultural Law]’ (2008, 374). Cultural ‘Law’ as opposed to ‘Lore’ as Yawuru man Mick Dodson, a prominent barrister and academic describes: … ‘lore’ was described as a body of codes and prescriptions – usually unwritten – which was a defining criterion for people who had not, in the scale of humankind yet attained the status of proper, civilised societies which had law’ (1995). Although ‘spirituality’ is a Western term, it is reclaimed and repurposed to define inpart First Nation Cultural Law. Cultural Law is much more profound in its definition, it dictates how one lives, practises culture, conducts ceremony the ‘proper way 29 ’, gender roles, how one teaches others and when and who can teach. Western definitions of landscape do not include gendered landscapes or Cultural Law. Wanta Jampijinpa Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu, a fully initiated Warlpiri man from the Northern Territory community of Lajamanu uses the term kuruwarri to describe Law, which includes: 29 F … the knowledge, beliefs, customs, practices, rules, and regulations of the Walpiri way of life … the fact that plant flowers at a particular time of year is said to be the Law of the plant. The reason why people should burn country is said to be the Law for lookings after the land (Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu WJ, 2008, 16). A Cultural Law place is exampled by the duality of place - physical and spiritual. For example, a birthing tree is ‘Women’s Business’, but the spirituality of place defines the trees spirituality. The tree itself is extremely important, but it forms only part of the holistic spiritual landscape. For example, the Djap wurrung people from central northwestern Victoria have been fighting to save a birthing tree along a proposed freeway extension for around two years at the time of writing. Due to these protests, some trees have been saved, but the Djap wurrung want the whole site conserved as a women’s spiritual place (Djab Wurrung Heritage Protection Embassy, 2019) 30. Removing the trees, according to Djapwurrung elder Tracey Bamblett-Onus, is ‘…an act of terrorism, it’s cultural terrorism, desecration’ (in Haymen-Reber, 2019). This shows the 30F ‘Proper way’ means things like ceremonies for your community, following cultural protocols and not just for tokenistic events. 30 No longer active at publication. 29 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 37 definition of a ‘sacred site’ should change to ‘sacred place’ as the whole cultural landscape should be included. Further south, Western Victoria is dotted with some 400 volcanoes that have not been active above ground for thousands of years. By analysing Gunditjmara languages, it shows that they were present while they were erupting, creating a Gunditjmara Cultural Landscape. According to Pascoe when referring to language, there appears to be an ‘extraordinary number of references to volcanic activity’ (2007, 168). They form part of the Newer Volcanic Province (see Figure 3-19 that stretches across Western Victoria). According to Boyce, the: … province contains > 416 eruption centres varying in nature from simple to complex, ranging from lava shields to scoria cones to some of the largest maar volcanoes in the world (2014, 105). This also includes sink holes, lava blisters, lava tubes and caves. One of the places most modified was the Budj Bim/Tae’rak area. At Budj Bim, around 30,000 years ago, the eruption caused viscous lava to flow across the surrounding area, blocking the waterflow of surrounding waterways to eventually form Tae’rak (Wettenhall, 2010, 89). Recent studies suggest that the eruption dates are more like 36.9±3.1ka with a 95% confidence interval (Matchan, 2020, 390). Figure 3-19: Geological map of Newer Volcanic Province (NVP) of Western Victoria, noting the Gunditjmara names included first (Matchan, 2020, 391). The lava when cooled created hard rocky ground, like a loaf of bread splitting when rising, and since named the Tyrendarra lava flow (see Figure 3-20). According to Builth (2006, 91), this flow measures ‘… 165 sq km in area and is joined by the Tappoc Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 38 (Mt Napier) flow to the north-east.’ This landscape was inhospitable to non-First Nation people and their hard-hooved animals, but the native soft footed animals were well adapted and traversed it with ease, so to the Gunditjmara. The ‘Stony Rises’ as they were later labelled, provided shelter, elevated ground, and building materials for their wuurn (homes) and arrabine/gnarraban 31 (eel baskets), and eventually protection from the invaders on horseback. Pascoe notes that ‘The horse and rifle are neutralised in rocky, broken terrain or close forest or swamp’ (2007, 172). One of the longest lasting wars that took place in Australian history was the Eumeralla War, lasting more than 20 years, where the shelter of the Stony Rises prevented more killings of Gunditjmara people (discussed later in this chapter) (VAHC, 2021b, see Clarke, 1995). 31F Figure 3-20: The ancient path of the lava flowing across the landscape. The lava hardens and splits like a loaf of bread (Lovett-Murray, 2017). Aunty Iris Lovett-Gardiner (1997, 5-6), a senior Kerrup-J-Mara Elder, born in 1926 at Tae’rak, describes the different ways First Nation vs non-First Nation people see and interpret a place/space: … When the visitors or tourists visit a site that is all they ‘see’, a mound or pile of stones. But when the interpretation of the site is through communication, that place becomes a living thing in the mind’s eye and can clearly be understood. An important element often overlooked in the definition of Country and Landscape is the cosmos. The Western word cosmos implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity – the opposite of chaos – and thus a realm of multi-faceted and organised knowledge. In First Nation cultures, this knowledge can be found through language and the names given to the different layers of Country and physical/nonphysical landscape. When studying the astronomy of the southern sky’s, Haynes (1996, 21) describes the Western scientific viewpoint thus: The flowering of science in the eighteenth century, during the period known as the Enlightenment, was based on the notion that Nature was orderly, measurable 31 See Figure 4-71. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 39 and comprehensible, an assumption which we have inherited as being so selfevident as to be almost beyond question. However, culture is not a straight line, or mathematical equation, but flows in all different directions. Therefore, culture and science do not often ‘flow’ in the same direction. 3.4 Science vs culture Science and culture do not often agree. Sciences such as Archaeology and Anthropology theorise that First Nations people ‘arrived’ in Australia, following tenets of the ‘Out of Africa’ theory (Cooper, 2018, Florin, 2020, Dorey, 2021). However, First Nations Australians have a narrative of being here since time immemorial (Strong, 2012, Stone, 1993). Gunditjmara questionnaire responders concur (Figure 3-21) with responses to Q25 & Q26 Has your immediate family lived ON Country for more than one generation? If so, how many generations? Been On Country forever all our generations since the dawn of time since creation Figure 3-21: Gunditjmara questionnaire responses to how long their family have been On Country. However, science can complement culture. Madjedbebe rock shelter, in the Country of the Mirarr 32 people in the Northern Territory, is the oldest known ‘archaeological’ site in Australia (Clarkson et al., 2017). Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating (OSL) was used to discover that the last time light ‘zeroed’ grains of quartz sand associated with the deepest stone artefacts at the site was at least 65,000 years ago. However, the Mirarr Traditional Custodians, ‘... know they’ve always been here’ (CEABH, 2017). 32F Other examples of where science and culture overlap are through the study of stars. According to Haynes (1996, 7), ‘Astronomy in the sense of a comprehensive and coherent body of knowledge about the stars, was an integral component of Aboriginal culture’. This quote fails contemporary First Nations people by using past tense. For 32 Mirrar peoples are custodians of Kakadu to West Arnhem land in northern Australia. For more detail see: http://www.mirarr.net/pages/mirarr. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 40 the Gunditjmara, knowledge of some of the star names remain intact and therefore remain elements of their on-going narrative. Figure 3-22 shows what Dawson transcribes as Kunkun Tuuromballank (Southern Cross) (1881, 100) 33. 3F Figure 3-22: The glow coming from the summer 2020 fires from Allambie IPA on the 1st January, noting the southern cross and the pointer stars (Lovett-Murray, 2020b). Science explains the natural occurrences that effect the landscape in a numerical/mathematical sense. First Nation knowledge, however, is beginning to be included by Western science. Referring to First Nation astronomy, according to Haynes (1996, 11): In common with most explanatory systems, including Western science, these legends represented attempts to understand, predict and hence to obtain some control over the natural world. However, unlike scientific method that is essentially analytical, materialistic and particularising, the underlying premise of all the Aboriginal myths concerning the Sun, Moon and constellations was a belief in the close spiritual unity of human beings, not only with other species, but also with inanimate objects. Science cannot explain the intangible ‘inanimate’ features of First Nation connection and spirituality. The stars control one’s cultural behaviour, be it physical (e.g., 33 Defined in Figure 5-13. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 41 navigating by the stars, seasons) or spiritual (e.g., Spiritual Protectors in the form of stars). It also dictates one’s roles and responsibilities (e.g., ceremony times) 34. 34 F However, when science begins to incorporate ‘First Nation science’, then the divide between science and culture will lessen and a difference between ownership and custodianship will be understood. 3.5 Ownership vs custodianship Many First Nation languages do not have the concept of ownership; for example, Wurundjeri have a term that relates more to ‘of something’ or ‘the essence of’. For example, Wurundjeri-al Biik-u means the Country of Wurundjeri or Wurundjeri’s Country. Also, the -mara suffix on Gunditjmara means ‘belonging to’. So quite the opposite to ‘owning something’ but being ‘part of’ something. In reference to ‘ownership’ of land, this cross-cultural disconnect has proven very destructive. With Frontier Wars erupting all over Australia in defence of Country, culture and family, thousands of First Australians were murdered (Figure 3-23), including in Victoria (Figure 3-24). Figure 3-23: Massacre map of Australia between 1776 and 1928 (University of Newcastle Colonial Frontier Massacres Project, 2019). 34 Discussed in detail in Section 5.3 Connection through the stars. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 42 Figure 3-24: Map of known massacre sites in Victoria between 1836 and 1853. ‘The deaths of several thousand are represented. Many thousands more died beyond prying eyes’ (Koorie Heritage Trust, 1991). The Frontier War occurring on Gunditjmara Country, known as the Eumeralla War, was fought for two decades. According to Roberts (1981, 18), in the 1830s-40s: … the Mara [Gunditjmara] ‘confederacy’ of tribes, the Gunditj-Mara, the Tjapwurong, the Bungadidj, plus the neighbouring Kirrae and other tribes, fought a sustained guerrilla war … [their] base camps … [the] Stoney Rises and the Grampians … The Mara concentrated their attacks on colonialists who had taken land around traditional meeting areas and sacred sites near Port Fairy, Mt Rouse, Mt Napier and Lake Condah … [the Gunditjmara] almost forced the evacuation of the district between 1844-5. The Eumeralla War was about the definition of ownership vs custodianship of land, as both sides saw land, place, and space very differently. The competing interests in land are mapped out in Figure 3-25 where Gunditjmara Country is overlayed with squatter runs. According to Critchett, the Gunditjmara warriors that helped lead the resistance were given derogatory names to belittle them, such as Cocknose, Jupiter, Jackey, Billy, Doctor and Bumbletoe. Jupiter’s real name was Gar.rare.rer/Tar.rare.rer, while Ty.koo.he was Cocknose’s name, both of the Nillan conedeet clan. Critchett noted that the Country of the Nillan conedeet was at Mount Eeles [Mt Eccles] … [Gar.rare.rer/Tar.rare.rer] was about nineteen years of age while [Ty.koo.he] 35 was an old man (1990, 105). Mt Eccles’ Gunditjmara name is Budj Bim and is now recognised officially as such once again. Robinson, in Critchett, describes [Gar.rare.rer/Tar.rare.rer] as ‘chief’ of the Nillan conedeet (1990, 209). Pascoe 35F 35 Have replaced their derogatory names with their real names in respect. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 43 describes other ‘… principal warriors were, … Yi er war min, Kaarwirr Kunwarn and Burguidenang’ (2007, 172). Figure 3-25: Map of the squatters runs overlaying Gunditjmara Country and ‘stony rises’ lava flow (McNiven, 2017b, 176). It was estimated by historian Henry Reynolds that at least 20 000 First Nation people were murdered ‘as a direct result of conflict with the settlers’ (2013, 123, 134). Tasmania being hardest hit losing ‘… 90% of their population in 30 years’ (2012, 47). The false doctrine of terra nullius was a basis for the arrogant land grab of the invader. Terra nullius meaning land owned by no-one, was recognised in Mabo and Others v Queensland (No. 2) (Cth), as the legal basis for most of the ‘claiming’ of Australia. However, First Nations people fought for their Country. Aunty Iris Lovett explains how culture and how we express it can change over time, but it still has the same outcome of protecting one’s cultural identity, stating the ‘fight for Country was the fight for culture’: … at Eumeralla Creek our people fought wars against the white settlers to keep their culture, not the way that we express it today but their very living in the way that they existed was the culture to the clans … they weren’t only fighting Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 44 invasion, they were fighting for their culture as well because the invaders had a different way of thinking about things (1997, 13). Part of this ‘war or resistance’, were rivers and swamps being diverted and filled in for farming, including Tae’rak, which devastated the kuyang aquaculture economy. This however still did not change custodial responsibilities, rights, and connection to Country. However as noted by MO45-54#52, cultural obligations can be difficult, where you must live in ‘2 worlds’ however, ‘country calls you back’. Also, MX3544#15 describes obligations to Gunditjmara Ancestors and Country as a ‘… place that has nourished and nurtured my ancestors for thousands of years. To stand on country is to stand in the footsteps of those ancestors ...’ This inherited custodianship includes obligations to oneself and others, Country, culture and language and collective knowledge. FX25-34#13 explains that Country and Ancestors watch over them: History good or bad took place on these lands and that’s where my ancestors lay, I can feel them watching me when I return home … particularly Lake Condah Mission … it’s this indescribable feeling … I feel their presence … When I’m off country I miss it and there comes a point where my mind and body knows I need to go home. This shows that even Off Country, one’s spirit connected as Country is something inside, that one can feel wherever they are. Gunditjmara Elder Uncle Banjo Clarke echoes this, ‘…we won’t ever leave our land. That’s our spirit land’ (in Chance, 2003, 144). As seen by Uncle Banjo’s statement, custodianship of Country includes a deep need to care for it. One way that Gunditjmara do this today is through the Budj Bim Ranger Program (see WMAC, 2018) run through Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation (WMAC) 36. 36F However, what happens when one is Off Country for extended times, either forcibly (Mission period, Stolen Generation, etc.) or by choice (work, school, marriage etc.)? Members of the Stolen Generation (see AIATSIS, n.d.-b) sometimes never find out who they are, who their family is or where their Country is. Those who have been fortunate to re-find themselves and kin, culture and Country talk about a void, or hole being filled. This journey is described by a member of the Stolen Generation, Uncle Jack Charles who found his connections later in life to the Boonwurrung, Dja Dja wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta peoples: It’s very hard to heal oneself from these policies of the past … I found myself, I found my mob … [that] … allowed me to stand proud and firm in my Aboriginality … (Healing Foundation, 2016). Out of the 57 questionnaire responders, three stated that they had immediate, extended family or grandparent/s who were members of the Stolen Generation. Custodial rights and responsibilities exist in those stolen, those who reconnect and those who do not. 36 See Figure 4-40. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 45 This trauma is transgenerational and worthy of further discussion; however, it is outside the scope of this research. Therefore, the journey to healing is Country, as described by Rose (1996, 7) ‘… country is home, and peace; nourishment for body, mind, and spirit; heart’s ease’. Ancient custodianship to Country also should include recent history, or ‘shared journey’. For example, Lake Condah Mission was closed in 1919 and the buildings and church substantially destroyed, but this did not stop people’s connection to place. Place can be described as ‘respect’. Questionnaire responder FX25-34#16, although born and living Off Country in Melbourne, and having a grandmother being part of the Stolen Generation, noted that Melbourne is only where they live: … but Lake Condah will always be home … our entire family are extremely still connected to country to this very day … very spiritual and you feel the presence of the spirits and the old people as soon as I arrive home on country. The omission of modern connection denies the Gunditjmara’s full narrative, making culture static or a relic. Uncle Banjo explains the irrelevance of time when defining spirituality: … the spiritual life to an Aboriginal person means living in the eternal present, with the past, present and future all experienced as one and existing simultaneously. Dad [Francis Clarke] would sometimes say, ‘There is no pasteverything is still happening (in Chance, 2003, xiii). This shared history could also be violent. The war against ownership vs custodianship was hard fought on Gunditjmara Country. The Henty brothers came to the Western District through Portland to farm. In 1834 they brought: … thousands of sheep … It was a private venture, unauthorised by the British authorities, but the Henty’s notified the authorities in London that they were willing to pay the Crown … There was no talk of compensating the Gunditjmara … [they] … resisted, and for six years held them to the Portland town site under siege (Roberts, 1981, 17). The Henty family were the first Europeans to squat on Gunditjmara Country. In 1840 when seeking funds to improve ‘their’ property, Sir George Gipps to Lord John Russell, stated, ‘if there had been a pretended purchase from the Natives … [such as with the Port Phillip Association] … I held such purchases to be absolutely null and void … (1840, 595). This shows the belief that the Gunditjmara had no ‘rights’ to their own ‘property’ in the eyes of the invaders. The opposing philosophies of First Nation ‘custodianship’ and the invaders ‘ownership’ led to great atrocities such as hundreds of massacres across Australia. The invader did not understand the vast knowledges that could have been shared with them if they were open to accept it. They saw the First Nation people as savages, a hinderance to ‘progress’. Robinson, the Chief Protector of Aborigines, gives the Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 46 example of Mr Blair and Mr Henty informing him, after the murder of a white man called Morton and his shepherd: … Blair, said he knew what he would do if he was governor. He would send down soldiers and if they didn’t deliver up the murderer he would shoot the whole tribe … Mt Henty said there would be no difficulty on the Glenelg as they had only the river to fly too and they could soon ferrit them out from among the rocks. Blair said they had no sense of shame. They did not cover their nakedness. It's what our first parents did after they were created, and therefore it would almost incline them to think they were hardly human. I said there was no doubt as to their being human creatures. He then assented. (Robinson, 1841, 222). As time passed, these views changed, and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of the Gunditjmara became highly valued and an integral part of caretaking their Country. Environmental agencies have started working with local First Nation groups to build their understanding of the physical landscape systems as well as the spiritual ones, invaluable information the squatters missed out on (see Parks Victoria, 2015). 3.6 Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Today Country still suffers. According to Uncle Charles Moran et al., (from the Bundjalung and Wiradjuri peoples): Indigenous Knowledge operates upon the assumption that design is a natural and naturalizing power because it is common across all human cultures, is often evident in the actions of other species, and is a constant power in environments. Design is how all living beings co-operate to co-create. By contrast, colonizing design tends to singularize to attract attention and compete or establish hierarchies to disrupt co-operation (2018, 73). Bruce Pascoe, a Boonwurrung man, well-known for debunking the myth that First Nations people never cultivated the land or had an economy, claims that due to the farming practises in Australia for 200+ years only ‘the skeletons of Country remain’; but working together, loving the land will eventually change things (Pascoe, 2019). TEK is an example of a shift where weather, seasons, fire management, animal husbandry, and ecosystem processes 37 have started to be incorporated into Joint Management regimes. According to Parks Victoria’s webpage: 37 F Joint management is a term used to describe a formal partnership arrangement between Traditional Owners and the State where both share their knowledge to manage specific national parks and other protected areas (2017, online). However, an important aspect of TEK that is often overlooked is how the communal aspect is connected to the cultural landscape. According to archaeologist Allan Hutchins, by stepping away from ‘site and artefact’ and moving onto the ‘social and 37 See Figure 3-32. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 47 landscape’ aspects of cultural heritage and TEK, will help uncover deeper understandings from the custodians of those knowledges (in Rose, 2003b, 30). According to Rose et al., this deeper understanding of TEK also involves a: … mutual caring between human and non-human kin, and between land and living things ... Peoples understanding of species is not isolated knowledge of the environment, habits, food, and physical needs of the bird, animal, plant or tree involved (2003a, 47, 54). Steve Merideth, a First Nation National Parks and Wildlife Service site officer, describes to comprehend this understanding ‘proper way’, is to recognize dual connectivity of TEK and community and get it straight from the Elders, stating the ‘… old people … [will] … tell you things you just don’t see, but they don’t make themselves separate from it’ (in Rose, 2003b, 33). According to Dr Josie Douglas a Wardaman woman, how TEK relates to knowledge transmission from Elders to young ones and how that affects young one’s values and belief systems is expressed through: … their relationship to families and peoples connections to eachother [sic]. Young people demonstrate their care for older and younger generations through the collection, preparation and use of natural resources. ‘Relatedness’ continues to be the currency of knowledge transmission. Feelings of love, duty and care motivate young people to listen, learn and do things for their older and younger loved ones … [However, to earn trust they] … understand that they need to prove themselves to senior people and not just turn up … (2015, ix, 199) Trust is also something that needs to be built in mainstream relationships. To achieve this through imbedding TEK, MO25-34#9 describes the Gunditjmara working in collaboration with government agencies like Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA); Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP); and local Councils. Other government organisations have also started to add TEK to their websites and to encourage First Nation-led research (Bureau of Meteorology, 2016, French, 2018, Parks Victoria, 2017). The key to the success of joint partnerships is collaboration with Traditional Custodian (TC) groups. Consultation denies true relationship building and prevents TC authorship. According to MO25-34#9: Under invader settler law Gunditjmara were incorporated and in 1993 published our first management plan for Gunditjmara Country. Since then Gunditjmara have gained more and more access to land under settler invader laws (IPA program, Caring for Country Programs, ILC program 38 , Native Title, Cultural Heritage Act). 38F An important part of any land management scheme is to have TCs working On Country. Cultural Burns (see Jones, 2012, Gammage, 2011, CFA Chief Officer, 2019, Rainbow Serpent HQ, 2019, Nillumbik Shire Council, 2017) and kuyang aquaculture 38 ILSC = Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (formally ILC) https://www.ilsc.gov.au/about/. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 48 (see Builth, 2006, McNiven, 2012, Context, n.d-b, Richards, 2011) have continued successfully today through the Budj Bim Ranger Program 39 . According to WindaMara Aboriginal Corporation (WMAC): 39F Cultural fire is defined as any burning practise developed by Traditional Owners to improve the health of the land and its people. This may include Traditional Owners using contemporary equipment, or government agencies using traditional methods and techniques (2020). Cool burns are low lying burns that clear the understory but do not reach the tree canopies. The ground is cool to touch after it has passed, as seen near Ballarat on Wadawurrung Country (CFA Chief Officer, 2019) and also in the Bendigo district on Dja Dja wurrung Country working alongside current fire management regimes (Wales, 2019). Cultural burning masters like Tagalaka man Victor Steffensen puts it simply, that the Western way of thinking is ‘based on the aftermath’ (in Brockie, 2016). South-eastern Australia’s devastating 2020 ‘Black Summer’ brushfires obliterated more than ca.18 million hectares and killed an estimated 1 billion mammals (The University of Sydney, 2020, Fletcher, 2021, 1). In contrast, the small parcels of land that were culturally burnt created small ‘safety zones’ for animals and plants. Such burns have also allowed sections of Gunditjmara Country to not suffer as harshly as other parts of Victoria. Estimates predict a loss of 80% of the unique ecosystems with at least 49 animals and plant species already listed as ‘threatened’ (Scarr, 2020). Therefore, Gunditjmara’s ‘cool burning’ regime has helped maintain diversity of flora (maintenance of seed banks 40) and fauna (creating food resources). Figure 3-26 shows a recovering ‘cool burnt’ area. However, Rose quotes an advisor who describes ‘Big fires come when that country is sick from nobody looking after with proper burning’ (1995, 89). Rose also stresses that ‘extinction … can be linked to the cessation of Aboriginal people’s burning’ (1996, 56, 65-66). 40F Figure 3-26: A section of previously culturally burnt ground at Allambie IPA that didn’t reburn in the January 2020 fires 3 months later (Lovett-Murray, 2020a). TEK assists in curating the 3017 ha of Gunditjmara Country that come under their Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) joint management regimes. Gunditjmara hold IPA 39 40 At time of writing there were 10 rangers working on Gunditjmara Country. Seed bank - Seeds deposited in the soil in a dormant state, can reshoot after cool burns, hotter burns destroy them. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 49 status over six (Figure 3-27) of Australia’s 78 IPA areas (see NIAA, n.d), which according to Parks Victoria are: Gunditjmara IPAs Freehold land owned by the Gunditjmara community (Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation) and declared or intended as Indigenous Protected Areas by the Gunditjmara community owners and recognised by the Australian Government. Indigenous communities are supported to manage Indigenous Protected Areas for cultural heritage, conservation, sustainable use of cultural resources and public education as part of Australia’s network of protected areas (2015, 3). Lake Condah IPA 1700 ha Kurtonitj IPA 353 ha Tyrendarra 248 ha Lake Gorrie 502 ha Peters 139 ha Bryants 75 ha Figure 3-27: Gunditjmara IPAs, including declared and/or proposed 41. Note: Lake Condah IPA includes Mission, Allambie and Muldoon’s (Parks Victoria, 2015, 3). 41F There are further opportunities that arise with joint management regimes as seen in Figure 3-28. 41 These are mapped out in Figure 4-3. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 50 Indigenous Protected Ares (IPAs) managing environment for cultural resources and ecological benefits relearnt integrate cultural knowledge in reserve managmernt ecosystems restored on degraded farm land expertise shared to build cultural capacity cultural burns priorities for management Gunditjmara interpretation for visitors Sustainable tourism businesses water returned to Tae'rak Figure 3-28: Aims of IPAs for co-management of Gunditjmara owned properties (Parks Victoria, 2015, ix). Questionnaire responder MO45-54#56 describes the joint management relationships of IPA’s: … [the] CFA [Country Fire Authority] and DELWP [Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning] come and help with burns on our properties … each contributing their knowledge, we all do it together. Figure 3-29: Gunditjmara rangers performing cultural burn (Lovett-Murray, 2019b). As seen in Figure 3-29, cool burns enable animals to escape, and leave plant life singed to easily regenerate. This highlights the difference between Country and landscape and ownership vs custodianship by giving back to Country rather than exploiting her. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 51 Figure 3-30: Tae-rak reflooded, 15th Feb 2016, revitalising the eel channels the Gunditjmara built generations ago (Lovett-Murray, 2016). TEK is formed from the cultural knowledge of Ancestors, Old People and Spiritual Protectors through one’s spirituality. Tae’rak was managed through TEK for millennia, and now once again through the reflooding of the lake (Figure 3-30 and Figure 3-31). Figure 3-31: ‘Reclaimed’ Tae’rak landscape with much birdlife, including ducks, swamp hens, fish, eels, cockatoos, corellas, and black swans nesting. Source: author, June 2017. Other ways TEK is gained is through reading Country, enabling Gunditjmara people to survive and predict their environment around them. For example, Figure 3-32 highlights the signs for good, dry, wet, or bad weather. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 52 bright sunrise • fine weather red sunrise • rain red sunset • heat the next day halo around sun • fine weather bright moon • fine weather old moon in arms of new new moon lying on its back halo around moon • rain • dry weather • rain rainbow in morning • fine weather rainbow in evening • bad weather rainbow during rain • clearing up mosquitos and gnats biting • rain is expected cicadas sing at night • hot weather arrival of swifts • bad weather sounds of the black jay, frog, cricket, magpie lark • bad weather after full moon Eagle souring high and diving down constantly • more likely rain • warm weather Figure 3-32: The signs from the environment, a key to predicting seasons and survival. Source: (derived from Dawson, 1881, 98). Early Western District colonialist James Dawson, who authored Australian Aborigines: the languages and customs of several tribes of aborigines in the western district of Victoria, Australia (1881), explains that the signs were seen via ‘the appearance of the sun, moon, stars, and clouds, the cries and movements of animals’ (1881, 98). Communities lived in harmony with these signs from the environment. These roles have not changed significantly over time. From pre-1788 times through to the brutalities of invasion and the ongoing transgenerational trauma this has caused, today community holds true to the structure of society of the past. 3.7 Pre-1788 Elder and community roles and responsibilities Pre-1788, First Nation communities were egalitarian societies. They would have a highly respected leader making decisions to benefit the whole community. The Aunties and Uncles also had a major role. Aunties were responsible for helping birth mothers raise the girls of the community, while Uncles did the same for the boys (Figure 3-33). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 53 fathers aunties children mothers uncles Figure 3-33: Egalitarian structured society, showing the paternal and maternal roles of aunties and uncles in raising all the children. Source: author. Leaders/ Headmen Community Leaders (aunties and uncles) conduits/ Songmen neigbouring Language Groups adults children and babies young adults/youth Figure 3-34: The structure of an egalitarian society. Source: author. Figure 3-34 shows the societal structure of a First Nations community. This includes one’s place in the immediate family, extended family and outside the community. They all work in supporting each other, enabling the community to run smoothly. Pre-1788 Leaders or Headmen sat amongst other senior male and female members to discuss their community’s well-being. They usually inherited this right through direct bloodline. Their role was to negotiate with neighbouring Language Groups and settle disputes within his group or others. Conduits/Songmen received their messages and songs from the spirit world and were held in high regard alongside these Leaders. The Leader was also the political leader and created affiliations with other Language Groups (Figure 3-35). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 54 political leader creates affiliations Diplomat Headman liaise with conduit/Songman Protector settles disputes Figure 3-35: Role of Headman pre-1788; most roles still exist today. Source: author. Pre-1788 First Nations communities were gendered 42 societies as they are today. Although egalitarian, both men and women had specific roles. For example, Aunties and Uncles were highly revered as they conducted most of the ceremonies and held much knowledge. Senior members being the ultimate knowledge holders were looked after with the utmost care and attention. For example, they get the best meat of a hunt as Dawson describes: 42F There are strict rules regulating the distribution of food. When a hunter brings home game to the camp he gives up all claim to it, and must stand aside and let the best portions be given away, and content himself with the worst (1881, 22). Each Language Group within a Language Family is patrilineal or matrilineal (Figure 3-36). This means a Gunditjmara woman would learn to use her husband’s language and culture. However, as Gunditjmara are matrilineal, there bloodline inheritance, custodianship and usage of land/s is through the mother. As described by Wettenhall, this could mean ‘… a hill, waterhole or a patch of long grass’ (2010, 10). This custodial responsibility did not cease because of invasion. This tradition creates the foundation for cultural practises today as they are still traditional. 42 This chapter speaks in past tense for readability and context only, as gendered roles and responsibilities remain today. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 55 Figure 3-36: Re-working of Howitt’s 1904 map of patrilineal and matrilineal divisions throughout Victoria, into South Australia and New South Wales. Classes as noted by Howitt are the Spiritual Protectors (totems). Source: author derived from (Howitt, 1904, 832-833). Language Families are formed by Languages Groups with very similar belief systems, customs, and up to 90% comparative grammar and language. A Language Family map of Victoria can be viewed in Figure 6-19. However, many people no longer live On Country, so how can Country and community roles and responsibilities still be maintained? 3.8 Community roles and responsibilities today The continuation of roles and responsibilities of different community members has proven integral to community synchronicity. Despite the Mission period and the attempted genocide of First Nation people (both discussed in Chapter 6), these roles have remained. Instead of being initiated into your manhood/womanhood and eventually becoming an Elder through ceremony and scarification, the essential elements remain, as Aunty Iris Lovett (1997, 29) states: As you grow older you realise … who you are and that you are someone who has a place in the clan … you have a duty to yourself and to your people. Today, culture has survived by keeping the foundations of ancient practise. Even though some ceremonies have changed or no longer occur, each community member knows their roles, even if you live Off Country. Recently, there has been a resurgence of cultural practice in Victoria, for example more Language Groups are reawakening ceremony. For south-east Australia: … in recent times we have experienced a return to traditional practises in south-east Australia. Belonging to this region commonly recognised as ground zero within Aboriginal colonial history, Kooris are dogged with stale oneMandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 56 liners about the loss of culture … [the resurgence of cultural practices] … are a testament to a south-east cultural renaissance (Jones, 2014, 35). Many perform dance and song in the public realm, but for the betterment of health of their community, private ceremonies have proven essential. One example is the frequency of ‘Welcome Baby to Country’ and ‘Coming of Age’ ceremonies that are happening regularly in different regions of Victoria. Figure 3-37 shows the 2019 Wurundjeri Murrum Turrukurruk ba Wominjeka Bubup-al Biik-u Ceremony, the largest for over 189 years. Figure 3-37: Murrum Turrukurruk (Coming of Age) ba Wominjeka Bubup-al Biik-u (Welcome Baby to Country) ceremony in 2019. Invitees included Māori, Sudanese, other Language Group members and families for the largest full ceremony for over 189 years. The Gunditjmara also have a similar ceremony that the author took part in. Source: author. Ancient largescale ceremony has also been reawakened around Victoria. This includes the Tanderrum (Figure 3-38) and Yapenya (Figure 3-39) ceremonies. This is a ceremony where the five Language Groups belonging to the Central/Eastern Gulinj come together for gift exchange, to settle politics, reinforce connections, arrange marriages and to feast. Yapenya is a celebration of Dja Dja wurrung culture and language. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 57 Figure 3-38: Tanderrum 2017, members of the Central/Eastern Gulinj (Kulin) Nation, Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wadawurrung, Boon wurrung and Taungurung. Photo: James Henry. Figure 3-39: Yapenya 2019, Dja Dja Wurrung Elders and Community Leaders telling the narrative of Dja Dja Wurrung people and Country. Source: author. Figure 3-40: ‘People from all parts of the community coming together to acknowledge and validate the experience of Aboriginal people’ (Lovett-Murray, 2020c). Gunditjmara people remembering the Convincing Ground massacre. See Figure 3-41 showing the remains of the pylons of the whaling station. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 58 However, ceremony was not always for celebration, but mourning and remembrance (Figure 3-40). Massacres happened all over what is now known as Australia; on Gunditjmara Country the most devastating was the Convincing Ground massacre. This massacre occurred near Allestree a suburb of Portland and took place over a whale carcass (see Figure 3-41). Robinson, Chief Protector for Aborigines, conveyed: From the general report of the settlers I was induced to suppose that the majority of the natives would be congregated at Portland Bay as the whaling season had commenced, and that they would go there in quest of cun.der.bul, whales (1841, 206). Robinson was also informed by Henty 43 and Blair’s version, two European residents of what is now known as Portland, that 43F … a whale broke free from her moorings and went on shore. And the boats went to get it off, when they were attack[ed] by the natives who drove them off. He said the men were so enraged that they went to the head station for their firearms and then returned to the whale, when the natives again attack them. And the whalers then let fly, to use his expression, right and left upon the natives. He said the natives did not go away but got behind trees and threw spears and stones. They, however, did not much molest them after that (1841, 211). This version conflicts with the oral traditions passed down by the Gunditjmara as described by Damein Bell, CEO44 of GMTOAC: … in our stories we have two men that survived that massacre … and took refuge with the Gilgar Gunditj people [neighbours at Darlot’s Creek] … [GMTOAC received a] grant from Victorian Coast Care to start a rehabilitation program there in regards to vegetation, the way the water works, and just that relationship with the heritage there as well … (in, Mackenzie, 2020). Robinson supported this view by quoting: There is only two of the tribe who once inhabited the country at the Convincing Ground now alive …, and only one old man who belonged to the tribe once belonging to the country where the township of Portland now is (Robinson, 1841, 222). Edward Henty and his family were the first European invaders to ‘permanently settle’ in Portland in 1834, to accompany the European whaling stations located there. 44 Current at time of research. 43 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 59 Figure 3-41: ‘Old pylons that once supported a slipway for whalers’ boats at The Convincing Ground, the site of Victoria’s first massacre …’ (Wright, 2020). These ceremonial roles and responsibilities of community remain, even if one lives Off Country. Living On Country one may have support from their Elders as well as nonkin Elders who live On their Country. For those who live Off Country, Elders and others can help teach about culture of the local area. Even though it may not be your traditional knowledge, many fundamental aspects of First Nation culture are the same, like caring for Country, and cultural respect for Self and others. This extends to the cultural raising of children within one’s community. Extended family can support cultural raising On and Off Country. Each have a role to play, Elders to teach everyone, Community Leaders to teach the children and young adults, the young adults to teach the children, each overlapping and supporting each other, as seen in Figure 3-42. ‘Cultural raising’ means collectively giving cultural knowledge, the teaching of cultural respect and life skills. Similarly in Montana USA, according to Carlene Old Elk, ‘Through the clan system … the support system is there, intact, and involves many in the life of the child’ (in Boyer, 1992). Cultural raising does not always mean children or young ones, as some adults such as those from the Stolen Generation, may have only just connected or reconnected to their cultural roots. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 60 young adults (non-TC) senior Elders Elders young adults Snr/Elders (non-TC) children community leaders (non-TC) aunties community leaders (TC) aunties/ uncles (non-TC) uncles Figure 3-42: Contemporary roles and responsibilities of First Nation communities (Traditional Custodian) (TC). Source: author. For those who live Off Country, the non-TC Elders and Community Leaders play an integral role in teaching culture to not only the younger ones, but all the community no matter what Language Group they are from. They are taking on the cultural responsibility of First Nation Law 45 which dictates one’s cultural lifeways. 4F According to Buddy Hippi, a Gamilaraay Songman: The lore journey has actually been with me before I even came here physically … we must maintain that connection to our country because that’s what we sing about. Our lore comes from our country and every bit of our country has a lore attached to it … we must ripple our true essence through everything that we do (ABC New England North West, 2019). An example of a ceremony that one can participate in Off Country is the Coming of Age and/or Welcome Baby to Country ceremonies. Connecting them to some form of ceremony when they cannot access them On their Country. The Gunditjmara hold a Welcome Baby to Country for all those born on Gunditjmara Country that year. They also hold ‘Coming of Age’ for Gunditjmara young girls when required. Today, community structure remains essentially the same, but also in altered forms. This is due to different kinds of management expectations of Elders and community members who now sit on boards or committees to manage their cultural heritage. This includes being part of formal management regimes and legal entities to correspond with government agencies. In Victoria, First Nation Land Council/Corporations (FNLC/C) (see Figure 3-43) are required to apply to the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage 45 Respecting that some First Nations people prefer to use Lore, not Law. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 61 Council (VAHC) (see VAHC, 2021b) for RAP (Registered Aboriginal Party) status (see VAHC, 2021a) so they can become legal entities to represent their cultural heritage interests (For all the Victorian RAP’s see Appendix G). There are a series of responsibilities and requirements that stakeholders, cultural heritage agencies and FNLC/C’s must meet to gain Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUA), Traditional Owner Settlement Agreement (TOSA) and native title over their Country/ies (all discussed in Chapter 4). • Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) • Traditional Owner Settlement Agreements (TOSA) Stakeholders/Developers • research/ prove Apical Ancestry • seek out bloodline members • liaise with RAP • Fund CHMP from RAP • must abide by recommendatio ns of CHMP Cultural Heritage Agencies (CHA) & Heritage Agencies Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) Native title • Apical ancestry proven • oral histories • anthropologists/ archaeologists • in or out of court • conscent determinations Figure 3-43: The responsibilities and requirements of FNLC/C’s, Stakeholders and Cultural Heritage Organisations. 46 Source: author. 45F According to NSWALC 47, the objectives of each FNLC/C: 46F … are to improve, protect and foster the best interests of all Aboriginal persons within the Council's area and other persons who are members of the Council (2009). As of October 2021, there were 11 FNLC/C’s who have obtained RAP status covering 75% of Victoria 48 (VAHC, 2021b). As seen in Figure 3-44 there were six FNLC/Cs who had gained native title determinations, or various settlement agreements 49 (DJCSV, 2021). 47F 48F 46 Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) status that First Nation Land Councils apply for to assist their cultural responsibilities including evaluating and making decisions for the protection of their cultural heritage. CHMP are Cultural Heritage Management Plans. 47 New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council. 48 Not all Victoria is covered under RAP, this may be because the FNLC/C has either not applied for RAP status or there are boundary disputes between neighbouring Language Groups. 49 Full maps seen in Appendix F and Appendix G. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 62 Native title was formally recognised after a lengthy legal battle by Eddie Koiki Mabo and his people. According to (AIATSIS, 2019), legal proceedings began on the 20th May 1982 and were passed on the 3rd June 1992, 6 months after his death. This meant that all First Nations communities could now go for native title over crown land 50 within their traditional homelands. Native title also determined that terra nullius did not exist in Australia at the time of invasion, meaning land occupied by no one. Since then, different ‘agreements’ have formed, they include co-operative management agreements – Yorta Yorta (ATNS, 2011); native title consent determinations and ILUA’s (Gunditjmara, Eastern Maar) (DSE, 2007, ATNS, 2020); Traditional Owners Settlement Agreements under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Gunnai and Dja Dja Wurrung) under Rose on behalf of the Kurnai Clans v State of Victoria [2010] FCA 460, Mullett on behalf of the Gunai/Kurnai People v State of Victoria [2010] FCA 1144 and (DJCSV, n.d.-a), and also recently Taungurung (DJCSV, n.d.-b). 49F 1994 - Yorta Yorta (unsuccessful) 2004 - Yorta Yorta (entered co-operative management agreement with Victorian Government) 2005 - Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, Jupugulk - First time successful native title determined in Victoria 2007 - Gunditjmara (part 1) - successful conscent determination 2010- Gunnai - first agreement under the new Traditinal Owners Settlement Act (Vic) 2011 - Gunditjmara & Eastern Marr (part 2) - successful Native title holders 2013 Dja Dja Wurrung - Recognition and Settlement Agreement under the Traditional Owners Settlement Act. Figure 3-44: The different Language Groups who have had successful and unsuccessful native title claims in Victoria since native title rights were recognised Australia wide in 1992 and in Victoria in 1994 (DJCSV, 2021). GMTOAC being a FNLC/Cs have special roles/responsibilities and powers that fall under their RAP title. These include working with stakeholders such as developers where a Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) (for example see Walther, 2013) is required. A CHMP sets out requirements to protect cultural sites and materials, tangible, and intangible, before any development works take place. In Victoria, the stakeholder must follow the CHMP recommendations which comply with the 50 Crown land is public lands without a specific tenure. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 63 requirements under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic). If they are found guilty of a breach after a cultural heritage audit by compliance officers such as Aboriginal Heritage Officers, they could be fined up to $1,817,400 (see FPSR, 2021b, FPSR, 2021a). However, according to Seiver (2005), putting a monetary value on culture sets up a situation where the ‘Fines ignore the offense’s objectives, the effectiveness of deterrence …’. This is seen through numerous breaches in Victoria (see Wahlquist, 2021) and around Australia (see Negus, 2021, Wahlquist, 2016). To prevent any further destruction, cultural protocols must be followed to create appropriate relationships with communities. This includes proper engagement, not just consultation, but collaboration. The Traditional Custodian (TC) way involves constantly revisiting the given information to build confidence in a decision and making sure that everyone in the community is in agreeance (see Figure 3-18). Therefore, engagement with as much of the community as possible is essential for positive outcomes. A problem that arises today however, is that FNLC/Cs do not always represent the whole of community. Not all members of a Language Group are members of FNLC/Cs. This was evidenced with the Gunditjmara community questionnaires where the members on their books in 2021 were only 502; there were many more Gunditjmara connected to Framlingham Mission and Lake Condah Mission but were not members of GMTOAC. To overcome this issue, full group community meetings were planned several times throughout projects so as to get wider community input. This full group structure was in place until early 2018 and greatly assisted them gaining native title in 2007 and 2011 (discussed in Section 4.9 Native Title). Other stakeholders who form relationships with FNLC/Cs are farmers, fossickers, fishers, water recreation groups, apiarists, etc. Some of these relationships start off rocky as was the case with Tae’rak. Some of the farmers were wary of their land being flooded if Tae’rak was reflooded. One neighbour who had farmed nearby for generations realised after meeting the Gunditjmara that ‘we should never have done this’ [i.e., drained the lake], and in so doing alleviated the neighbouring farmers’ anxieties (Bell, 2017). Community roles and responsibilities have not changed from ancient times 51 , but have sometimes manoeuvred without conforming to mainstream to survive in a dual world. 50F 3.9 Elders roles and responsibilities today Culture based on reciprocity enables Elders today to become the oracles of knowledge by the handing down of cultural teachings. As described by British Columbia Colleges, First Nations Pedagogy Online: A culture centred on Relationship … is the foundation of all First Nations teaching and learning. The inclusion of Elders in the process can be described as the ‘heart’ of First Nations Pedagogy (2009). 51 See Figure 3-33, Figure 3-34 and Figure 3-35. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 64 In the Australian context, according to Yorta Yorta woman Yolanda Walker 52 , an Elders role is: 51F … difficult for outsiders to understand. We rely strongly on them as key decision makers within families … we hold the greatest respect for [them] because many of them went through so much, so that now we do not have to suffer the injustices they experienced. Their guidance is often illustrated through everyday life and their teachings are often done subconsciously; we follow, we observe and we go on to teach our own families. It is through our Elders that the spirit of Aboriginal people is kept alive (1993, 53). However, this is not always possible in some communities, the lack of access to cultural insights post-invasion has left a void spanning several generations. As a result, it has been very difficult for some Elders to teach what they didn’t have access to. This historical situation has shaped three different types of Elders today as seen in Figure 3-45. The first type is an ‘Elder – Leader’ at the forefront as cultural mentors, culturally active and are cultural disciplinarians. The second type an ‘Elder – Cultural’ is also a leader, culturally active and fights for First Nations rights. The third ‘Elder – Carer’ offers supporting/nurturing roles for their communities. Some Elders fit all three of these roles. There are also Elders who had little or no access to their cultural base, such as those from the Stolen Generations. These differences are created because of invasion which has restricted knowledge pathways and cultural continuance. cultural mentor culturally active Elder - Leader senior holder of knowledge Elders cultural disiplinarian culturally active Elder - Cultural fights for equality leader pacificist Elder - Carer caretaker Figure 3-45: The three different ‘types’ of Elders and their roles in First Nations Society. Source: author. 52 Now known as Yolanda Finette. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 65 All the different ‘types’ of Elders are highly respected, and their roles equally important. Being an Elder is not defined by age or gender, according to Manbarra, Erub man, Dion Devow, Elders are those: … who has achieved the respect of their people through knowledge, accord and stability of their actions in their traditions and customs. It is also important to remember that there is no specific gender required to become an elder (2017). According to Clarence Woodcock, director of the Salish Cultural Centre on the Flathead Reservation in Canada, Elders are ‘… an important part of the tribes [sic] contemporary social structure and political process’ (Boyer, 1992). First Nations Pedagogy Online describes how Elders teachings rely on social structures, ‘Learning is always socially situated, socially constructed, socially produced and socially validated within social settings which exist as contextual settings’ (2009). In a contemporary sense, Devow states that Elders, ‘…can lobby their community to empower themselves in areas such as unemployment, improved health, and providing a safe, cultural space for teachings’ (2017). Community Leaders who are yet to be Elders now help them to guide their community culturally. Elders also act as ‘Cultural Disciplinarians.’ This refers to culturally ‘pulling up’ 53 a person who has broken Cultural Law. Cultural Law are a set of cultural rules, regulations, and responsibilities that First Nations people follow. Breaking Cultural Law includes disrespecting Country, Creation Beings, Spiritual Protectors, Elders, community members, Ancestors, cultural responsibilities, your own/others Country, Self, others or inciting lateral violence. First Nations communities know the retribution for breaking Cultural law is ‘shaming’. Fear of shaming, according to George Copway, an Ojibwa Chief, ‘… acted as a mighty band binding all in one social, honorable54 compact’ (in Kaelber, 2001). 52F Elders also help the community to deal with transgenerational trauma or as Micheal Halloran describes it ‘Cultural Trauma’ (2004). Transgenerational trauma according to Professor Helen Milroy a Palyku woman, reaches back over 230 years: This series of traumatic events [cultural demolition by invader] … affected whole families and communities, meaning trauma is both collective and cumulative … we are still experiencing the impacts of trauma today, parents, children and grandchildren are all affected by both shared and individual experiences, which are compounded by ongoing racism (2018). Elders today guide their community as well as local wider First Nation community through these experiences. However, due to the pressure for Elder’s knowledge and time, some have Community Leaders supporting them. Devow states Elders are vital not only to their immediate communities, but Australian-wide society: The term ‘pulling up’ is a common phrase within First Nations communities and means shame them for bad behaviour. 54 American spelling. 53 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 66 … They help mold55 minds in respecting the surroundings, teach people to love our country as their mother and help continue the traditions that the first Australians have lived by for thousands of years. Elders help pass on the knowledge, tradition and spiritual culture that they follow, to their fellow Indigenous community and the broader Australian public, as well as help educate non-Indigenous people on how to deal with certain aspects that affect the daily living of Indigenous People and share our beautiful culture (2017). Elders also have other roles today. These include decision making positions on most FNLC/Cs. They negotiate with government agencies on behalf of their people. In terms of RAP, native title consent determinations, ILUAs, joint management agreements etc. (discussed in Section 4.9 Native Title), FNLC/C’s have statutory responsibilities to manage the cultural heritage of who they represent. Recognised Aboriginal Party negotiations Neighouring Language Groups (Boundary negotiations) Community leaders Community Adults Community Youth & Young Adults Modern role of Elders Community Children & Babies Native title agencies Cultural Heritage Agencies Government agencies Figure 3-46: The contemporary role of Elders. Elders core role remains but they have many more responsibilities in modern times such as being on the Committee of Management (or similar) in Land Councils/Corporations. Source: author. Figure 3-46 demonstrates the varying roles of a modern-day Elder. They oversee the wellbeing of their community by making decisions in terms of management of their cultural heritage legacy. This is done through respective FNLC/C’s. GMTOAC on the other hand once ran a full group structure changing to an incorporated structure in 2019, now with a smaller Board of Directors to represent their members. 55 American spelling. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 67 The underpinning roles of Elders have not changed over time but have adapted to cater for ongoing changes and needs of today, all roles revolving around protecting culture and maintaining connection to Country. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 68 Chapter 4 Gunditjmara Figure 4-1: View from Bridgewater near Portland (Nicholson, 2017e). 4.1 Introduction This chapter discusses how the Gunditjmara see their Country as plural ‘Countries’, and how these Countries incapsulate unique languages, culture, and spirituality. Examined is how Gunditjmara’s connection to their Countries is fluid. It analyses how community roles have remained through shifting times such as the native title process, national and world heritage recognition, and within a First Nation Corporation structure and if this changes when living Off Country. 4.2 Gunditjmara Countries Gunditjmara Countries (plural) as opposed to Country (singular) covers a large section of the south west corner of Victoria, including its waters, salt and fresh, as seen in Figure 4-1 and Figure 4-2 (for the state-wide map, see Appendix J). They take in an area of around 7,000 km2 and are bordered by the Glenelg River in the west, Hopkins River in the east, and the Wannon River in the south. As such, they extend approximately 150 kilometres from east to west and up to 100 kilometres inland from the coast (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 12). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 69 Figure 4-2: Gunditjmara Countries, including waterways, volcanos, and islands. Also includes surrounding Language Groups. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 12) Note: This is not the full extent of Gunditjmara Country, it only shows GMTOAC native title land, not the Eastern Marr native title land (both Gunditjmara Corporations) 56. 53F Following on from Gunditjmara’s native title determinations in 2007 and 2011 (see Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara People v State of Victoria [2007] FCA 474 (Vic) and Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara People v State of Victoria (No 5) [2011] FCA 932 (Vic) ), Parks Victoria produced an overriding report titled Ngootyoong Gunditj, Ngootyoong Mara (Healthy Country, Healthy People) with management guidelines for parks, reserves, forest park and IPA’s (Indigenous Protected Areas) covering almost 116,000 ha and including nine national, state and coastal parks, Gunditjmara community owned properties (IPA’s), and a forest park and 132 reserves (2015, 1). Recognising the many different stakeholders and management zones requiring tailored management regimes, the Gunditjmara had significant input throughout the report. With this in mind, and drawing from these landscape management planning processes, the Gunditjmara have collectively agreed upon a ‘Statement of Significance’ of their landscape, waters, skies, and seas. 56 See Figure 4-16 for RAP boundaries which are still not the full extent of Gunditjmara Country as some boundaries are being negotiated with neighbouring Language Groups that are Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) in Victoria. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 70 Ngatanwarr wartee pa kakay teen Gunditjmara mirring Welcome brothers and sisters to Gunditjmara Country. For Gunditjmara people, ‘Country’ includes all living things–none better than the other but equal in its importance in forming this diverse natural landscape that is Gunditjmara Country. Country means people, plants and animals alike. It embraces the seasons, stories and spirits of the creation. This flowing, connected cultural landscape possesses its own sacred places, languages, ceremonies, totems, art, clan groupings and law. Our spirit is in this Country, from Koonang Mirring (Sea Country) up through Bocara Woorrowarook Mirring (Glenelg River Forest Country) where Boandik Country north-west of Bocara (Glenelg River) embraces Woorrowarook Mirring (Forest Country) and across the wetlands to Budj Bim and Tungatt Mirring (Mount Eccles and Stone Country). Our Country is a place of belonging and pride that comes with this belonging. We are proud to share many aspects of our land, art and culture with visitors/guests. It is a part of us and who we are, and we ask that you care for it when you visit. It is our responsibility to look after Country, our children will continue to look after Country, because that’s the way it is and will be. Figure 4-3: Gunditjmara ‘Statement of Significance’. Source: (Parks Victoria, 2015, 23) The plurality of Gunditjmara Countries includes the Countries’ language, spirituality, animals, and plants down to a grain of sand. The natural landscape incorporates many unique ecosystems and habitats such as lowland forests of manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), and cherry ballart (Exocarpus cupressiformis), volcanic rocky grassy plains, sinkholes and caves, coastline, as well as freshwater wetlands and waterways. Gunditjmara Countries cover some 165 km2, and has a: … mean annual rainfall of 746 mm with 256 mm falling in winter and 112 in summer, a mean annual temperature of 13ºC, a mean summer temperature of 17ºC and mean winter temperature of 9ºC (Builth, 2008, 414). Gunditjmara Countries encompass the Newer Volcanics Province which stretches across Western Victoria’s volcanic plains. The landscape, originally a relatively flat plain, was dramatically transformed when volcanos erupted around 30,000 years ago. What’s unique about Gunditjmara Countries is their cultural values or ‘Cultural Landscape’ narrative. The utilisation of aquatic resources made more readily available by these eruptions with lava diverting/blocking the local waterways, enabled the Gunditjmara to manipulate their environment to their advantage. They created a sophisticated aquaculture system allowing them to survive year-round by ‘farming’ kuyang. These Countries also incorporate the famous Budj Bim landscape 57, it’s three sections, Budj Bim (northern), Kurtonitj (central), and Tyrendarra (southern), totalling 99.35 km2 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 2). The Gunditjmara classify these into four Countries seen in Figure 4-4, Woorrowarook Mirring – Forest Country; Bocara 54F 57 See Figure 6-80. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 71 Woorrowarook Mirring – River Forest Country; Tungatt Mirring – Stone Country; and Koonang Mirring – Sea Country. Their location and attributes are described further in Figure 4-5. Figure 4-4: The four Countries recognised by the Gunditjmara. Source: (Parks Victoria, 2015, 5). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 72 Woorrowarook Mirring (Forest Country) •Forested plateaus in the north and inland areas •Swamps and forests Bocara Woorrowarook Mirring (River Forest country) •centered in the lower Bocara (Glenelg River) and its tributaries, and on the bordering creeks and swamps, heaths and forests Koonang Mirring (Sea Country) •defined by the meeting of the fresh and salt water. Where eels migrate to and from the rivers and wetlands. Includes submerged lands and Deen Maar (Lady Julia Percy Island) Tungatt Mirring (Stone Country) •centered around volcanoes and lava flows, stoney outcrops, stretching from Tappoc (Mt Napier) in the north to encompass Budj Bim's lakes and wetlands including Tae'rak Figure 4-5: The four Gunditjmara Countries, their location, and attributes, adapted from source. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 14). The connection between Koonang Mirring (Sea Country) and Bocara Woorrowarook Mirring (River Forest Country) is Country travelling through the water. Symbolised by kuyang traversing both (salt and fresh water), and the water bringing rich resources allowing for large annual gatherings as noted by Dawson held at Mirræwuæ, near Caramut 58. But it also symbolises a place to mourn massacres like at the Convincing Ground 59 . Then, Tungatt Mirring (Stone Country) is about resilience, and protection throughout the Eumeralla War 60 and ensuing years of the attempted genocide. The Tungatt Mirring (Stone Country) protected its people as the invaders could not traverse easily, evidenced by the length of the wars lasting 20+ years. Woorroowarook Mirring (Forest Country) is a manicured place, culturally burnt to sustain the diversity of plant and animal life. Ceremonies and special trees are marked, including birthing trees, marker trees, scar trees and smoking trees. Birthing trees are ‘Women’s Business’ restricted to women and children. Marker trees are carved or manipulated as ‘signposts’ by grafting branches together just like that seen in Watti Watti Country in the north-west of Victoria (Figure 4-6). 5F 56F 57F 58 See Figure 6-14. Discussed earlier in 3.8 Community roles and responsibilities today. 60 Discussed in 3.5 Ownership vs Custodianship. 59 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 73 Figure 4-6: A Marker Tree referred to as a Ring Tree in Watti Watti Country in north west Victoria, with evidence of contemporary ringbarking at the base of its trunk (Power, 2018). Scar trees are where the bark of a tree is strategically removed without killing the tree to make shields, canoes, or roofing material (Figure 4-7). According to senior Gunditjmara Elder Uncle Jim Berg, scar trees are: … supermarkets of the land … They provided food, shelter, transport, medicines, tools and weapons … They are a witness to a way of life and freedom for the people to roam at will through their own Country (Koori Mail, 2019). Figure 4-7: Scar tree at Budj Bim. Source: (GMTOAC, 2013). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 74 Smoking trees are mature trees (Figure 4-8) usually manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) and swamp gum (Eucalyptus ovata) culturally manipulated for domestic baking and smoking/preservation of kuyang, evidenced by the aquatic long chain fatty acids present in sediments inside the trees (Builth, 2004, 178-179). According to Budj Bim Ranger Leigh Boyer, the kuyang were hung inside the tree with a small fire fuelled with peat moss and cherry ballart to smoke them (GHCMA, 2020). Figure 4-8: A Smoking Tree near Tae’rak used for general cooking and smoking of kuyang for preservation (Perkins, 2019). Gunditjmara also believe that Ancestors Spirits created these Countries. Figure 4-9 gives Dawson’s example of how the waterholes of the region were created. One very dry season, when there was no water …, and the animals were perishing of thirst, a magpie lark and a gigantic crane consulted together. They could not understand how it was that a turkey … was never thirsty; … They flew high … and saw him go to a flat stone. Before lifting the stone, … [he] … looked up and saw the two birds, … [and]… he took them for small clouds. He lifted the stone … and drank from a spring running out of a cleft in a rock. When he replaced the stone and flew away, the two spies came down and removed it, and took a drink and a bath, remarking, ‘King ngakko ngal’ - ‘We have done him.’ They flapped their wings with joy, and the water rose till it formed a lake. They then flew all over the parched country, flapping their wings and forming water-holes, which have been drinking-places ever since. Figure 4-9: Gunditjmara waterhole Creation Narrative. Source: (Dawson, 1881, 106). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 75 Gunditjmara Countries have also been shaped by the Gunditjmara themselves. Through selective ‘cultural burning’ the understorey is ‘cool burned’ to rejuvenate and encourage swift recovery of the flora and fauna to reset. Thomas Mitchell, a surveyor/explorer, observed this in 1847: Fire, grass, kangaroos, and human inhabitants, seem all dependent on each other for existence in Australia; for any one of these being wanting, the others could no longer continue. Fire is necessary to burn the grass, and form those open forests … (1848, 412). This exact management of the Gunditjmara environment was paired with aquacultural knowledge. They utilised the plentiful volcanic basalt to create channels to train water into pools to ‘farm’ the kuyang (Figure 4-10 and Figure 4-11). This permanent food source enabled year-round residence as seen by numerous sturdy stone houses they built at Muldoon’s on the southern edge of Tae’rak (Figure 4-11). Figure 4-10: Muldoon’s Trap Complex excavation of a kuyang (eel) channel. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 15). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 76 Figure 4-11: The extent of kuyang channels and stone houses (‘C’ shaped features) at Tae’rak’s Muldoon’s Trap Complex Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 121). The extent of the aquaculture system in the Budj Bim landscape had not been realised until fires swept through in January 2020 (Figure 4-12), revealing further channels and stone structures (Figure 4-13). Future fires could reveal even more. Figure 4-12: Aerial view of the fires that swept through 70 km² of Budj Bim Country in January 2020. Source: (Johnson, 2020a). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 77 Figure 4-13: Eel channels newly revealed after January 2020 fires at Muldoon’s Trap Complex, on the southern edge of Tae'rak. Source: (Johnson, 2020a). Most stone houses were built facing east for warmth of the morning sun and to evade prevailing westerly winds. The stone houses consisted of a semicircular stone foundation, seen in Figure 4-14. They were thatched with woven branches and insulated with clay (Figure 4-15). These stone houses are a way to physically connect to Country and Apicial Ancestors. Figure 4-14: Budj Bim Ranger Leigh Boyer describing the reconstructed stone house built on the original foundations at Tyrendarra IPA. Source: (GHCMA, 2020). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 78 Figure 4-15: The inside of a reconstructed residence at Tyrendarra IPA, part of the Budj Bim landscape. Source: (GHCMA, 2020). Each Gunditjmara family is connected to specific parcels of land through their Apical Ancestors. The Gunditjmara are connected to 14 Apical Ancestors (Appendix K), with several hundreds/thousands of decendants today. There are Gunditjmara associated with Lake Condah Mission, nearby Framlingham Mission and local areas. The focus of this research however is specific to the Tae’rak and Budj Bim areas as they are management by GMTOAC, but also acknowledging Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC), Martang and Windamara Aboriginal Corporations 61. EMAC share management under native title agreements and Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP 62) status of the eastern fridge of GMTOAC’s RAP area. This incorporates Deen Maar a significant spiritual place for all Gunditjmara (both discussed later in this chapter). GMTOAC and EMAC both being Gunditjmara entities, manage different sections of their Country (Figure 4-16). 58F 59F GMTOAC were also the original First Nation party to be registered under the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic) (VAHC, n.d). However RAP boundaries do not cover all of a Language Group’s Country. This is because sometimes traditional boundaries 63 may be under ‘negotiation’ between one or a number of neighbouring Language Groups that are not yet finalised. These boundaries may overlap so joint agreements come into play for the statutory responsibility under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic) may fall on several groups. The Gunditjmara RAP area is joinly managed by GMTOAC (the western section granted in 2007 and extended in 2009) and EMAC (the eastern fridge, and extending east beyond Lorne with an 60F 61 These are other First Nation organisations that service the Gunditjmara community and are based on Gunditjmara Country. 62 Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) status that First Nation Land Councils apply for to assist their cultural responsibilities including evaluating and making decisions for the protection of their cultural heritage. 63 Today only in terms of statutory rights/responsibilities, as ancient boundaries may not correlate with modern western structures or imposed boundaries. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 79 extention granted in February 2020). The GMTOAC and EMAC RAP boundaries are seen in Figure 4-16 and Figure 4-17. Figure 4-16: GMTOAC RAP area in green, incorporating EMAC outlined in purple. Note: RAP boundaries do not show the full extent of traditional boundaries. Source: (VAHC, 2021b). Figure 4-17: The extent of GMTOAC and EMAC RAP appointed areas, with a jointly managed area near the border of the two zones seen in Figure 4-16. GMTOAC is the thesis study area. Adapted and combined from (VAHC, n.d). Another integral part of managing Country is language. Even if an individual cannot speak their Mother Tongue fluently, saying one word a day is keeping it alive. Gunditjmara people are a significant example of waking up a sleeping language. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 80 4.3 Gunditjmara languages Gunditjmara man from EMAC John Clarke describes Gunditjmara as the ‘collective’ name to describe his people (in Johnson, 2020b). However, others identify by their language name. For example, Gunditjmara woman Vicki Couzens identifies as a Keerray Woorroong woman (ANZSOG, 2021). The origin of the name Gunditjmara according to Dawson (1881, 1) is ‘kuurndit’, to mean ‘member of’, while Tindale (1974, 204) describes ‘mara, 'ma:r’ to mean ‘man’. According to Dawson, Gunditjmara have 10 languages (Figure 4-18) covering the Portland, Heywood, Hamilton, Warrnambool, Framlingham, Otways, Colac and Camperdown areas. The languages have been coordinated by a Gunditjmara language specialist Joel Wright under the South West Aboriginal Language Program (SWALP) through the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL). Kuurn Kopan noot Chaap wuurong Pirt Kopan noot Kii wuurong Peek whuurong Kirræ wuurong language of Camperdown Warn talliin the Colac language being Kolak ngat Cape Otway language is Katubanuut the Country between Cape Otway and Hopkins River is called Yarro wætch, with its language called Wirngill gnat tallinanong Figure 4-18: Gunditjmara languages according to Dawson (1881, 2). Joel Wright also co-ordinated the successful Laka Gunditj language program specifically on Gunditjmara Country for Gunditjmara people. MO45-54#56 states: … when we first retrieved language there was only 187 words … that’s been expanded by understanding our languages and having our own linguists like Joel [Wright], like Vicki [Couzens], like you [author] … understanding how the languages and dialects they ripple across Country and meet up and join. The importance of language and its revival as a culturally grounding tool is described by Wright (2018, 3): Language is the embodiment of our culture. It holds our knowledge systems, beliefs, art, morals, laws, and customs and provided the social meaning for a common life experience that is uniquely Aboriginal. Yet, whilst preserving our cultural traditions, language also drives cultural change. Language identifies who we are, where we belong and defines our ways of being and ways of Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 81 knowing. Aboriginal language is about different ways of thinking, practise, spirituality, ideology and philosophy. Language also defines ancient language boundaries. According to MO45-54#56, language interacts with the natural features of the environment and helps define relationships with neighbouring Language Groups: We have our boundaries we have rivers and tops of mountains … language is a way to represent it, there’s always shared Country and how that interrelates, interacts so where we have our traditional boundaries that are natural boundaries and cultural boundaries … that boundary isn’t a straight line. Figure 4-19 shows how these traditional dialect boundaries follow landscape features. Figure 4-19: Gunditjmara dialect boundaries according to Clark: Dhauwurd wurrung, Wullu wurrung, Gai wurrung, Gurngubanud and Peek wurrung 64. Adapted from source (1990, 54). 61F Language can help map Country further, by comparing the degree of similarity between neighbouring languages. For example, the Wadawurrung language of the Geelong and Ballarat region to the east of Gunditjmara Country has some similarities to the Gunditjmara languages, such as the word ending ‘-itj’. Therefore, Gunditjmara and Wadawurrung can be connected geographically without looking at a map. According to Blake, Wadawurrung is ‘… related to the Central Victorian language, the Western Victorian language and the Colac language’ (1998, 59). Linguistic similarities 64 Clark’s spelling used: Girai wurrung (Kerray woorroong), Wulu wurrung (Wooloo woorroong), Gai wurrung (Kee woorroong), Big wurrung (Peek woorrong), and Gurngubanud (Koornkopanoot). Alternate spelling via VACL Victorian Language map. www.vaclang.org.au. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 82 define relationships between neighbouring Language Groups. The more similar the more affiliations they have in terms of alliances, trade, marriage exchange etc. A Gunditjmara individual ‘belongs’ to a Clan through specific word associations or suffixes, which are then connected to your unique language commonly referred to as a Language Group. Dawson explains this relationship thus: ‘The Spring Creek tribe is called ‘Mopor’, and a member of it ‘Mopor kuurndit.’ Its language is called ‘Kii wuurong’, meaning ‘Oh, dear! Lip’ (1881, 1). James Dawson was a Scottish pastoralist who spent many years living with the Gunditjmara in the Camperdown district along with his daughter Isabella who lived at Port Fairy (Dawson, 1881, iii) with the Gunditjmara. Together they produced the book The Australian Aborigines: the languages and customs of several tribes in the Western District of Victoria, Australia in 1881 65. Their publication provides invaluable accounts of customs, spiritual beliefs, Laws, and the most comprehensive list of Gunditjmara vocabulary. This amount of knowledge exchange has enabled modern day Gunditjmara to unlock cultural knowledge that may have been lost because of invasion. An example of the cultural knowledge embedded in language is uncovered in the names of Language Groups themselves, seen in Figure 4-20. 62F According to Dawson (1881, 1): The names of tribes are taken from some local object, or … peculiarity in the country, … in the pronunciation; and when the individual is referred to, ‘Kuurndit’… is affixed to the tribal name, in the same way as … ‘Londoner’, or … ‘Melbournite.’ Each Clan has a responsibility for specific tracts of land; visitors would know each tract simply by its name. To keep language integrity in the past there were rules to enforce the speaking of particular language/s. According to Clarke (1995, 11), Gunditjmara are matrilineal, however in terms of language Dawson (1881, 40) observed that: Every person speaks the tribal language of the father, and must never mix it with any other. The mother of a child is the only exception … in talking to it, she must use its father’s language as far as she can … This very remarkable law explains the preservation of so many distinct dialects within so limited a space. 65 Albeit with James listed singularly as the author. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 83 Kuurn Kopan noot • Meaning: small lip or short pronunciation • Location: north of Warrnambool Chaap wuurong • Meaning: soft or broad lip • Location: Hexham, Salt Creek to Lake Bolac, north of Beaufort, to Stawell, Grampians, Hamilton, Mt Napier, along Burchett’s Creek to Hopkins River Pirt Kopan noot • Meaning: jump lip • Location: north of Lake Bolac Kii wuurong • Meaning: 'Oh Dear!' lip • Location: near Minhamite Peek whuurong • Meaning: kelp lip • Location: Port Fairy Kirræ wuurong • Meaning: blood lip • Location: Mt Shadwell, Spring Creek Warn talliin • Meaning: rough language • Location: Camperdown Kolak ngat • Meaning: belonging to the sand • Location: Colac Katubanuut • Meaning: king parrot language • Location: Cape Otway Wirngill gnat tallinanong • Meaning: bear language • Location: between Cape Otway and Hopkins River Figure 4-20: Gunditjmara Languages 66, meanings, and general locations 67 (Dawson, 1881, 2-3), additional locations added in bold by author, derived from (AIATSIS, n.d-c). 63F 64F Sadly, by July 1880, Dawson observed that only a few Gunditjmara Mother Tongue speakers remained: … there are only seven aborigines who speak the Chaap wuurong language, three who speak the Kuurn kopan noot language, and four who speak the Peek whuurong language (1881, 4). With language revival efforts post-invasion, the pronunciation and spelling of words often changed. This was especially the case with oral languages, as transcription proves difficult when there are sounds not found in English. This leads to misinterpretations and mispronunciations where it can become something completely different. Today one way that language can be highlighted is by analysing placenames. 66 67 James Dawson’s spelling used. See source for full locations for Chaap wuurong. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 84 Many popular place names around Australia are of First Nation origin; some obvious while others harder to distinguish or have changed so much they are no longer recognisable. Over time transcribing language names, sounds and annotations simply ‘drop off’. An example, the name for the peak of Budj Bim, with records showing different transcriptions, i.e., Putj peem (Clark, 2002, 72) or Puint pino (Lane in Smyth, 1878b, 187). This shows that interpreting oral languages will differ depending on the recorder’s standing with the English language and accent as this will affect how words are heard and written down. Other aspects that may affect transcriptions is the speaker of the language itself. For example, as there are many velar (soft palate in back of mouth) sounds in Victorian languages, these are often not heard easily by English ears, especially when these sounds are at the beginning of words or the speaker has missing teeth or a blocked nose. An example is ‘ngatanwar’, the Gunditjmara word for ‘welcome’. Lake Condah Lady Juliet Percy Island Portland Port Fairy Port Fairy Battery Hill Port Fairy - Pond Port Fairy East • Karrap - 'lake' • Koondoom - 'water' • Tyaark [Tae'rak] - 'common reed' • Din Mar [Deen Maar] -'this blackfellow here' • Tirngoona - 'where the sun go away longa [sic] night' • Leywhollot - 'whollet' = kangaroo grass • Pulembeet - 'bete' = water, lake • Nyamat - 'sea' • Puyupkil - 'pig face' • Ulimaroa - 'end of river' • Kuulokaar - 'lava hole' • Tyalingin - 'man's tongue' Warrnambool • Peetoop - 'small sandpiper' • Warrnambool - 'woorn' = house Warrnambool waterhole • Kunang - 'excrement' Figure 4-21: Some well-known place names in Western Victoria derived from the local Dhauwurd wurrung language. (Dawson, 1881, 1xxix, 1xxx, 1xxxi, Lane in Smyth, 1878b, 187, Clark, 2002, 25, 117, 174) The original names for places came from observation, location markers for specific resources or warnings of ‘bad Country’. Figure 4-21 illustrates some place names from the Dhauwurd wurrung language. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 85 4.4 Gunditjmara population Gunditjmara pre-invasion population would have been high around Tae’rak due to its rich resources. According to Dawson’s calculations in the 1870’s, a large gathering of the inland Gunditjmara Clans: … held at Mirræwuæ, a large marsh celebrated for emus and other kinds of game, not many miles from Caramut … [involved] … two thousand five hundred and twenty aborigines (1881, 3). Population estimates at the peak kuyang season in spring and summer suggest up to ‘perhaps six or ten thousand strong’ (Builth, 2006, 91). Today’s population have been dispersed making estimates difficult. However, somewhat of an estimate of adults over 18 years of age can be derived from GMTOAC membership lists 68 . Analysis of membership from 2007-13 indicate populations concentrated both On Country and near Country, while there are less dense populations closer to Adelaide (South Australia), Melbourne (Victoria) and the Sunshine Coast (Queensland). There are also individuals in Western Australia (WA) and the Northern Territory (NT). Chapter 7 analyses whether the questionnaire responders have always lived On Country and if not, their subsequent movements. It also highlights if families that were displaced during the Mission Period stayed and settled in that region or moved back On Country and for how long. 65F Populations diminished rapidly for the Gunditjmara during the frontier conflict known as the Frontier Wars that hit the region in the mid-1800s. Appendix M shows the reported massacres that took place in Western Victoria by shepherds, squatters, hut keepers, whalers, Captains, and Overseers, killing several hundred, possibly thousands. Two of the most devasting Gunditjmara massacres ‘recorded’ were at Murderer’s Flat (Figure 4-22) on Kerup gundidj Country near the current Lake Condah Mission site (late 1840s – early 1850s), with the Mission being established later in 1867 and gazetted in 1869. Victim numbers were suggested to be from 20 up to 300. Massola (1969, 57) suggests they were given poisoned flour. Knowledge of this massacre was passed through the oral tradition of the Gunditjmara. 68 Acknowledging that not all Gunditjmara are members, as those connected to Framlingham Mission are not included, however many have immediate family members who are GMTOAC members. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 86 Figure 4-22: Murderer's Flat site, near Lake Condah Mission. Adapted from (Clarke, 1995, 53). The other was at ‘The Convincing Ground’ on the coast in Portland Bay (Figure 4-23). This massacre was over a whale carcass with numerous men, women and children thought to be shot or poisoned. From at least 1810 Gunditjmara had contact with the whalers who set up seasonal whaling facilities in the Portland Bay area. Permanent invasion of the region began with the Henty family ‘settling’ in the area in 1834 (Clarke, 1995, 11). Figure 4-23: Location of whaling stations and European residences in relation to the site of the Convincing Ground massacre. Adapted from source. Source: (Clarke, 1995, 20). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 87 Oral Traditions are an important way to keep the narrative of the people alive, including those of death and destruction (NFSA, 2007). Some researchers attempt to refute these oral accounts believing that the Convincing Ground massacre was fabricated (see Connor, 2007). This attitude shows the constant struggle for recognition of Oral Traditions as an acceptable form of information transmission when it includes negative or destructive events. However, some Gunditjmara Oral Traditions that were spread throughout their Clans for millennia have survived such as the creation of the Budj Bim cultural landscape, discussed in 4.11 Budj Bim Cultural Landscape added to World Heritage List. Figure 4-24: Gunditjmara (noted by source as Dhauwurd wurrung) Clan distribution (Clark, 1990, 54). According to Clark there are 59 different Gunditjmara Clans. Figure 4-24 shows their location with the key listed in Appendix L, with many locations correlating with massacres sites listed in Appendix M. These Clans still have a special connection to Lake Condah Mission, firstly because it is their Traditional Country, secondly, it represents the struggles of the Frontier Wars, their resilience and the survival of their people, culture, and identity. A symbol of this connection is the Lake Condah cemetery where around 100 plus people are buried, with only 26 marked. Recent studies indicated around ‘14 probable unmarked graves as well as 49 other areas that may contain one or more unmarked burials’ (Garnaut, 2018, 7). According to Damein Bell, the Gunditjmara community use it every couple of years for burials (in Neal, 2019c). Clark notes: Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 88 The cemetery was reserved as an Aboriginal cemetery under the Land Act 1973. In February 1984, the struggle for land rights was resolved when under federal legislation, 53 hectares of the earlier mission reserve were acquired by the Victorian government and handed back to the Aboriginal community (1995, 14). This gazettal allowed for a culturally safe place to be created where the Gunditjmara could be Gunditjmara under no restrictions or limitations On their Country. 4.5 Living On and Off Country Succeeding the Mission Period, many Victorian First Nations families moved away from Country 69 . However according to MO45-54#56 there were family housing movements to Greenvale near Melbourne through the Hamilton Uplift Society: 6F … in 30s and 40s, and they brought a couple of blocks just out of Heywood and grandfather and his brother [Frederick and Herbert] got a couple of the timber cabins from the Mission and moved them down there … so they grew up there … to raise their families … those blocks we still have … and still go out there. Today, Heywood has the highest First Nation centralised population in Western Victoria at 11% (MO45-54#56). Others moved their families to Narrm (Melbourne). An important reason for this move was cultural self-discovery denied to people on the Missions. Aunty Iris Lovett-Gardiner’s example shows how culture and language were not easily assessable, and since 1881 when Dawson published his book Australian Aborigines: The languages and customs of several tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria until when Aunty Iris was born in 1926, culture and language were under siege by invasion. To overcome this deprivation of culture, Aunty Iris’s journey led her to find out about her culture as an adult: ‘… these women and I started to find out what was there and researched our history and background’ (1997, 89). This rediscovery can link to ways for those who do not live On Country to reconnect – this is an important research question, a person’s point of reconnection, learning about one’s culture as an adult. Many post-mission families moved to Fitzroy in Melbourne which created a culturally safe community Off Country to express their identity and feel some form of community. This sense of community has remained so today with services such as the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS), Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL), Aboriginal Community Elders Service (ACES), Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA), Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV) and the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) all being headquartered in or near Fitzroy. Other important hubs included Preston, Northcote, and Thornbury where the Aborigines Advancement League (AAL) is situated (see City of Yarra, 2020). According to Alick Jackomos, a photographic collector of First Nations Victorian’s modern history, the Gore Street Church of Christ or ‘Sir Doug Nicholls 69 Statistics discussed in Chapter 7. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 89 church’ was where ‘the contemporary or modern Aboriginal movement all started’ (City of Yarra, 2002, 17). Another important symbol of First Nation recognition and rights is the Moreton Bay fig tree (Ficus macrophylla) at Carlton Gardens. People met and spoke under this tree in a movement of recognition and First Nation services within Narrm (Melbourne), including the AAL: From the 1920s to 1940s, … many legendary speakers addressed gatherings here including Pastor Doug Nicholls, Jack Patten, Bill Onus, William Cooper, Ebenezer Lovett, Martha Nevin and Margaret Tucker (City of Yarra, 2020). According to Jackomos, there were around 100 First Nation residents living in Melbourne in the mid-1930s, including ‘… about 10-12 families living in Fitzroy with one or two families living in Richmond and North Melbourne …’ (City of Yarra, 2002, 15). The Gunditjmara played a role in this movement, according to Gunditjmara Elder Aunty Beryl Booth, her family: … were the first Aboriginal family to move to Fitzroy in 1928 … [and also recalls her] grandfather [Ebenezer Lovett] was a political man who established the first Aborigines League at 240 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy (City of Yarra, 2002, 15, 39). The AAL was formally established in 1957 from a ‘Save the Aborigines’ committee. AAL was founded by Sir Pastor Doug Nicholls, Doris Blackburn, Stan Davey and Gordon Bryant (AAL, 2020, Broome, 2010, 142). Aunty Iris Lovett-Gardiner also describes Melbourne fondly: ‘There has always been an Aboriginal Community within that suburb, although people’s roots were elsewhere ...’ (1997, 86). Significant places are defined not by time, but connection, including modern connections. This includes new inherited connections yet to be made as seen above with ‘new’ places being created by the people. Aboriginal Victoria (AV) defines ‘new’ places in Figure 4-25. Locations where First Nations people have lived and worked Land reserved for First Nations people Mission and protectorate stations Supply depots where First Nations people received rations from the government Burials within cemetaries Locations relating to First Nations self determination Places of conflict Places linked to significant individuals Figure 4-25: ‘Places’ new connections have been created 70. Source: Aboriginal Victoria (2019b). 67F 70 Have replaced ‘Aboriginal’ with First Nation’. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 90 Therefore, you do not have to live On Country to have connection to it, but it is a different kind of connection. As discussed further in Section 5.4 Connection through spirituality, connection to your Country is a highly spiritual connection, while connection to another’s Country seems to be more of a physical community-reliant one. There are many variables when defining ‘living On and Off Country’. For the Gunditjmara through the 57 questionnaire responses and GMTOAC membership lists, there are several subsets that those living On and Off Country fall into (Figure 4-26). generationally ON always lived OFF generationally OFF adulthood lived ON childhood lived ON always lived ON sporatically lived OFF live just OFF Country live long distance OFF Figure 4-26: Gunditjmara living On and Off Country variables. Source: questionnaire data. Statistics on population movements are analysed in Chapter 7. Culture retainment during this time has been severely impacted by invasion in its various guises. Yet despite these ongoing hurdles the Gunditjmara have kept their culture alive. 4.6 Gunditjmara culture Gunditjmara culture is unique and varied. There are many ways they connect to their Country through culture. Among other things, according to Chief Protector Robinson, ‘Their distinguishing mark is tattooing and it is reported that they put their dead up in trees’ (1841, 249). A key foundation of any First Nations culture is the Language Group and Clan structure found therein. The main component of the Language Group is the Clan heads or Headman. Dawson describes how the Headman position is inherited and earned and a very highly respected position: When a chief dies, the chiefs of the neighbouring tribes, accompanied by their attendants, assist at the funeral obsequies; and they appoint the best male friend of the deceased to take charge of the tribe until the first great meeting after the expiry of one year, when the succession must be determined by the votes of the assembled chiefs alone. The eldest son is appointed, unless there is Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 91 some good reason for setting him aside. If there are no sons, the deceased chiefs eldest brother is entitled to succeed him, and the inheritance runs in line of his family. Failing him, the inheritance devolved upon the other brothers and their families in succession. (Dawson, 1881, 5-6). According to Rev. J. Heinrich Stähle, all Gunditjmara individuals fit into a moiety system with ‘sub-totems’ or Spiritual Protectors (Figure 4-27). Classes [Moieties] Kaputch [Kappatch] Krokitch [Kuurokeetch] Totems [Spiritual Protectors] black cockatoo [yellow-tailed black cockatoo] white cockatoo [long-billed corella] Sub-Totem [Spiritual Protectors] pelican, laughing jackass [kookaburra], parrot, owl, mopoke [boobook owl], large kangaroo, native companion [brolga] emu, whip-snake, opossum, brush-kangaroo, native bear [koala], swan, eagle-hawk, sparrow-hawk Figure 4-27: Gunditjmara ‘Sub-Totems’ or Spiritual Protectors within their moiety system. Stähle’s spelling and terminology used, additional spellings derived from Dawson’s (1881) spelling. Source: (in Howitt, 1904, 124). Kappatch (banksia cockatoo) [Yellow-tailed black cockatoo] Kartœrapp (pelican) Kuurokeetch (longbilled cockatoo) [Long- billed corella] Kirtuuk (boa snake) Gunditjmara individual Spiritual Protectors Kuunamit (quail) Figure 4-28: The Spiritual Protector associations of Gunditjmara individuals 71, Source: 68F (Dawson, 1881, 26). 71 Dawson’s spellings have been used; however, ‘Long billed cockatoo’ refers to the long-billed corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) and ‘Banksia cockatoo’ refers to the Yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus magnificus). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 92 Spiritual Protectors define who you are as an individual and where you fit into your society as seen in Figure 4-28. For the Gunditjmara, this includes gendered Spiritual Protectors (Figure 4-29), with the female suffix noted as heearr. This extends into gender classes dictating who you can marry (Figure 4-30). This provides that the gene pool remains strong which is the same throughout First Nation Australia. Kuurokeetch (Long billed cockatoo) [long billed corella] Kartœrapp (pelican) Kappatch (banksia cockatoo) [yellow-tailed black cockatoo] Kirtuuk (boa snake) Kuunamit (quail) •MALE: Kuurokeetch •FEMALE: Kuurokaheear •MALE: Kartpœrapp •FEMALE: Kartpœrapp heear •MALE: Kappatch •FEMALE: Kappaheear •MALE: Kirtuuk •FEMALE: Kirtuuk heear •MALE: Kuunamit •FEMALE: Kuunamit heear Figure 4-29: Gendered Spiritual Protectors of the Gunditjmara (Dawson, 1881, 26). These kinship frameworks define marriage affiliations. Marriages were strategically organised between non-rival Language Groups to strengthen ties and created protection from potential enemies. An individual’s major identifying marker is their Spiritual Protector. Keerray Woorroong woman Vicki Couzens explains that there are several Spiritual Protectors within the Gunditjmara moieties: Within each moiety each person also belongs to one of seven or eight other totems … There are five different marriage totems with laws guiding marriage and bloodlines … You could only marry from the white cockatoo into the black cockatoo moiety and vice versa (2007). Explaining further the importance of your Spiritual Protector is Rev. Bulmer, an early European observer, telling of Colin Hood: … [a] very intelligent Aboriginal man from the Western District tells me he is a jallan (whipsnake), he must marry a white cockatoo, his daughter who is a white cockatoo can marry a black cockatoo but their children must be the same Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 93 totem as their grandfather. He himself has married a yelmara daughter but the children must be the same as her father that is yelmara … if a white cockatoo had a child with curly hair it would be a black cockatoo (in Bulmer, 1855 1908, 9-10). Kappaheear Marriage Kuurokeetch (long-billed cockatoo) [long-billed corella] Cacatua tenuirostris Can marry Kirtuuk heear Kuunamit heear Kappatch (banksian cockatoo) [yellow-tailed black cockatoo] Calyptorhynchus funereus Kuurokaheear Can marry Kartpœrapp heear Kuunamit heear Kartpœrapp (pelican) Kirtuuk (boa snake) Kuunamit (quail) Kuurokaheear Kartpœrapp heear Can marry Kappaheear Kirtuuk heear Figure 4-30: The rules that dictate marriages. Dawson’s spelling used with female indicated with female suffix ‘-heear’. Source: Dawson (1881, 26). Figure 4-30 shows the marriage rules for Western Victoria associated with Spiritual Protectors, or as Dawson called them ‘classes’. Some are not permitted to marry close, ‘sister classes’ as seen in Figure 4-31. This is the case for kuurokeetch (long-billed cockatoo-corella) and kartpœrapp (pelican) and between kappatch (banksian cockatoo-yellow tail black cockatoo) and kirtuuk (boa snake). This is not the case for kuunamit who can marry any but his own as he is ‘not so related’ (1881, 26). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 94 kuurokeetch marriage rules not permitted to marry kartpœrapp kappatch not permitted to marry kirtuuk Figure 4-31: Marriages that are forbidden as they are classified as ‘sister classes’ (Dawson, 1881, 26). As discussed in Chapter 3, Gunditjmara are a matrilineal society 72 . According to Dawson, every individual is ‘… considered to belong to his father’s tribe, and cannot marry into it’ (1881, 26). According to Corris (1972) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography (online), James Dawson a Scottish pastoralist who lived with the Gunditjmara in the late 1800s. Dawson once lived on Anderson Creek in Narrm (Melbourne) until he moved his dairy farm to Western Victoria, near Port Fairy, eventually settling in Camperdown where he died in 1900. He and his daughter, Isabella Park Taylor (1843-1929), got to know the Gunditjmara people and customs quite well, with his daughter, being an excellent transcriptionist after learning the language. Dawson noted that the language information was: 69F … written by my daughter, whose long residence in the Port Fairy district, and intimate acquaintance from infancy with the aboriginal inhabitants …, and with their dialects, induced her to publish that sketch … a request was made that she ‘would assist in collecting and illustrating all connected with their history, habits, customs, and languages’ … (1881, iii). Dawson demonstrates early templates for modern-day consultation vs collaboration practises, that it is of: … utmost importance to be able to converse freely with them in their own language. This inspires them with confidence … and to discard ideas and beliefs obtained from the white people, which in many cases have led to misinterpretations … [this method created a] … united testimony … and every word was approved of by them before being written down (1881, iii). 72 Mapped out in Figure 3-36. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 95 By living with and recording the cultural information for the book, James and Isabella Dawson saw no difference between themselves, comparing them to ‘… equal, if not superior, to the general run of white men’ (1881, iv). This knowledge set is reflected in the Gunditjmara seasons. As Figure 4-32 shows, Gunditjmara seasons, which could be termed ‘cultural seasons’, are more complex than the Western version. These cultural seasons are mapped by observance of the plants, elements, stars, and animal behaviour. Such specific observances were required to define when to gather, burn, when to ‘move’ or when to plan/conduct ceremony. Figure 4-32: The six Gunditjmara cultural seasons, noting the regular overlapping. Source: (Parks Victoria, 2015, 7). The ‘Drying Out Time’ is the time to rely more on preserved and stored plant foods such as tubers and medical plants such as Old Man Weed 73. It is also the time when kuyang and reptiles become more obtainable. During the ‘Big Dry’, the diet changes to what is more readily available along the coast. The uniqueness of Gunditjmara Country incorporates fresh and salt water as well as plains and forest, creating many opportunities for a rich, healthy diet. The ‘Early Wet’ is when the landscape has had time to ‘calm down’ and recover from the extreme drying heat of the ‘Big Dry’. This is when patchwork style cultural burns would take place. Today the Gunditjmara work with the Forest Fire Management Section of the Department of Environment, Land, 70F 73 Old Man Weed (Centipeda cunninghamii) grows near the wetlands and is a well-known remedy for many skin ailments. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 96 Water and Planning (DELWP), and the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) to implement an overall fire management plan for Budj Bim to maintain healthy Country (Figure 4-33). Figure 4-33: Sick Country vs Healthy Country and how fire heals Country and people. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2020, 10). ‘Cool burns’ (Figure 4-34) are conducted at Budj Bim where grasslands and understory are singed, unlike a destructive ‘hot burn’ that destroys the under and upper canopies which does not allow swift escape or recovery of flora or fauna. This method over 1000s of years would have prevented the scale of the monster fire storms that modern Australia suffers from today (see BBC news, 2020, Fletcher, 2021). Figure 4-34: Budj Bim Rangers Sean Bell and Josh Ferguson conducting a cultural burn. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 74). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 97 The ‘Big Wet’ is when water ‘flushes’ out the systems to reset the landscape. The native convolvulus called taaruuk is a staple food during the colder wet months (Dawson, 1881, 20). The ‘Flowering Time’ is also breeding time for animals so more food resources become available such as eggs. The murnong (Microseris lanceolata), is harvested to eat raw or roasted and stored in preparation for the ‘Drying Out’ time. The raw murnong tuber is named pun’yin, muurang or keerang (Dawson, 1881, xxvii). Gunditjmara culture encapsulates the past and embraces its essence in modern day. The continued knowledge of these seasons has helped the Gunditjmara to continue their custodial role over the Budj Bim cultural landscape. 4.7 Gunditjmara spirituality-Budj Bim Figure 4-35: Lake Surprise, part of Budj Bim landscape, spring 2019. (Nicholson, 2019) Oral history of First Nation people has traversed like a river through the landscape. The Gunditjmara example is Budj Bim. Figure 4-35 shows Lake Surprise at the heart of Budj Bim. Oral tradition continues to flow even though it may be blocked or diverted over time, it reclaims its original path, or new path. Oral history brings Songlines 74 and narratives to successive generations, sometimes sporadically, or skipping generations. The missing pieces can be filled by rediscovering cultural material in manuscripts or archives, shining light on knowledge thought to be lost 75. Deep cultural knowledge that has remained includes the narrative of Budj Bim. Told by John Lovett, four Creator Beings were sent by Prenheal, the Great Creator Spirit, to create the landscape. Four of these Creator Spirits left to the north and west while the fourth crouched down to become Tappoc (Mt Napier) and Budj Bim (Mt Eccles) volcanoes. These erupted 30,000 years ago with the scoria being his teeth (in VACL, 2014, 58-59). This philosophy connects throughout the landscape as seen in the language name for Mount Taurus, Wirn-wirn meaning ‘back teeth’ (Dawson, 1881, lxxxiii). 71F 72F The lava flows from its eruption point into the sea (Figure 4-36). Along the way Tae’rak, Kurtonitj, Tyrendarra aquatic features and surrounding wetlands were created 74 75 Discussed in Section 5.7 Language. An example of this is the the journal of Assistant Protector William Thomas 1839-67, one of the missing journals was donated by his descendants. More information found here: http://www.vaclang.org.au/item/the-journal-of-assistant-protector-william-thomas-1839-67-4volume-set.html Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 98 when the lava blocked and deviated the flow of Killara (Darlot’s Creek) and the Palawarra (Fitzroy River). The Gunditjmara took advantage of this new landscape and created one of the most amazing man-made aquatic systems in the world. This was eventually recognised nationally with National Heritage listing in 2004 and internationally in 2019 when it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (discussed later in this chapter) (DAWE, n.d.-c). The Budj Bim lava flow meanders through the four Gunditjmara Countries, the Woorrowarook Mirring – Forest Country; Bocara Woorrowarook Mirring – River Forest Country; Tungatt Mirring – Stone Country and Koonang Mirring – Sea Country. Budj Bim is part of Mount Eccles (now known by its original name Budj Bim) National Park and is Victoria's first cooperatively managed national park (Parks Victoria, 2015, 7). Figure 4-36: Lava flow from Budj Bim (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 3). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 99 As the basalt lava flowed across the landscape, the outer layer dried, cracked and formed the basalt stone terraces known as the ‘stony rises’. Wettenhall describes this eruption as fountains of ‘frothy scoria … settling back as a 50 metre high cone’ (2010, 8). Budj Bim is known as a composite scoria and lava cone with a deep crater with more than one vent which like many extinct volcanos in Western Victoria have been threatened by mining. According to (Agriculture Victoria, 2020): Quarries and private use have had significantly adverse impact on the integrity of the Mt Eccles complex. Little Mount Eccles has been entirely removed, at least one of the spatter cones has been deliberately filled in and another is being destroyed by quarrying. Even after culturally significant places are ‘destroyed’, their legacy still lives on through Oral Traditions. Oral Traditions can tell how to care for each other and Country and of fights between good and evil. A Gunditjmara example is seen in Figure 4-37. The good spirit, Pirnmeheeal, is a gigantic man, living above the clouds … and harms no one, he is seldom mentioned, but always with respect. His voice, the thunder, … does good to man and beast, by bringing rain, and making grass and roots grow … The bad spirit Muuruup, sometimes called ‘Wambeen neung beenbeen aa,’ ‘maker of bad smelling smoke,’ is always spoken of with fear … as the author of any misfortune. He visits the earth in the form of lightning … setting fire to wuurns, and killing people by ‘striking them on the back.’ At times he assumes the form of a large ugly man, frequenting scrubs and dense thickets; and, although not provided with wings, like the white man’s devil, he flits and darts from place to place with the rapidity of lightning, is very mischievous, and hungers for the flesh of children. Figure 4-37: Gunditjmara example of spiritual belief in good and evil. Source: (Dawson, 1881, 49) Spirituality is seen in Country, as Aunty Iris Lovett-Gardner describes, the ‘Great Ones’ still watch over her: If I see a scar tree that’s my church because I know my Great Ones leave them things around for us to see. In my mind and my heart I think they’ve left this for me to say, ‘I’ve been here and I am still here with you’ (Lovett-Gardiner, 1997, 12). Gunditjmara spirituality has been expressed the same ways through time, today this has not changed. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 100 4.8 Gunditjmara today Figure 4-38: An example of how Gunditjmara are keeping their culture alive today. Basalt sculpture titled Fresh & Salty, South West Earth sculpture, at Kurtonitj IPA, created by Keerray Woorroong artist Vicki Couzens and Celtic artist Carmel Wallace. Source: (Groundwork, 2008, cover , Budj Bim, 2021, Johnson, 2008, 16). The Gunditjmara today strive to keep their culture, heritage, and cultural landscape alive in many ways such as visually (Figure 4-38). They lived through invasion, watched their Country split up, families separated, people taken from Country (some never to return) and watched their beloved Tae’rak drained. MO45-50#56 describes how Tae’rak/Lake Condah was created and then the attempts to destroy it: You have Condah swamp, then … Lake Condah as the basin, … it went through the stones and got spring fed into Darlots Creek or Kallara, just below the Mission … when the government put the drain in 1954 that cut all that, they drained all the swamp, through the lake, but they couldn’t get through the stones so they went around the stones and hooked it up to the original spring … There’s still waterways that go … under the stones … in 2010 we put the weir in [to revive the lake]. Joint projects like installing a weir, encourage information and cultural exchange, allowing culture to become ‘relevant’ for all. The Lake Condah Sustainable Development Project (LCSDP): The Condah Restoration Project Conservation Management Plan … formed part of the broader Lake Condah Sustainable Development Project whose Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 101 major goals included the restoration of permanent water to Lake Condah, achieving World Heritage Listing for the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape and sustainable development and tourism to provide social and economic benefits (Context, n.d-b). The LCSDP came out of an economic development plan for Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation (WMAC) and was launched in 2002. Its key fundamental aims are listed in Figure 4-39. To gain national and world heritage listing To restore & reflood Lake Condah wetland LCSDP To rebuild the old Mission church To develop land management plans To develop an international learning centre To develop employment centred around tourism, accomodation, aquaculture, and bush tucker etc To build a strong paternership of actuve members supporting the project Figure 4-39: Key fundamental aims of WMAC’s Lake Condah Sustainability Development Plan (Johnson, 2008, 7). Since the LCSDP was launched, many of its aims have been achieved, such as gaining national and world heritage listings, restoring water to Tae’rak in 2010, joint management plans such as Ngootyoong Gunditj Ngootyoong Mara South West Management Plan (Healthy Country Healthy People), and tourism-based employment with the Budj Bim Ranger program in 2006 (GMTOAC, n.d-c). The restoration of the water to the Tae’rak system began in stages, as seen in Figure 4-40. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 102 1970s • proposals around the field and game of the region 2004 • the development of the LCSDP Lake Condah Water Restoration Business Plan (LCWRBP) which consulted widely with ‘… the district community, adjoining land-owners, government agencies and education institutions.’ 2006 • LCSDP, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), the Glenelg-Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA), Parks Victoria (PV) and Southern Rural Water (SRW) worked to facilitate hydrological feasibility and Environment FLOWS studies. March 2008 • Tae’rak was ‘returned’ to the Gunditjmara by the State of Victoria. The Lake Condah Restoration Conservation Management Plan (LCRCMP) completed and included Gunditjmara consultation and collaboration. 2009 • collaboration of above-mentioned heritage and water organisations to design and construct new weir May 2010 • construction of weir engagement with Gunditjmara to assist in build 2010 • LCRP won the Civil Contractors Federation Earth Award, highlighting the cultural sensitivity of site; engagement of Gunditjmara people in construction, supervision and administration; exhaustive wider community consultation. Figure 4-40: Lake Condah Restoration Project (LCRP) stages (GMTOAC, n.d-d). At the same time a Conservation Management Plan (CHMP) was developed (Figure 4-41), in line with Gunditjmara cultural values: The CMP is founded on an empowering Gunditjmara vision – or Yarkeem: Gunditjmara will conserve Lake Condah ... we have fought hard over many generations to see it returned to us so that we can heal this land. Gunditjmara acknowledge the ancestral Kerrup Jmara and the Kerrup Jmara today ... Water will again flow into the lake and remain there … Lake Condah will again be central to Gunditjmara life and culture. Gunditjmara … will … apply traditional knowledge and practices in land and water management … we will learn more about the ways in which previous generations cared for and used the land … Lake Condah will become one of the foremost Indigenous cultural destinations … The healing of Lake Condah within a generation is our vision ... It is a legacy from us today to future generations … Figure 4-41: Gunditjmara’s Conservation Management Plan (CMP). Source: (in Johnson, 2008, 7-8). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 103 This all coincided with Tae’rak being ‘given back’ to Gunditjmara in 2008 (The Hon Jenny Macklin MP, 2008) under native title consent determinations which are discussed later in this chapter. The cultural principle of having Gunditjmara people caring for Gunditjmara culture and Country is implemented through the successful Budj Bim Ranger Program. The program is run through the Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation (WMAC) and under its Land Management Unit manages over 30 km² of Gunditjmara-owned land covering over 10 properties, with the responsibilities of the rangers being: … all on-ground activities on all the properties, including cultural site protection, weed and pest control, facilities and asset maintenance and development, environmental works, revegetation, maintenance and construction of fences and livestock operations … (WMAC, 2018). Budj Bim Ranger Ben Church, a Kerup mara/Kerup Gunditj man, describes how Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) (discussed in Chapter 5) has enabled the continuance of cultural practice through the utilisation of the blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), which the Gunditjmara call ‘Mutang 76’ for tools, and weapons such as littum littum (boomerangs). The Mutang’s bark is also medicinal ‘in the old ways’, for skin irritations, sores, cold and flu (GHCMA, 2020). 73F The Tae’rak landscape sustained high numbers of Gunditjmara for generations through their systematic aquaculture system. Today, by analysing the lifecycle and range of the kuyang or short-finned eel (Anguilla australis), enables the Gunditjmara to create new knowledge exchanges between them and technology providers. For example, in 2018, in partnership with GHCMA 77, the Arthur Rylah Institute and GMTOAC, the kuyang migration journey was mapped to New Caledonia in the Coral Sea, over 3000 kms away, by placing satellite trackers on the eels (Arthur Rylah Institue, 2019). Budj Bim Ranger Leigh Boyer describes the process in Figure 4-42: 74F … [O]nce a month a tracker would pop off the back of the eel, float to the surface and we’d get a satellite … read[ing] …eels will live in the freshwater system, moving up and down … between the ages of 6 – 26 years … they feel the need to go out into the ocean to spawn … the first full moon in April is traditionally when they would exit the freshwater system …, a couple of months before that they gorge themselves ... and they don’t eat … in the open ocean … it’s a one way trip … they die … then the baby eels they get caught in the East Australian Current … they will float down there, they can sense … fresh water coming out into the ocean and they will turn and come back up and then spend the next 6 - 26 years in the fresh water system. Figure 4-42: Migration of the kuyang. Source: (GHCMA, 2020). 76 77 James Dawson’s spelling used as source was online audio-visual content. GHCWA – Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 104 These different lifecycle stages of the kuyang are seen in Figure 4-43 and the migratory route to the Coral Sea is shown in Figure 4-44. Figure 4-43: The life cycle of the anguillid eel, including the short-finned eel (Henkel, 2012). Figure 4-44: Computer generated distribution map of the kuyang (Scarponi, 2018). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 105 Complimenting the mapping of the kuyang is the mapping of Country. Mapping Country is not the conventional Western method that highlights resource exploitation but has a cultural mapping focus. Technology used includes drones from above, and LiDAR (laser) to map terrain 78 . Questionnaire responder, MO45-54#56, describes other ways of culturally mapping Country, through cultural flows: 75F … in partnership … through Barengi Gadjin [Gunditjmara’s northern neighbours] … to get people out on Country and to back that up with technology (see GHCMA, n.d.-b). Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation The Gunditjmara have also worked in collaboration with Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA), Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP), and Budj Bim Rangers through Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation (WMAC) on a revegetation program (WMAC, 2018). Budj Bim Ranger Leigh Boyer states, there was ‘little remnant vegetation’ when the Tyrendarra IPA land was ‘purchased’ in 2003 after being a cattle farm (GHCMA, 2020). The program is about regaining the former (pre-invasion) flora and fauna. Since its implementation, the Budj Bim Rangers planted 7000 trees. Other collaborative WMAC programs are seen in Figure 4-45. The Lake Condah Sustainable Development Project The Bessiebelle Sheepwash & Yards Restoration Project The Budj Bim Eco Village Feasibility Project The Budj Bim Trails Project Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area Management Action Plan 2019-2022 Kooreelah Plan of Management 2021-2025 Weeyn Yarkeen Strategy Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) Fire Management Plan 2020-2022 Figure 4-45: Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation collaborative projects and programs on Gunditjmara Country (Johnson, 2008, 7). Budj Bim Ranger Ben Church describes the benefits of collaborating when caring for Self and Country through ‘cultural burning’. We’ve: 78 See Figure 5-31. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 106 … been able to tap into our traditional knowledge which is really important for us to help build on our identity as Gunditjmara … sharing of knowledge … working together to achieve our outcomes, for us to achieve our cultural outcomes is very important and the environmental outcomes of course is very important to us as well (GHCMA, 2020). Denis Lovett, former GMTOAC chairperson, reiterates the importance of working in collaboration: … sustainable land management from Traditional Owners is something that private land owners gunna [sic] have to come and listen to because we can’t keep going the way we’re going, the whole of Australia can’t keep going with climate change, … it’s not going to go away, this is not a drought, … rains not gunna [sic] come back the same level it did 10 –20 years ago … (in Mackenzie, 2020). In terms of being the only aquaculture system in Victoria, Budj Bim/Tae’rak proves to be the most complicated and large scale that is still in existence. Budj Bim Ranger Leigh Boyer states: Major Mitchell [an early explorer] noticed wooden fish traps … on the eastern side of Gariwerd [Grampians] … plus some of the early settler’s reports talk about seeing wooden weirs right across Australia … to suggest that Gunditjmara people were the only ones practising aquaculture, I don’t think that’s accurate at all, but ours is still here. Figure 4-46: Reconstruction of a thatched wooden weir to catch kuyang (GHCMA, 2020). Figure 4-46 shows a yere.roc (weir) in situ, while Figure 4-47 demonstrates how a gnarraban (eel basket) diverts kuyang into the basket where they can easily be collected. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 107 Figure 4-47: Leigh Boyer, Budj Bim ranger, shows how a gnarraban is placed within a stone weir structure (GHCMA, 2020). Figure 4-48: The new Keeping Place on the old Condah Mission site (GMTOAC in, Wright, 2020). Inset photo taken earlier in construction (Nicholson-Bux, 2020a). Also see (Nicholson Construction, 2021). Compare with Figure 4-78. To compliment tourist ventures, a Traditional Aquaculture Tourist Centre was planned. Currently, GMTOAC are also creating culturally safe places for exclusive use by the Gunditjmara and invited guests. The Gunditj Mirring Place Project includes plans for Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 108 a non-commercial Keeping Place at Lake Condah Mission site (Figure 4-48)79. MO4554#56 states that stage 1 consists of funding (AU$41 million) from their native title settlement in 2007. The Keeping Place will house priceless Gunditjmara cultural items held in collections around the world as well as the precious Lake Condah possum skin cloak 80. According to Damein Bell, CEO 81 of GMTOAC, six Gunditjmara men made the cloak in the 1860s. It was then given away as a gift, and is currently housed at Museum Victoria in Melbourne, but the GMTOAC hope to regain possession of it (in, Mackenzie, 2020)82. The building is designed to honour the structure of the ancient stone houses found throughout the Budj Bim 83. However, as the new Keeping Place was being planned, some Gunditjmara were opposed to the proposal, as Senior Gunditjmara Elder, Aunty Eunice Wright states: 76F 7F 78 F Out of respect for my family, I’m trying to protect the mission and, as we were the last family there, I will not stop fighting for that mission to be left as it is (Martinich, 2015). This strong bond to culture guides how the Gunditjmara protects their cultural narrative. For example, at time of writing, GMTOAC were in the process of creating a memorial at the site of the Convincing Ground Massacre 84. Gunditjmara people have also fought for many generations for the right to express their identity without limitation and to be on their Country. One way that this has been recognised on a legal scale is native title. 79F 4.9 Native title The right of ‘legal possession’ of First Nation land by First Nation Peoples prior to invasion was not formally recognised in Australia until 1993 when the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) was passed. The Act came into existence due to the efforts of Eddie Koiki Mabo, a Torres Strait Islander 85 man and others who fought to disprove the fallacy of terra nullius (land owned by no one) which the invader entity of ‘Australia’ was ‘founded’ on. This fight took ten years, from 1982–1992, and eventually led to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) being passed the following year. The Mabo Case challenged the existing outdated Australian legal system from two angles: 80F • On the assumption that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had no concept of land ownership before the arrival of British colonisers in 1788. 79 During final drafting of thesis, both the Keeping Place and Aquaculture Centre opened. See: https://www.budjbim.com.au/about-us/infrastructure/ https://www.architecture.com.au/archives/awards/gunditj-mirring-keeping-place-business-centrephillips-pilkington-architects 80 See Figure 3-1. 81 At time of writing. 82 During final drafting has been returned to the Gunditjmara and housed in their new Keeping Place. 83 See Figure 4-77. 84 See Figure 3-40. 85 Islands north of Queensland and included in the Commonwealth of Australia. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 109 • That sovereignty delivered complete ownership of all land in the new Colony to the Crown, abolishing any existing rights that many have existed previously. (AIATSIS, n.d-d) Section 223 of the Act defines native title as: (1) The expression native title or native title rights and interests means the communal, group or individual rights and interests of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders in relation to land or waters, where: • (a) the rights and interests are possessed under the traditional laws acknowledged, and the traditional customs observed, by the Aboriginal peoples or Torres Strait Islanders; and • (b) the Aboriginal peoples or Torres Strait Islanders, by those laws and customs, have a connection with the land and waters; and • (c) the rights and interests are recognised by the common law of Australia. To aid in the protection of these ‘rights and interests’, s 3 of the Act sets out its main objectives seen in Figure 4-49: (a) to provide for the recognition and protection of native title; and (b) to establish ways in which future dealings affecting native title may proceed and to set standards for those dealings; and (c) to establish a mechanism for determining claims to native title; and (d) to provide for, or permit, the validation of past acts, and intermediate period acts, invalidated because if the existence of native title. Figure 4-49: Native title ‘rights and interests’. Supporting the successful native title of Mabo, the Wik and Timber Creek decisions also backed custodial and compensation rites (Figure 4-50): Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 110 Mabo 1992 •recognised the rights of Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of the land Wik 1996 •Clarified the nature of native title rights on pastural leases in mainland Australia Timber Creek 2016 •Provides new diection for asserting compensation ... where land rights have been impaired or extinguised ... monetary value ... to the loss of native title rights and interests. Figure 4-50: Mabo, Wik and Timber Creek custodial rights recognised (Planning Institute Australia, 2019). One of the most notable Victorian native title claims following the passing of the Act was the Gunditjmara native title consent determination. The Gunditjmara and Eastern Maar are both connected through Apical Ancestors, but they operate under two separate legal entities in relation to associated native title applications and negotiations. The Gunditjmara and Eastern Maar are governed by each of their Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBC), Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC) and Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC). Both received native title determinations in 2007-Part A (GMTOAC), and in 2011-Part B (EMAC) 86. 81F Native title determination a decision by a court, or recognised state or territory body that native title does or does not exist in an area Consent determination There are two different ways that a native title case can be finalised, one is litigation through the court (native title determination) and one is through mediation (consent determination) as seen in Figure 4-51. can be made if all parties reach an agreement about native title through mediation Figure 4-51: The differences between a native title determination and a consent determination. Source: (NNTT, 2007b). 86 Both seen in Figure 4-59. A full map of native title determinations Australia wide is attached as Appendix I. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 111 The process of consent determinations was encouraged by the passing of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic), which allows for more native title cases to be decided out of court. According to Part 1 (1) of the Act, the purpose of the Act is to recognise Traditional Owners/Custodians cultural connections to their land (Figure 4-52): (a) providing for the making of agreements between the State and traditional owner groups – • (i) to recognise the traditional owner rights and to confer rights on traditional owner groups as to access to or ownership or management of certain public land; and • (ii) as to decision making rights and other rights that may be exercised in relation to the use and development of the land or natural resources on the land; and (b) making any amendments to other Acts that are necessary to ensure the agreements are effective; and (c) making any related and consequential amendments to other Acts. Figure 4-52: Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic) recognising cultural connections to land. A recognition and settlement agreement (RSA) according to the Act Part 2 s 4-8 lists an RSA where a Minister may enter into agreements within recognition settlement agreements such as, • • • • Land agreements Land use activity agreements Funding agreements Natural resource agreements Part 2, s 9 lists the Traditional Owner/Custodian rights under the Act. A Recognition and Settlement Agreement (RSA) may, in relation to land that is the subject of the agreement, provide for the recognition of rights of traditional owner group in relation to any one or more points seen in (Figure 4-53): Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 112 (a) the enjoyment of the culture and identity of the traditional owner group (b) the maintenance of a distinctive spiritual, material and economic relationship with the land and the natural resources on or depending in the land (c) the ability to access and remain on the land (d) the ability to camp on the land (e) the ability to use and enjoy the land (f) the ability to take natural resources on or depending on the land (g) the ability to conduct cultural and spiritual activities on the land (h) the protection of places and areas of importance on the land Figure 4-53: Recognition and Settlement Agreement (RSA), recognition of rights. The decision of entering an agreement with Traditional Owners/Custodians falls on the State Government. The Gunnai people under Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC), on the 22nd of October 2010, entered into an agreement under TOSA on the same day. However, according to the Act Part 2 s10, further applications (s61) must be ceded to enter into an agreement: (a) for the purposes of the settlement of any application of a kind listed in the Table to section 61 of the Native Title Act or in which the traditional owner group agrees not to make an application of that kind. Section 61 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) lists the three applications as: • • • Native title determination application Revised native title determination application Compensation application A Traditional Owner Settlement Agreement (TOSA) can include: • • • • A Recognition and Settlement Agreement to recognise a traditional owner group and certain traditional owner rights over Crown land. a Land Agreement which provides for grants of land in freehold title for cultural or economic purposes, or as Aboriginal title to be jointly managed in partnership with the state. a Land Use Activity Agreement which allows traditional owners to comment on or consent to certain activities on public land. a Funding Agreement to enable traditional owner corporations to manage their obligations and undertake economic development activities. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 113 • a Natural Resource Agreement to recognise traditional owner’s rights to take and use specific natural resources and provide input into the management of land and natural resources. (Department of Justice and Community Safety, 2010) Although this process is more streamlined, it in effect extinguishes any future native title claims for that area. However, it may be beneficial in terms of faster joint management opportunities. TOSAs were in response to the early native title cases mitigated through the courts taking many years to finalise, with several of the original claimants passing away. In New South Wales some claims take up to 18 years for land rights (Breen, 2015) and 20 years for newly added water rights (MacKenzie, 2017). These delays are also the case for the Gunditjmara who lodged six native title applications between 30th August 1996 and 12th of May 1999 under the name Gournditch-Mara, with amendments being consented to by the State and approved by the Federal Court on the 9th of July 1999 (NNTT, 1999, 2). Final native title consent determinations were granted in 2007 (Part A) and 2011 (Part B). Gunditjmara ‘founding ancestors’ as defined for native title proposes are those who ‘are descended from the community of indigenous people occupying the claimed area at the time of proclamation of Sovereignty in 1788’ (NNTT, 2011b, 2). Gunditjmara and Eastern Marr descendants of their ‘founding ancestors’ are listed in Figure 4-54. (a) the Gunditjmara people, who are the descendants of the following persons who identify as Gunditjmara: Jenny Green (Alberts), Timothy James Arden, Barbara Winter, Mary (mother of James Egan), Billy Gorrie, May (wife of Billy Gorrie), Willi[am] King, Hannah (wife of William King), James Lancaster, Susannah McDonald (Lovett), James McKinnon and Mary, Eliza Mitchell (Saunders), John Henry Rose, Lucy Sutton, James Sutton and Mary, Louisa (mother of Agnes and Alex Taylor), and Andrew Winter; and (b) the Eastern Maar peoples, who are those descendants, including by adoption, of the following persons, who identify as being from the eastern domain of the Maar speaking people and are recognized as being from the eastern domain by the Maar people: King of Port Fairy and Eliza; Old Jack (father of John Dawson); Charlie and Alice (parents of Albert Austin); Samuel Robinson and Mary Caramut; Lizzie (mother of Frank Clarke); Robert and Lucy (parents of Alice Dixon); Barney Minimalk; Nellie Whiturboin; Louisa (mother of William Rawlings). Figure 4-54: Gunditjmara and Eastern Marr descendants. Source: (NNTT, 2011b). Figure 4-55 lists the six combined Gunditjmara native title applications that were accepted on the 9th of July 1999. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 114 Application number(s) Application name •VID6004/98, VC96/3 •VIC6010/98, VC97/8 •VID6022/98, VC98/1 •VID6037/98, DC98/16 •VID6038/98, VC98/17 •VIC6004, VC99/4 •Gournditch-Mara •Gournditch-Mara #2 •Gournditch-Mara #3 •Gournditch-Mara #4 •Gournditch-Mara #5 •Gournditch-Mara #6 Date application lodged/filled •30/08/1996 •27/03/1997 •29/01/1998 •17/08/1998 •17/08/1998 •12/05/1999 Figure 4-55: The six Gunditjmara native title registration claims that were combined (NNTT, 2008, 15-16). Before these native title applications were combined certain conditions had to first be met (Figure 4-56). According to the Delegate of the Registrar: … the application does not meet certain conditions of the registration test, namely the procedural conditions found at ss 62(2)(a), (b) & (c), as imposed by s 190C(2), and the merit conditions at ss 190B(2) and 190B(3) (NNTT, 2006, 5). s 62(2)(a) • information, whether by physical description or otherwise, that enables the boundaries of: • i. the area covered by the application area; and • ii. any areas within those boundaries that are not covered by the application to be identified s 62(2)(b) • ... a map showing the boundaries of the area mentioned in subparagraph (a)(i) s 62(2)(c) • … details and results of all searches carried out to determine non-native title rights and interests s 190C(2) • the application must contain all details and other information required by ss 61 and 62 s 190B(2) • … the application does not contain information that enables the boundaries of the areas covered by the application to be identified and a map showing those boundaries, as required by s 62(2)(a) and (b). s 190B(3) • … not all of the descendants of the founding ancestors in the application are included. Figure 4-56: Conditions that had to be met to combine native title application (in NNTT, 2006, 68, 14). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 115 After all requirements were fulfilled, a Gunditjmara native title application was registered, which allowed them to put in a native title claim. Gunditjmara’s first successful native title consent determination was finally ‘granted’ in two parts, Part A in 2007 and Part B in 2011. Both applications Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara people v State of Victoria and Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara People v State of Victoria (No 5), accepted that ‘native title exists in parts of the determination area.’ Part A (Figure 4-57) native title consent determination was reached on the 30th March 2007 and registered on the 4th April 2007 and Part B (Figure 4-58) was determined on the 27th July 2011 and registered on the 3rd August 2011 (NNTT, 2007c, NNTT, 2007a, NNTT, 2011a, NNTT, 2011c) The boundaries of both Parts A and B are outlined in Figure 4-59. Figure 4-57: Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara people v State of Victoria (Part A), aqua outline. Adapted by author. Source: (NNTT, n.d-b). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 116 Figure 4-58: Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara People v State of Victoria (No 5) (Part B), aqua areas. Adapted by author. Source: (NNTT, n.d.-b). Figure 4-59: Boundaries of Part A and B consent determination areas (Department of Justice and Regulation, 2011, 1). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 117 Figure 4-60: Map of Gunditjmara Country, showing areas where it has been ‘determined’ native title does and does not exist, including GMTOAC native title area (Part A) and EMAC native title area (Part B). Part A and Part B boundaries are defined in Figure 4-59. Adapted from source. Source: (NNTT, 2020c). Native title recognises the traditional rights, connections, and interests of Traditional Custodians of parcels of land and waters. Figure 4-60 shows examples where native title has been ‘determined’ across Southwest Victoria. Applicants must prove that they are Traditional Custodians to the claimed area, through bloodlines (genealogies), including its lands and waters. This is termed as ‘interests’ in the Act. However, in the case of the Eastern Maar, the Delegate of the Registrar states those who are ‘adopted and raised’ as Eastern Maar have the same rights over their claim area (NNTT, 2011b, 2). Maps of the application area are also required to support applications. According to Section 190B (3), of the Act: … the Native Title Registrar must be satisfied that the information and map contained in the application … are sufficient for it to be said with reasonable certainty whether native title rights and interests are claimed in relation to particular land and waters. Section 62(2)(a) and (b) of the Act in reference to maps of Country states: (a) information, whether by physical description or otherwise, that enables the boundaries of: • (i) the area covered by the application; and • (ii) any areas within those boundaries that are not covered by the application to be identified. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 118 (b) a map showing the boundaries of the area mentioned in subparagraph (a)(i). Section 190B (5) of the Act: The Native Title Registrar must be satisfied that the factual basis on which it is asserted that the native title rights and interests claimed exist is sufficient to support the assertation. In particular, the factual basis must support the following assertions: • (a) that the native title claim group have, and the predecessors of those persons had, an association with the area, and • (b) that there exist traditional laws acknowledged by, and traditional customs overserved by, the native title claim group that give rise to the claim to native title rights and interest, and • (c) that the native title claim group have continued to hold the native title in accordance with those traditional laws and customs. Figure 4-61: The extended time periods it takes for native title outcomes under the mitigation process (Tan, 2015). Litigated native title processes usually take many years to process as indicated in Figure 4-61. When comparing state by state, seen in Figure 4-63 most determinations were only ‘granted’ in part (only sections of land/sea of the applications), with very small percentages ‘proven’ with native tile rights ‘granted’. This is most likely hindered due to conflicting parties/stakeholders such as recreational users, farmers, mining (ranging from large multimillion-dollar scale to small gold mining), fishing, energy resource providers, flora and fauna conservation groups, harness racing clubs and resorts (NNTT, 2020b). However, by using the consent determination model, Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 119 enables not only the Traditional Custodian applicants but also the other parties/stakeholders to take part in a mediation process. Figure 4-62: Native title outcomes by state in 201587. Source: (Tan, 2015) Figure 4-63 shows the different applications, while Figure 4-64 shows determinations and agreements, objections and outcomes that come under the native title umbrella as of the 7th of October 2020. Native title applications are those made by Traditional Custodians of land and sea applying for their native title rights. Future Act applications are those where the Native Title Tribunal decide if a future act should be applied, which: … attracting the right to negotiate may be done, subject to conditions, or must not be done … In most cases, parties reach agreement about the future act and do not need to seek a determination. Future act determinations are a last resort for parties who cannot reach an agreement’ (NNTT, n.d.-a). 87 Current at time of writing. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 120 Native title applications (TOTAL 232) Future Act applications (TOTAL 454) Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) lodged (TOTAL 14) •Claimant (Total 29) •Compensation (Total 11) •Revised native title determination (Total 5) •Future act objection (Total 395) •- s 150 conference (objection) (Total 4) •Future act mediation (s 31) (Total 52) •Future act determination application (FADA) (Total 7) •- s 150 conference (FADA) (Total 0) •Lodged for registration (Total 9) •Accepted for notification (Total 2) •In notification (Total 2) •Notification ended - objection lodged (Total 1) Figure 4-63: Current native title applications as at 7th October 2020 (NNTT, 2020d). Register of Native Title Claims (RNTC) Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) National Native Title Register (NNTR) Native title determinations made by a court or other recognised body Existence of Native Title •Total claims on register - 132 •Total ILUAs on the register - 1347 •Native title exists in the entire determination are or in part of the determination area - 406 •Native title does not exist in the entire determination area - 86 •Total determinations on register - 492 •Consent determination - 404 •Litigated determination - 53 •Unopposed determination - 49 •Includes number of dterminations not yet in effect - 8 •Includes number of determinations in appeal process - 2 •TOTAL - 506 •Native title exists in the entire determination area or in part of the determination area - 420 •Native title does not exist in the entire determination area - 86 •TOTAL - 506 Figure 4-64: Current native title determinations as at 7th October 2020 (NNTT, 2020d). According to Lovett on behalf of the Gunditjmara People v State of Victoria (No 5) [2011] FCA 932, (s 225) paragraph 5, under the consent determination, the Gunditjmara and Eastern Maar have the native title rights on Crown land and waters as follows: • Access to or enter and remain on the land and waters • Camp on the land and waters landward of the high-water mark of the sea Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 121 • Use and enjoy the land and waters • Take the resources of the land and waters; and • Protect places and areas of importance on the land and waters. Native Title Registers holds applications for native title with outcomes yet to be reached, and those that have been finalised. Native title determinations that have been finalised are those where native title has been established. Existence of native title can be proven either in part or in full over a claimed area. Part of native title negotiations are Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs). ILUAs are voluntary agreements between a native title group and other stakeholders about the use of land and waters. GMTOAC entered an ILUA over Tae'rak on the 31st October 2007, for the purposes of transferring land to GMTOAC as freehold (ATNS, 2020). An ILUA can be: • over areas where native title has, or has not yet, been determined • entered into regardless of whether there is a native title claim over an area or not • part of a native title determination or settled separately from a native title claim ILUAs can cover topics such as: • native title holders agreeing to a future development • how native title rights coexist with the rights of other people • access to an area • extinguishment of native title • compensation • employment and economic opportunities for native title groups • cultural heritage • mining Figure 4-65: Description of what an ILUA is and can include. Source: (NNTT, n.d-a). Figure 4-65 shows what ILUA’s are and what they can cover, Figure 4-66 shows the current ILUA areas for the GMTOAC and EMAC. For Australia-wide ILUA map see Appendix N. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 122 Figure 4-66: GMTOAC and EMAC ILUA areas. Circle added by author. Source: (NNTT, 2020a). Tribunal No. VI2010/001 • Name: Gunditj Mirring non-Extinguishment Principle ILUA • Lodged : 22nd January 2010 • Registered : 30th March 2010 • Type: Body Corporate • Applicant: The State of Victoria • Area km²: 1323.05 VI205/002 • Name: Gunditjmara – SEAGAS Port Campbell VIC to Torrens Island SA Pipeline ILUA • Lodged: 22nd April 2015 • Registered: 25th August 2015 • Type: Body Corporate • Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC) • Area km²: 1372.18 VI2005/006 • • • • • • Gournditch Mara and Essential Petroleum Resources Ltd Lodged: 5th July 2006 Registered: 30th January 2007 Type: Area Agreement Gunditjmara Native Title Group Area km²: 1723.01 Figure 4-67: The three Gunditjmara Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) (NNTT, 2020b). ILUAs can exist where a native title determination has been ‘granted’. Having both enables the Gunditjmara (Figure 4-67) to have an integral role in managing their ten properties across the Budj Bim landscape. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 123 4.10 National heritage registration Figure 4-68: Kuyang (eel) in Killara (Darlots Creek). Source: (Perkins, 2019). Budj Bim, a dormant volcano, created the physical and cultural landscape around it by erupting over 30,000 years ago, forming wetlands as the lava blocked the waterways, eventually entering the sea at Portland Bay. This ‘new’ landscape formation was witnessed by the Gunditjmara 88. They also took advantage of the changed landscape by engineering stone structures for homes, weirs, and channels for the farming the kuyang (Figure 4-68). Designing this sophisticated aquaculture system enabled the Gunditjmara to have sustenance in one area all year round, debunking the widely accepted myth of a nomadic lifestyle. The ongoing significance and connection to the Budj Bim landscape by the Gunditjmara has been recognised on a state level by the Heritage Council of Victoria: 82F For the Gunditjmara, many of the cultural systems and connections with the landscape are directly tied to the unique natural values of the landscape … continuity of attachment to the area that Gunditjmara have maintained in spite of repeated attempts at dispossession (2010). This connection has persisted through conflict over different philosophies of ‘possession’, firstly by the initial invaders and squatters, to ‘legally’ through the courts with native title. Country has also survived. George Augustus Robinson, Chief Protector for Aborigines between 1839 and 1849, travelled extensively throughout Victoria to many First Nation communities (Figure 4-69) to record their ‘situation’ or ‘status’. By the time he got to Western Victoria in 1841, many Gunditjmara were being murdered, and mistreated, especially the woman. However, he provides glimpses of the physical landscape of parts of Gunditjmara Country two years after it was ‘settled’: 88 Discussed in Section 6.3 Population movements over time. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 124 … 20 miles from the bay at Port Fairy. The country from the bay to Kilgower’s [Station] is an entire forest of banksia, mimosa, stringy bark, lightwood, gum, cherry. The trees are pretty closely studded and the land is well grassed (Robinson, 1841, 162). Figure 4-69: ‘G.A. Robinson’s journey through the Western District 20 March to 15 August 1841.’ Source: (in Presland, 1980, 203). As Robinson travelled north from Portland he also observed: … flat and thickly timbered country and at six miles from the Fitzroy [Pol.ler.wor.rer-Fitzroy River] came to a muddy creek called the ‘first river’, [Poter.run/Po.ter.run-Surrey River] it being the first from Portland Bay … For three miles after leaving the first river the country is flat and scrubby and abounding in small grass trees: xantharia [Xanthorrhoea australis] (1841, 205206, 229). The recognition of Gunditjmara Country beyond its aesthetic beauty, and how it could be exploited, is its cultural beauty. Along Robinson’s journey he came across evidence of the long-practised engineering of the waterways. On April 30, 1841, he reached: … the camp of the natives at [blank] on the Port Fairy River. Saw a large quantity of wattle trees on my way which the Port Fairy people have stripped. Two miles from the native camp, came to a part of the river where there was a large were [weir] for catching eels (1841, 162). Robinson describes another weir on the Hopkins River, pictured in Figure 4-70: This were [weir] was made of stout sticks, from 2–3 inches thick drove into the ground and vertically fixed, and other interlaced in a horizontal manner. A hole Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 125 left in the centre and a long eel pot [arrabine/ngarraban 89] of basket or matting is placed before it and into which the eels gather and are thus taken. It is probable that two or three such pots are set in large weres [weirs]. This were [weir] must have been 100 yards long, [just over 90 m] at least, and made with wings or corner pieces at the ends … (1841, 145). 83F Figure 4-70: A weir observed on the Hopkins River, ‘… made by blackfellows for catching eels when the big water came …’ (1841, 145). Further along in Robinson’s journey, he describes another yere.roc or weir (Figure 4-71): … 200 feet [61 m] and five feet [1.5 m] high, ‘It was turned back at each end and two or three holes in the middle was left for placing the eel pots [arrabine/gnarraban] and also one at each end (1841, 163). Figure 4-71: ‘front of a yere.roc or were [weir] and eel pot or arrabine[gnarraban90]’ (Robinson, 1841, 177). 84 The scale and robustness of these weirs indicates that they would have helped sustain high numbers of people for long periods of time. To ‘base’ these weirs, the plentiful basaltic rocks were utilised to create causesways and stone weirs. The arrabine/gnarraban used to fill the holes (seen in Figure 4-72) were elongated, and cylindical having a large opening where the kuyang swim through into the small end where they were caught by hand. 89 90 James Dawson’s spelling ‘gnarraban’, reference both throughout thesis. Robinson’s spelling, ‘arrabine; Dawsons spelling ‘gnarraban’. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 126 Figure 4-72: ‘arrabine[gnarraban] 7 feet [eel trap]’ (Robinson, 1841, 178). Figure 4-73: ‘Back of a yere.roc’ 91 (weir). Source: (Robinson, 1841, 163, 178). 85F Figure 4-73 shows the circles where the arrabine/gnarraban are placed. The yere.roc covers the whole width of the channel so the eels and fish are forced to swim into the baskets. In 2010, GMTOAC and Glenelg Hopkins Water Catchment Authority (GHWCA) collaborated to help restore Tae’rak by installing a remotely operated weir (Figure 4-74) through a surface water monitoring gauge on Killara (Darlot’s creek) to maintain water levels (GHCMA, n.d.-a). Figure 4-75 shows a contemporary yere.roc with the arrabine/gnarraban in situ and the wide weave of the front of the net to fasten it in place and to corral the eels through directly. Figure 4-74: The remotely operated weir installed in 2010 on Darlots Creek with a surface water monitoring gauge to maintain water levels. Circle added by author. Source: (GHCMA, n.d.-a, GHCMA, 2021). 91 Robinson’s spelling. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 127 Figure 4-75: Gunditjmara young men Tyson Lovett-Murray and Sean Bell with an arrabine/gnarraban in situ at Tyrendarra IPA. Source: (Bell, 2010). A further design feature of the yere-roc to aid the corralling of the eels was to build it in a convex position against the current as seen in Figure 4-76. Robinson explains further the complexity of their construction: These yere.roc … are built with some attention to the principles of mechanics. Those erected on a rocky bottom have the sticks inserted in a grove made by removing the small stones so as to form a grove. The weir is kept in a straightline [sic]. The small stones are laid against the bottom of the stick. The upright sticks are supported by transverse sticks, resting on forked sticks … These sticks are three, four or five inches in diameter. Some of the smaller weirs are in the form of a segment of a circle. The convex side against the current… (1841, 163). Figure 4-76: An example of a yere.roc with its ‘… convex side against the current...’ (1841, 163, 178). Associated with the ancient channels, weirs, and ponds that were all made by hand are permanent housing structures. These contructions were built to house more than a few people and allowed them to stand-up inside. Figure 4-77 and Figure 4-78 (reconstructed version Figure 4-79) describes large and numerous family dwellings: Observed by William Thomas in 1858: Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 128 ... settlement was about 50 miles NE of Port Fairy, There was ... between 20 and 30 huts in the form of a beehive, ... some of them capable of holding a dozen people. These huts were about 6 feet high ... about 10' in diameter, an opening about 3 feet 6 inches high, ... an aperture at the top 8 or 9 inches to let out the smoke ... These buildings were all made of a circular form, ... covered in mud, they would bear the weight of a man on them with no injury. These blacks made various well constructed dams in the creek ... [sic] (in Gerritsen, 2011, 7) Figure 4-77: Sketch of beehive like residences. Source: (Thomas, c. 1840) Figure 4-78: Panoramic view of, Lake Condah ‘villages’. Source: (Thomas, c. 1840) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 129 Figure 4-79: Contemporary (reconstructed) ‘stone huts’ covered in earth, Tyrendarra IPA (GHCMA, n.d.-a) These large-scale engineering feats were all completed by manual labour, with no equipment except a sharpened stick as described by Robinson: These works must have been executed at great cost of labor [sic] … the only means of artificial power being the lever, the application and inventive of which force being necessary. This lever is a stick chisel, sharpened at one end, by which force they threw up clods of soil and thus formed trenches, smoothing the water channel with their hands. The soil displaced went to form the embankment … (1841, 308). Gunditjmara man Tyson Lovett-Murray has another perspective of using fire, describing: … the way that the mobs built the channels was they cut into the bedrock, they’d light up a fire, they’d move all the lose rock out, they’d light up a fire, heat up the bedrock get another rock and smash it down and chip away at it … (Melbourne University, 2019b). Figure 4-80 shows Condah Swamp that flows into Tae’rak before it was drained for farming and flood prevention between 1883 and 1954. However, a major flood occurred in 1946: … that greatly affected the southwest region, a larger drain was constructed along the Condah Swamp from Branxholme to and through Lake Condah. The works were completed in 1954 and connected the drain to the spring at the Lake Condah Mission that flowed into Darlots Creek (GMTOAC, n.d-d). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 130 Figure 4-80: Earliest mapping of Tae'rak and Condah Swamp before first phase of draining for farming purposes, drawn by surveyor Alexander Ingram in 1893 based on observations in 1883 (in Richards, 2011, 67). The draining process of Condah Swamp took place in intervals over many decades (1887-1954). Gunditjmara burials were uncovered during this time. According to Ingram in the Hamilton Spectator 1892: … at nearly ten miles [16 kms] from Lake Condah, a quantity of human bones and a stone implement were found at a depth of over six feet from the surface of the ground … This portion of the swamp, excepting the small patch where the remains were found … is covered with dense Ti-tree [sic] scrub, and it is evident that the place where the remains were found, and a high piece of ground adjacent, were islands many years ago 92 (1892, 3). 86F Figure 4-80 also highlights that the weir system was only active during wetter months, with the southwest section of Tae’rak being dry in summer holding three to four feet (91–121cms) of water after ‘heavy rain’: Ingram clearly indicates the seasonal nature of the fishery – the outlet area is dry in summer and the barrier dam overflowed in winter. Water was only in the system during ‘floods’… (Richards, 2011, 76). 92 Richards (2011) notes Ingram as the author of this article. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 131 The four structures indicated on the map include stone weirs where the arrabine/gnarraban were placed to ‘trap’ the eels, channels to train the flow of water, and ‘low wing walls’ to guide the eels and fish (Richards, 2011, 67). Further investigations to locate this system of structures was completed in 2004 (Figure 4-81) by Richards with: … members of the Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation [WMAC], under the direction of [Gunditjmara man] Daryl Rose, cleared th[e] vegetation … revealing this system to be considerably more extensive than recorded by Ingram (Richards, 2011, 78). Figure 4-81: Current image of the eel channel structures illustrated in Ingram’s map in Figure 4-81. Note: Further channels were rediscovered in the aftermath of the 2020 fires that swept through the Budj Bim Landscape. Source: (Richards, 2011, 78). Also working alongside the Gunditjmara is Ian McNiven, Professor of Indigenous Archaeology at Monash University, who has studied the Budj Bim landscape for many years (McNiven, 2017a, McNiven, 2017b, McNiven, 2012, David, 2006, Russell, 2010, McNiven, 2015) and whose research assisted in the recognition nationally of the significance of the Budj Bim cultural landscape and Gunditjmara culture. This came after what McNiven and Bell describe as the ‘prevailing European views on ancient Aboriginal history … [being] … dominated by notions of chronological shallowness and cultural stasis’ (McNiven, 2010, 83). Part of this cultural landscape is a manipulated landscape to accommodate a sophisticated aquaculture system to harvest kuyang. According to Head, these channel systems may have been operational 8000 years ago but are more likely associated with water levels of the past 2000 years (Head, Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 132 1989, 114). McNiven’s research at the Muldoon’s complex of Tae’rak indicates that the construction of the channels and weirs was staggered (Figure 4-82). McNiven estimates the Gunditjmara population numbered at least 3000-4000 people with population densities that were some of the highest in Australia (ABC, 2013). >6600 cal BP • Basalt lava flow bedrock ≥ 6600 cal BP • Bedrock removal and channel formation 6600 cal BP • Infilling of lower channel with flood sediments 600-800 cal BP • Channel wall construction with basalt blocks 300-800 cal BP • Further infilling of channel with flood sediments 300 cal BP • Bedrock excavation and additions to channel walls <300 cal BP • Further infilling of channel with flood sediments Figure 4-82: Phases of channel ‘F10’ construction and infilling. Monash University students are shown at Muldoon’s Trap Complex in Figure 4-83. Source: (McNiven, 2012, 283). The importance of being included on the National Heritage Register is highlighted by Gunditjmara Elder Uncle Kenny Saunders, who declares that the cultural legacy remains embedded in Country, ‘That’s that cultural spiritual footprint that is still here on this country and so very, very, very much alive’ (ABC, 2013). Figure 4-83 shows Monash Archaeology students learning cultural values of the Muldoon’s Trap Complex. Figure 4-83: Damein Bell (left), Prof. Ian McNiven (right), and Monash University students, Muldoon’s Trap Complex, Tae’rak, 2007. Author wearing hat (Wettenhall, 2010, 22). Photo: Ian McNiven. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 133 To be placed on the National Heritage Register, criterion need to be fulfilled to prove that a place has ‘outstanding’ heritage value to the nation and of importance to the Australian community as a whole (DAWE, n.d.-b). The Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape – Mt Eccles Lake Condah Area was listed on the Australian Heritage list in 2004 (DAWE, n.d.-a, Heritage Council of Victoria, 2010, Commonwealth of Australia, 2004b, Commonwealth of Australia, 2004a, GMTOAC, n.d-a). It includes ancient and modern connections, seen by the inclusion of the Lake Condah Mission in the registration. It understood that even though people have been displaced, their unbreakable connections remain. The Mission land was ‘returned’ to the Gunditjmara people in 1987 under the Aboriginal Land (Lake Condah and Framlingham Forest) Act 1987 (Vic). The Australian Heritage Database, describes how Lake Condah Mission was returned: Following the proposal by Alcoa to develop an aluminium smelter at Portland, the Victorian Government decided to return Lake Condah mission to the Aboriginal community in exchange for an agreement to the development of the smelter. However, the Victorian Government was unable to pass the enabling legislation through its Upper House and turned to the Commonwealth for assistance. In a rare example of the Commonwealth using its full constitutional powers granted under the 1967 referendum, the Commonwealth returned the mission to the Gunditj Mara people under the Aboriginal Land (Lake Condah and Framlingham Forest) Act 1987 (Vic) (Australian Heritage Database, 2004). The national heritage listing includes: About 7880ha, 6km south west of Macarthur, comprising Mount Eccles National Park, Stones State Faunal Reserve, Muldoons Aboriginal Land, Allambie Aboriginal Land and Condah Mission (Australian Heritage Database, 2004). The criteria that underpinned Budj Bim’s inscription onto the National Heritage Register are listed in Figure 4-84. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 134 Criterion A (Events and Processes) • Tyrendarra lava flow, base and shelter from frontier conflict Criterion A (Events and Processes) • Eel channels, weirs, stone fish traps • manipulation of wetlands, 1000s of years old • system unique from sytems around Australia: channeling fish into traps • Permanent dwellings/non nomadic • High population densities evidenced through numerous stone houses • provided economic base with leaders and hereditary succession structures • Complicated structure of channels and fish traps when compared to others found elsewhere Criterion B (Rarity) • Lake Condah Mission, rare legal process to return it to the Gunditjmara people through the Commonwealth Government), Aboriginal Land (Lake Condah and Framlingham Forest) Act 1987 Criterion F (Creative or technical achievement) • System of ponds, wetlands, channels, weirs and fish traps by manipulation and modification for short finned eel • Confined to Western Victoria and unique in Australia Criterion I (Indigeneous tradition) • System of ponds, wetlands, channels, weirs and fish traps by manipulation and modification for short finned eel • Confined to Western Victoria and unique in Australia Figure 4-84: Criteria for National Heritage registration of the Budj Bim cultural landscape. Source: (Australian Heritage Database, 2004). The area listed on the National Heritage Register can be seen in Figure 4-85. Thirteen years later on the 20th January 2017, the Budj Bim landscape was added to the World Heritage Tentative List (The Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, 2017, GMTOAC, n.d-e) and eventually on the 6th July 2019 entered onto the UNESCO World Heritage List (DAWE, n.d.-c). Leading up to Budj Bim’s inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Context, a principal heritage consultancy company, was engaged by the Australian Government, in partnership with Aboriginal Victoria (AV) and GMTOAC, to create a full World Heritage nomination dossier, which was lodged with the World Heritage Centre in February 2018 (CONTEXT, n.d-a, Commonwealth of Australia, 2017). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 135 Figure 4-85: The Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape, part of Gunditjmara Country (Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2008). The journey of breathing life back into the lake began in the 1970s and with the construction of the weir in 2010 water began to return and the kuyang trapping systems, for the first time in at least a generation, could be seen working again. Many of the aquatic birds returned including the majestic Kuront (Brolga) (Dawson, 1881, ii). The Lake Condah Restoration Project (LCRP) enabled this to be implemented and directed the way to being recognised state-wide (Heritage Council of Victoria), nationally (National Heritage Register), and internationally (World Heritage List). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 136 4.11 Budj Bim Cultural Landscape added to World Heritage List The Budj Bim landscape incorporates Budj Bim itself (meaning high head), a now dormant 178 m volcano (Figure 4-86 and Figure 4-87), forming the body of the one of the four Gunditjmara Creator Beings, sent by Prenheal the Great Creator Spirit. The scoria forming the volcanic cone erupted forming its teeth (GMTOAC, 2016, Monash University, 2021). Previously known as Mount Eeles, it was officially changed back to its original name, Budj Bim in 2017 following initial consultations in 2012 and a recommendation from the Parks Victoria Ngootyoong Gunditj Ngootyoong Mara South West Management Plan (2015) (discussed in Chapter 1) (NITV, 2017). Figure 4-86: Crater at Budj Bim (Lake Surprise at Mount Eccles). Source: (von Guerard, c. 1860s). Figure 4-87: Crater at Budj Bim today (Lake Surprise at Mount Eccles). Source: (Guy, 2020). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 137 Budj Bim was inscribed for the ‘outstanding universal value’, of its cultural landscape. According to UNESCO, Budj Bim is unique and rare as it is the ‘… world’s most extensive and oldest aquaculture systems’ (2020d). An example of the extent of these structures was highlighted by Coutts and colleagues in the 1970s of a 200-metre-long fish trap channel (Figure 4-88), flagging the interest of academics thereafter. Figure 4-88: A extensive ‘fish trap’ channel mapped by Peter Coutts team at lake Condah. (Coutts, 1978, 17) Before a site can be added to the Word Heritage List, it must pass through five assessment stages (Figure 4-89). For these reasons, inscription on the World Heritage List is a lengthy process. For the Gunditjmara they were placed on the Australian World Heritage Tentative List (initial discussions beginning in 2002), then submitted a formal application in early 2017, which gave them 12 months to submit a formal UNECSO World Heritage List application (GMTOAC, n.d-e). This was completed, and inscription being achieved in July 2019 at Baku, Azerbaijan (Figure 4-90). It was a joint application between the Budj Bim Sustainable Development Partnership, the Australian Government and the Victorian Government (GMTOAC, n.d-b). Uncle Denis Rose, a Gunditjmara leader, states ‘… the listing had three main benefits – recognition of Gunditjmara achievements on a global scale, increased protection for the site, and the potential tourism boost’ (in Neal, 2019a). According to Aunty Eileen Alberts, a Gunditjmara master weaver, it took the Gunditjmara people over a decade for their World Heritage nomination to be inscribed (GMTOAC, 2015). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 138 Stage 1 • Tentative List • Process - Country must make an ‘inventory’ of its important natural and cultural heritage sites, known as the Tentative List for possible inscription in the next five to ten years Stage 2 • Nomination File • Process - From their Tentative List, a Country selects sites for nomination. Exhaustive as possible, with maps given to World Heritage Centre for review who sends it to appropriate Advisory Bodies for evaluation Stage 3 • The Advisory Bodies • Two international non-government or intergovernmental organizations named in the Convention mandated by World Heritage Convection: the international Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). • Third Advisory Body is the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). All three evaluate nominations Stage 4 • The UNESCO World Heritage Committee • Following a sites nomination and evaluation, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee makes the final decision on its inscription. Meeting and deciding each year Stage 5 • The Criteria for Selection • Sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one of the ten selection criteria Figure 4-89: The five stages that needs to be passed to be listed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2020e). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 139 Figure 4-90: Gunditjmara celebrating the inscription of Budj Bim onto the World Heritage List at the UNESCO World Heritage meeting in Azerbaijan in 2019. Source: (Graham, 2019). After proving ‘outstanding universal value’ a site is inscribed onto the World Heritage List under three categories: culture, natural, or mixed. At the time of writing, Australia had 20 sites/places/items/architectural structures inscribed, of which Budj Bim is the only one inscribed for its engineered aquaculture system (UNESCO, 2020b) Figure 4-91 shows an example of the dynamic features that enrich Budj Bim, with Figure 4-92 showing the Budj Bim nominated property boundaries. Figure 4-91: Park ranger Peter Hill at the entrance to a lava cave at Mt Eccles, which is the source of a lava flow that extends 50km to the coast (Bourke, 2017). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 140 Figure 4-92: Budj Bim Cultural Landscape: Nominated property boundary. Source: (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 3). The understanding of the difference between Deep Time (discussed in 3.2 What is Country?) and Western Time is crucial in further understanding the connections that the Gunditjmara have with their landscape/s. One of the reasons for World Heritage List inscription was to steer away from the Western theory of time, of a beginning and end, to a cyclical Deep Time narrative with no beginning and no end 93. Connection is a birthright of the Gunditjmara, handed down the generations through the female line. It is also their spiritual landscape where their identity originates - from time 87F 93 See Figure 3-3. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 141 immemorial. There is their cultural landscape that connects them to their spirituality and culture, then there is the physical landscape that incorporates spirituality, culture, and identity, all needing each other to survive. Deep Time does not work in a straight line but is fluid and moves back and forth through the generations and is the way knowledge is passed on, by citing from the past, present, and future. Because of invasion, these ‘time pathways’ have been seriously disrupted, but by others recognising the importance of their spiritual, cultural, and physical landscapes allows the Gunditjmara to shine in a way that they were not able to through the Contact Period where cultural worlds collided including the Frontier Wars, Mission Period, and the Assimilation polices of the invader. Their culture empowers them and by being recognised on a world scale allows them to portray their culture on their terms and without retribution. Gunditjmara culture and history is their story and their story to tell. There are ten key selection criteria for a successful World Heritage listing of which Budj Bim met two, criteria (iii) and (v) seen in Figure 4-93. (iii) • to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared (v) • to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change Figure 4-93: World Heritage List criteria that Budj Bim Cultural Landscape fulfilled (UNESCO, 2020a). How Budj Bim’s cultural landscape met this criterion is listed Figure 4-94. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 142 Response to Criterion III • The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape bears an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions, knowledge, practices and ingenuity of the Gunditjmara. The extensive networks and antiquity of the constructed and modified aquaculture system of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape bears testimony to the Gunditjmara as engineers and kooyang [kuyang] fishers. Gunditjmara knowledge and practices have endured and continue to be passed down through their Elders and are recognisable across the wetlands of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in the form of ancient and elaborate systems of stone-walled kuyang husbandry (or aquaculture) facilities. Gunditjmara cultural traditions, including associated storytelling, dance and basket weaving, continue to be maintained by their collective multigenerational knowledge. Response to Criterion V • The continuing cultural landscape of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is an outstanding representative example of human interaction with the environment and testimony to the lives of the Gunditjmara. The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape was created by the Gunditjmara who purposefully harnessed the productive potential of the patchwork of wetlands on the Budj Bim lava flow. They achieved this by creating, modifying and maintaining an extensive hydrological engineering system that manipulated water flow in order to trap, store and harvest kuyang that migrate seasonally through the system. The key elements of this system are the interconnected clusters of constructed and modified water channels, weirs, dams, ponds and sinkholes in combination with the lava flow, water flow and ecology and life-cycle of kooyang [kuyang]. The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape exemplifies the dynamic ecological-cultural relationships evidenced in the Gunditjmara’s deliberate manipulation and management of the environment. Figure 4-94: How Budj Bim met criteria to be inscribed on the World Heritage List (Budj Bim, 2020a). Today there remains few threats to the landscape’s integrity. The sheer size of the reclaimed engineered system ‘… illustrate[s] the ways multiple systems – social, spiritual, geological, hydrological and ecological – interact and function’ (Budj Bim, 2020a). However, there has been a new introduced threat, feral pigs. Gunditjmara Elder Uncle Denis Rose describes how in the two years leading up to 2019 listing that pig populations ‘exploded’, ‘… digging up and uprooting our fish trap system then the … value … of Budj Bim will diminish’ (Neal, 2019b). Another threat could be overuse by visitors, but the Gunditjmara have created ways to prevent this from ever happening by having the sites in the Budj Bim landscape, including Tae’rak, Tyrendarra IPA and Kurtonitj IPA, under lock and key accessible by invitation only. With tourism being an aspiration of the Gunditjmara, and the expected influx of tourists after its inscription onto the World Heritage List, the Victorian State Government committed $13 million to GMOAC to implement the Budj Bim Master Plan and major works to accommodate tourism (Visit Victoria, 2019, Tract Consultants, 2014). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 143 Figure 4-95: Tyrendarra IPA Gilgar Gunditj Visitor Place (WMAC, 2020). Figure 4-95 is an aerial view of Gilgar Gunditj Visitor Place, opened in 2009 (see Liptai, 2009). This building functions as an education venue for school/tour groups and community events. Its design is inspired by the movement of the kuyang (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 157) and is not used through July and August due to flooding (Tract Consultants, 2014, 31). After inscription onto the World Heritage List, Budj Bim is protected under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and strategic planning and maintenance must be sustained. The Gunditjmara do this through joint management regimes as described in Figure 4-96: … a co-operative arrangement with the Victorian Government for Budj Bim National Park; and Indigenous ownership of the Budj Bim and Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Areas. This is supported by local planning schemes. Glenelg and Moyne Shires established a ‘special use zone’ over parts of the Budj Bim component, including Tae Rak. The purpose of the special use zone is to provide for the development of land consistent with the protection and management of the natural and Aboriginal cultural values. The management system is to be coordinated by the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage Steering Committee, which acts as a communication and shared decision-making body between the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners (represented through the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation Registered Aboriginal Party, Budj Bim Council and Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation) and the state heritage and environmental authorities, which include the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council and the Victorian Heritage Council, as well as the national level. Figure 4-96: Description of joint management regimes. Source: (Budj Bim, 2020a). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 144 These joint management structures help set up a good tourism model that is collaborative and incorporates the aspirations of the Gunditjmara. To accommodate the tourist interest after inscription, the Gunditjmara have worked with various stakeholders to create future infrastructure for the proposed influx of visitors. Tract Consultants Pty Ltd was appointed to create the Budj Bim Master Plan 2014, and ARUP et.al., the Budj Bim Master Plan 2022-2030 which both draw from various conservation technical studies, archaeology, tourism planning, business development and Gunditjmara community use. The plans aim to establish the Budj Bim Landscape as a sustainable tourism destination. This included aspirations for a Traditional Aquaculture Centre, which opened in June 2022 (Figure 4-97), eel smoking and tasting facility, water-based activities, and improved driving/cycling/walking tracks to Budj Bim National Park and around Tae’rak (Budj Bim, 2020b). Figure 4-97: Tae’rak Aquaculture Centre, opened in June 2022 (Turtle, 2022) Figure 4-98 shows a map of the locations of the key projects and priorities under the Masterplan. This Masterplan could only be created and implemented after extensive Gunditjmara engagement with their aspirations listed in Figure 4-99. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 145 Figure 4-98: Map of Budj Bim Master Plan Key Projects and Priorities. Source: (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 72) impact •Low cultural landscape impact access •ongoing access to Country tourism financial visitors narratives tourism •capacity building •long term financial independence •controlled to minimise impact •Gunditjmara stories central to experience •scale tested and refined Figure 4-99: Aspirations of the Gunditjmara listed in the Budj Bim Masterplan. (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 7) Figure 4-100 shows the five key directions toward long term vision and goals for 2030. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 146 Expand activities and events at Tae Rak Lake Condah • Expanded facilities at Lake Condah as main visitor arrival point • expanded interpretation and spaces for seasonal events Develop a Learning Ecology Hub at Lake Surprise • community aspirations for story telling and learning outcomes • focus on learning and education • accomodation, event and education facilities Expand the network of visitor sites • expand visitor infrastructure • immersive experiences Strengthen community infrastructure at Mission • exclusive space for Gunditjmara and invited guests Launch an off-site awareness rasing campaign • world-class off-site activations across Melbourne, Australia and internationally Figure 4-100: Five key directions of Budj Bim Masterplan toward long term vision and goals for 2030 (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 68) 94. 8F Figure 4-101 displays the project progress timeline from 2018-2022. It demonstrates that Gunditjmara aspirations also cover structures, features, and places throughout the Budj Bim landscape such as Stage 1 construction of the Keeping Place, Kurtonitj, Tyrendarra IPA, Tyrendarra township, Tae’rak and Lake Surprise National Park. Figure 4-102 shows the proposed timeline for completion of key projects. Figure 4-101: Key project progress to date across Budj Bim landscape. (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 31) 94 Site specific detail for each site can be seen on page 9 of the Budj Bim Masterplan 2022-2030. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 147 Figure 4-102: Timelines for completion of key projects in the Budj Bim Masterplan 2022-2030. (ARUP in collaboration with Earthcheck, 2022, 119) Being added to the UNESCO World Heritage List was an enormous feat, with its management a massive undertaking. However, it enabled the Gunditjmara to be involved in managing their Country on new levels under the five key directions of the Budj Bim Masterplan 2022-2030 (Figure 4-103). Figure 4-103: The multifaceted benefits of five key directions of the Budj Bim Masterplan 20222030. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 148 GMTOAC has been the key body representing Gunditjmara cultural interests throughout the World Heritage nomination and the Budj Bim Masterplans 2014 and 2022-2030 versions. GMTOAC ran under a unique structure post native title and will continue to represent their Country and kin into the future. 4.12 Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC) Pre-invasion and for a short time post-invasion, Gunditjmara’s social structure consisted of a Clan Leader, referred to as a ‘chief’ by Dawson (1881). ‘Every tribe has its chief, who is looked upon in the light of a father, and whose authority is supreme’ (1881, 5). Today many, but not all, Gunditjmara are represented under the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC). GMTOAC was registered as a corporation in 2006. GMTOAC ran under a full group structure, a unique form of governance until 2018. This structure allowed all interested members to have a platform in making group decisions. Each family had a custodial blood rite, just as in the past: ‘The territory belonging to a tribe is divided among its members. Each family has the exclusive right by inheritance to a part of the tribal lands …’ (Dawson, 1881, 7). Collectively today, GMTOAC has members of the multiple Gunditjmara Clans (see Appendix L) and is based in the township of Heywood on Gunditjmara Country. GMTOAC full group structure was residual from the native title determinations of 2007 (Part A) where most members were involved in its success and again in 2011 (Part B). GMTOAC was appointed as the RNTBC (Registered Native Title Body Corporate) for the Gunditjmara in 2007 and 2011 for both native title determinations, giving them statutory authority under the requirements of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). This means that they are the legal entities to negotiate native title or Future Acts (discussed earlier in in this chapter). The responsibilities of a RNTBC are listed Figure 4-104. GMTOAC also hold Registered Aboriginal Party status (RAP) under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic). It gained RAP status in 2007 with area extensions granted in 2009 and 2013 (VAHC, n.d). This gave GMTOAC statutory responsibility for the management of the cultural heritage and objects of the Gunditjmara under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic). It means that they must be contacted under the requirements of the Act of any activity that may impact cultural heritage. They then assist in preparing Cultural Heritage Management Plans (CHMP). A CHMP is a: … written report prepared by a Heritage Advisor. It includes the results of an assessment of the potential impact of a proposed activity on Aboriginal cultural heritage … [and] is required when a ‘high impact activity’ is planned in an area of ‘cultural heritage sensitivity (Aboriginal Victoria, n.d-b). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 149 Responsibilities of a RNTBC being the corporation that manages native title manage and protect native title on behalf of the native title holders First point of contact for government and other interested parties wishing to undertake activities of native title land It acts as a bridge for traditional owners to deal with the nonIndigenous legal system, and ensures certainty for government and other parties by providing a legal entity through which they can conduct business with traditional owners Figure 4-104: Responsibilities of a RNTBC. Source: (nativetitle.org.au, n.d). A Heritage Advisor is someone who can assist in the preparation of CHMPs, conduct cultural heritage audits or supervise activities under a Cultural Heritage Permit; they are needed for any ground or site disturbance (Aboriginal Victoria, n.d-a). At the time of writing, GMTOAC do not have any members in the role of a Heritage Advisor, most are non-Indigenous, work for cultural heritage agencies usually having degrees in archaeology or anthropology. To fulfill the requirements of ORIC (Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations), GMTOAC as a Corporation followed a governance structure where they conducted monthly full group general meetings. This was unique to most Aboriginal Corporations who generally hold General Meetings annually. According to Damein Bell, CEO95 of GMTOAC, while addressing the Standing Committee on the Environment and Planning: The monthly full-group meeting is open to all Gunditjmara native title holders and Gunditj Mirring corporate members to gather together to consider and discuss business and make decisions … The integrity of the monthly full-group meeting is based on ensuring that the principles of free, prior and informed consent of Gunditjmara people are respected and upheld (2015, 32). This regular meeting structure meant that all members had a voice along with their member elected Board of Directors. This structure was relevant and essential in the lead up to the two successful native title consent determinations. The GMTOAC governance structure however did hit some hurdles. According to the Anthony Beven, the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, at times the GMTOAC structure caused ‘deadlocks’ in decision making between directors and members, as 95 At time of writing. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 150 the directors had ‘limited power to manage the corporation’s business’. Therefore, GMTOAC was placed under administration in April 2017, ceasing on the 17th January 2018 (ORIC, 2017, 1, Vu, 2018). Hereafter, GMTOAC rules were changed and the organisation no longer ran under the full group structure; under rule 7.2 they now hold ‘at least 2 generals meeting each year’ (including the AGM) (2020b, 20). In January 2018, while under Special Administration, GMTOAC changed to be in line with the Office of the Registrar for Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) requirements. A Board of Directors was appointed to represent their 14 Apical Ancestors, which included; Eileen Alberts, Alfred Bamblett Snr, John Bell, Shane Bell, Narelle Carter, Denise Lovett, Angela North, Donna Wright (GMTOAC, n.d-c, GMTOAC, 2018, 5). Current Board members are listed in Section 7.3 GMTOAC - overall membership. Members of GMTOAC comprise of those who live both On Country and Off Country. The GMTOAC membership lists between 2007 and 2017 show that some members have always lived On Country, while others have not generationally. There are also those who live close to Country, or have moved to major cities, with defined family clusters in particular locations (analysed in Chapter 7). Some live on the other side of Australia, with one living overseas. A small number moved back On Country, while others have never been On Country. All members who were surveyed and were members of GMTOAC noted that they all received meeting minutes or were informed by a family member who attended, keeping them up to date with activities and cultural business. These statistics are analysed in Chapter 7. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 151 Chapter 5 Connected Figure 5-1: Gunditjmara man Troy Lovett in Budj Bim's volcanic landscape in Spring (LovettMurray, 2018). 5.1 Introduction This chapter explores how Country is defined through a First Nations lens. How connection is influenced by the stars, spiritualities and if this changes when one is Off Country. It also highlights ceremony, and how one’s identity is influenced by language and how language draws one back to Country. It also discovers how technology can support On Country cultural mapping as seen in Figure 5-1. To support this chapter, much of it draws on the authors personal cultural knowledge. 5.2 What does connection to Country really mean? There are many ways that First Nations people connect to Country. One way is to see Country as a living intelligent being that we can learn from, as described by Bundjalung and Wiradjuri Elder Uncle Charles Moran et al.: … we learn from the patterns written into the earth and we share in ways that fit with these earthly cognitions. This is, after all, the place where our being and consciousness originated and even though it has suffered extreme disruption, our design has always been nurtured and informed by this natural intelligence (2018, 75-76). According to Gunditjmara Elder Uncle Banjo Clarke (in Chance, 2003, 242) Country is part of you: Them spiritual feelings for the land mean everything to us Aboriginal peoplethat’s our life. It’s part of our soul, and we’re part of its soul. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 152 Connection to Country, does this change? Other ways to connect are through ceremony, language, spirituality, or family. However, does this connection change if you live On or Off Country? Other questions raised include those seen in Figure 5-2. When we live Off Country or are unable to visit regularly or at all? Can ceremonies relating to one's narrative only be conducted on your Country? How do we connect with our spirituality when physically not on our Country? Does this change further if we live in an urban setting? Figure 5-2: Connection to Country, questions that are raised if you live Off Country. Country is connected to the moiety and Spiritual Protector/totemic system 96 ; this means connection remains wherever we are, but change intensity when On Country, as described by the Dja Dja Wurrung of North Central region of Victoria: 89F Not all Dja Dja Wurrung people are able to live on our traditional lands, but we have totemic relationships with our Country which means we do not have to physically be on Country to feel connected and affected. However, the spiritual connection that we feel to the land is reinforced by our presence on Country and our desire to Care for Country will always remain strong (DCAC, 2017). Connection does not only mean an ancient connection but includes the recent past and future, it is fluid. One does not have to be on Country to express one’s cultural identity and connection. This is evidenced through the Gunditjmara questionnaire responses where most state that Country is a spiritual thing. Spirituality is felt anywhere, it is always present, it travels with you, but it is felt on varying levels. This is demonstrated by MO45-54#56, stating: Where you are you feel differently… [you are] here and you feel it, but if you’re somewhere else you feel it as well. Spirit and connection comes from Country. The closer you are to it and on it … makes you feel settled and [ask yourself] alright we’ve got work to do. 96 Gunditjmara moieties seen in Figure 4-27. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 153 Today, First Nations people live in two worlds-two cultures. In the 1800s First Nations cultures around the world suffered from genocidal practises of the invaders who attempted to ‘Soften or Smooth the Dying Pillow’. This formed the reasoning of assimilation into the invaders culture, some say it is a philosophy of genocide (Smith, n.d, 6, see Foley, 2000, 4) (discussed in Chapter 6). Many cultural practises were obliterated by invasion. However, many aspects survived. A Gunditjmara example is demonstrated in Figure 5-3, a photo of Gunditjmara warriors taken in 1859 and comparing it to Figure 5-4 featuring ‘The Fighting Gunditjmara’ dance group today. They both have the same ‘paint up’ of white ochre, gum leaves around the kirrambirn (bunch of leaves tied around ankles), muuloteen peem (headbands made of plaited bark), parrang geetch (possum skin as dance belts), clap sticks, war war (club), millæ wuuk (strip of possum skin for upper arm) and lædæ lædim (boomerangs) and tuurnuut (nose peg) (in Dawson, 1881, xxx). Figure 5-3: Photo of Gunditjmara men in full paint up at Portland taken in 1859. Source: (Glenelg Shire Council, n.d.). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 154 Figure 5-4: The Fighting Gunditjmara dance group, noting the same ‘paint up’ as the older reference in Figure 5-3. (The Fighting Gunditjmara, 2018). Robinson, Chief Protector of Aborigines, on June 4, 1841, observed the women around the Wannon River, seen in Figure 5-5. Figure 5-5: Women dancing near the Wannon River, on 4th June 1841, to entertain Robinson’s party. Source: (Robinson, 1841, 289). Gunditjmara women honour their Ancestors through dance today. As seen in Figure 5-6, the next generation of female dancers. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 155 Figure 5-6: Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta and Gunaikurnai woman Teena Moffatt holding son Ryder and daughter Tiannah at Dupang Festival, Adelaide 2019. Source: (Moffatt, 2017). For First Nations people, dance is connected to ceremony, ceremony is connected to language, language is connected to Country, Country is connected to spirituality (Figure 5-7). Dance has enabled connection to remain to these in a physical and spiritual way. Today the expression of culture through dance sometimes is the only opportunity for some to connect to any or all these elements. Dance Ceremony Language Country Spirituality Figure 5-7: Dance is connected to Ceremony; Ceremony is connected to Language; Language is connected to Country; Country is connected to Spirituality. Source: author. Dances are usually about Ancestors, Country, animals (spiritual, physical, and metaphysical) and Creation Narratives. Today they are also about healing Self and Country. Large-scale examples include dance ceremonies organised to heal Country from things such as major droughts (see Fryer, 2019, Whiting, 2012). For the Gunditjmara, dance is a major part of caring for Country, but also about the animals/Spiritual Protectors. MO45-54#56 states ‘…when they’re doing ceremony, Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 156 they each have their dance to do, with that comes the responsibility of how do we care for that animal.’ This demonstrates that you can only dance your Narrative from your Country. So how does this apply Off Country? Cultural protocols and taboos also apply to dance, it is gendered and geographically specific. This specifically applies to dancing on other people’s Country and where and when you can dance on their Country. Protocols include asking permission from the Traditional Custodians of an area before you dance your dances, while also offering a gift. The taboos around dance include men not doing women’s dances/moves and vice versa. However, if one has become disconnected from their culture and/or Country, they may be invited to dance on another Country (host). This enables them to connect to some form of culture. There are many other new creative ways to maintain one’s spirituality and express connection no matter where you live, according to Grieves: Aboriginal people take up new ways of expressing spiritual connection though art, literature, film, dance and song. In these works, the essential expression of spirituality continues (2008, 377). First Nation connection to Country was not lost when so-called Australia was invaded. It was maintained by creating new memories and connections to place and space. For example, the Lake Condah church has special significance to the people who lived there and utilised it, but also their descendants. For example, Aunty Euphemia (Phemie) Lovett reminisces about the special occasions held at the church, such as ‘Pets Day, and ‘Harvest Festival’ (in, McVicker, 2007, 46). Another Gunditjmara Elder, Aunty Laura Bell, describes how families would get together for feasts after church and how it was such ‘… a special thing, when families reminded themselves that this was their place, their community – and that they survived’ (in Wright, 2019). The Gunditjmara have ‘re-owned’ this part of history and reclaimed it as their own. Recent examples of connection to the old Mission and church are noted by FX45-54#5, who has lived off Country for over 20 years: Great Grandmother was born at Lake Condah and they travelled between Framlingham 97 and Lake Condah for their lifetime. 90F On the other hand, some have mixed or negative feelings about the Mission site itself. MX25-34#10 who has lived off Country for 2-10 years, describes the building of Lake Condah Mission as: … a place of hell for my people and shouldn’t have been place[d] at the location it was placed, disrespectful for our ancestors who cared for that area thousands of years ago. That area was a shared place of peace to remember the people who died there. Then they built the mission there…. Further examples of this relationship over time are discussed in Chapter 6. 97 Framlingham is a Mission located 25 kms northeast from Warrnambool and connected extended families who lived at both. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 157 Figure 5-8: St Mary's Church at Lake Condah Mission (now demolished). The first bluestone block was laid in 1882, and opened in 1885 with many Mission residents assisting in its construction (McVicker, 2007, 44). Figure 5-9: Aunty Laura Bell standing near the honour roll from St Mary's church, Lake Condah Mission (Wright, 2019). Connection has formed over Deep Time, and although attempts have been made to destroy this, connection is seen through a new lens, even when overlayed by someone else’s ‘imposed story’. Connection always underpins and absorbs all ‘stories’ of Lake Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 158 Condah. For example, Tae’rak has always been a Gunditjmara narrative, it is now a ‘shared narrative’ of Deep Time and the invader time set. This layered connection to place now includes the Mission Period where even though the Lake Condah Church (Figure 5-8) was demolished in the 1950s (Figure 5-9), the Gunditjmara remained connected to it creating a positive out of a negative. Connection has not been recognised and has been misrepresented on many levels since invasion. One of these is how First Nation connection to Self, Country, culture, and family, is ongoing, not a relic, such as the constant use of past tense when referring to First Nation culture. Modern connections bolster ancient connections. With the displacement that took place globally of First Nations peoples in the 1800s, connection never waived. In Australia this is known as the Mission Period to First Nations people (discussed in Section 6.4 Population movements - Traditional). The main foundation keeping connection unbroken is family. A Gunditjmara example of a family connection that has remained strong throughout the invasion and through the world wars is the Lovetts. Figure 5-10: Lovett house at the Lake Condah Mission. Photo Dharna Nicholson-Bux (Nicholson-Bux, 2020b). The Lovetts lived at Lake Condah Mission in one of the diminutive basalt houses, which often housed many people (Figure 5-10). It housed up to 10 members of the Lovett family, including Robert, Hilda (nee King), Brian, Eugene, Greg, Trevor, Denise, Bobby, Gwen and Lynette. 98 Members of the family today have obvious deep connections to these ‘modern places’ as these connections transcend time, Western and Deep Time. The Lovett family are famous for having the largest family representation of 21 for war-time service, since WWI, overseas and in Australia. (Australian War 91F 98 Names given by Uncle Brian Lovett’s grandson Anthony Walker and used with his permission. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 159 Memorial, n.d, Deadly Story, n.d.). They did so when they were not even recognised as human beings or citizens in their own homeland Australia (see Horton, 2015). This was because black soldiers were not afforded the same respect or military honour when they returned after the wars. They did not qualify for the ‘Soldiers Settlement Scheme’, where returned soldiers were gifted a parcel of land and a house; a rare case did exist (see Swan Hill Regional Library, 2020, NMA, 2021b, Obituaries Australia, 2021, PROV, n.d., Lee, 2019). However, black soldiers have started to be recognised and included in Canberra’s Australian War Memorial (AWM) (AWM, 2021). The Gunditjmara Lovett family’s contribution in the wars was finally recognised in 2000, by the AWM renaming of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs building in Canberra to Lovett Tower. The Lovett family were also the first family to be inducted into the Indigenous Honour roll in 2013 (Aboriginal Victoria, 2019a). This recognition by the wider community cements connections to Country, culture and family for First Nations communities and solidifies that connection cannot be denied. These connections now include the Western timeline, a shared timeline. When people and culture were being decimated, families created a culturally safe place in the ‘Mission’ that was a construct of cultural destruction. Similarly, the descendants of those who were forced to live at Mission/Reserves around Victoria such as Lake Tyers, Framlingham, Coranderrk, Ebenezer and Ramayuck have a new layer of connection to these places - traditional and modern with intersecting narratives. Aunty Iris LovettGardiner (1997, 4) describes the significance of these connections to her when reflecting on her life’s journey, ‘… [the] stories are only in my time. I knew about these places in the past. All histories are a personal history’. This demonstrates that if we exclude the recent history, part of a person’s identity is erased. She also speaks about Mt Eccles (Budj Bim) and how as a volcano it created the rocky landscape with its lava flow. But interestingly she describes the significant connection of the stone through time, how it was used to ‘… build houses on the mission and the church …, so the mountain played a part even up to the time when the mission was formed’ (1997, 5). FX24-34#13 describes her connection through her grandmother: That's where my nan was born and lived in the dormitory before she was stolen. She has made it home for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. We love it when we all come together and she shares her stories about how she grew up on the mission with her family and cousins. Descriptions of a people, community, society or individual through time, from time immemorial to today creates the full narrative. This narrative begins from the origins of people, animals, and the earth, usually relating to the cosmos. But what does this mean for members of the Stolen Generation? For if connection to Country is within and a spiritual thing, where do they belong? An analysis of the questionnaire responses has highlighted that a small number of participants are from the Stolen Generation 99. 92F 99 In depth discussion on the effects of forced disconnection from family, culture and Country are worthy of further discussion but outside the scope of this thesis research. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 160 FX35-44#4 describes: Extended family, immediate was removed due to stolen generations. But are buried there. MO25-34#9 also describes the difficulties Stolen Generation members and families can face reconnecting with their people, Country, and culture: I met family members … who were stolen gen and they tried to return but didn’t know who to see back home as they didn’t know anyone (before they met myself and others). As seen, connection to Country isn’t simply described, it entails many facets and layers, one of those is through the cosmos. 5.3 Connection through the stars First Nation’s people around the world were/are the first astronomers (see Fredrick, 2008, Hamacher II, 2012, Morieson, 1966). Not only using the stars for navigation or ceremonial and seasonal calendars, but also seeing specific stars and planets as their Creation Beings. Ngarinyin Elder David Bungal Mowaljarlai states, ‘Everything under creation … is represented in the ground and the sky’ (in Hamacher, 2014). Study of this is called Ethnoastronomy or Archaeoastronomy. According to Clarke: Although the mythology concerning the heavens is diverse, it is unified by beliefs in a Sky World where spirits of the deceased reside with Creation Ancestors … Across many diverse Australian Aboriginal cultures the Skyworld remains a “canvas” upon which cosmological traditions are traced (2007b, 39). Robert Hamilton Mathews, a European surveyor/observer, and self-taught anthropologist, describes the Victorian and New South Wales observances of the cosmos: All Aboriginal tribes have names for many of the principle fixed stars and… remarkable stellar groups. There is generally a story about the star, which was in olden days a man, the wonderous doings of which are duly recorded. Not infrequently there are families of stars – the parents and offspring, husbands and wives, and other relationships – all being pointed out, and assigned their places in the narrative. Legends are more numerous concerning stars situated in the neighbourhood of the moon’s path through the heavens, and in this way a zodiac may be said to exist. The stars near the ecliptic and zenith change their positions in the sky more rapidly than those toward the poles, and therefore more readily arrest attention (1905, 278). First Nation astronomy is much older than that of the Babylonians, ‘ancient’ Greeks, Chinese, Indians and Incas (Haynes, 1996, 7). The unchanging cultural context of First Nation cosmology is connected to eyewitness accounts of cosmological impacts handed down orally. This includes chronicles of Creation Beings, retribution, Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 161 punishment, and significant events. According to Hamacher, others witnessed events including ‘…earthquakes, and tsunamis as well as … the origins of mountains and islands ... astronomical events such as comets, eclipses, and supernovae’ (2009, 62, 64). For the Gunditjmara this also included witnessing volcanic eruptions, such as Budj Bim (Lovett, 2014, 58-59). There is also significance attached to specific stars and constellations. An example from Central Northwest Victoria is the Dja Dja wurrung belief that Jupiter is Bunjil’s 100 camp fire (State Goverment of Victoria, 2011, 4). However, this individual significance is also seen in the celestial bodies or groupings of stars. Haynes (1996, 8) describes this as a ‘relationship being conceptual rather than visual’. 93F An example of reading stars from the Torres Strait Islands is the belief in Tagai: … The rhythm of Islanders’ lives follows the movement of the constellation Tagai, a man standing in a canoe; his left hand, the Southern Cross, holds a fish spear. The stars of Tagai usher in seasonal changes and are a guide of voyaging and cultivating (Sharp, 1993, xi). The knowledge gained from ‘reading the stars’ by the Gunditjmara enabled them to live by the stars. However, this kind of knowledge was not recognised in the 1800s, as Dawson notes: … Although the knowledge of the heavenly bodies possessed by the natives may not entitle it to be dignified by the name of astronomical science it greatly exceeds that of most white people. Of such importance is a knowledge of the stars to the aborigines [sic] in their night journeys, and of their positions denoting the particular seasons of the year, that astronomy is considered one of their principal branches of education … taught by men selected by their intelligence and information (1881, 98-99). Dawson recorded many elements of the Gunditjmara star narrative/s. One included the ‘magellanic clouds’ being gigantic cranes (brolgas), the large one being the male Karn Kuutchuun and the smaller the female Baapee kuutchuun (1881, xxiv). While forming part of a larger narrative their name for the Milky Way is baarnk or ‘big river’ and the name for the Southern Cross includes the word for ‘knot’ or ‘tie’, Kunkun Tuuromballank and is masculine. A comet is seen as a ‘great spirit’ named ‘Puurnt Kuurnuuk,’ while a meteor, ‘Gnummæ waar,’ means ‘deformity’ (Dawson, 1881, 100101) 101. Around Australia, the same star or constellation may have a different narrative. For example, the Gunnai of Gippsland see the Southern Cross as Ngurran the emu being chased by Nerran the moon (ACA, 2018, 22), while the Wurundjeri see their Creator Bunjil as Altair, and his Helpers as the pointer stars of the Southern Cross. Alternatively, the Yolngu of the Northern Territory believe the fire spirit Goorda comes from the Southern Cross to bring fire to earth for the people (Allen, 1975, 109). On the east coast of Arnhem Land, the ‘Desert tribes … see … the Southern Cross [as] the 94F 100 Bunjil the Wedge tailed eagle (Aquila audax), is a common Creator Being and moiety for several Victorian Language Groups. 101 More Gunditjmara gendered constellations and stars are listed in Figure 5-13. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 162 footprint of the wedge-tailed eagle, while the pointers represent his throwing-stick and the Coal Sack his nest’ (Haynes, 1996, 14). Other examples of the Coalsack include an emu (Figure 5-11) with the head being the dark nebula next to the Southern Cross with the ‘…body extend[ing] along the dust lanes through Centaurus in the Milky Way, to the body as outlines by the galactic bulge in Scorpius and Sagittarius’ (Fuller, 2014, 11) 102. 95F Figure 5-11: ‘The Emu in the Sky, early evening in August’ (Fuller, 2014, 11). Another way to connect to the stars is through man-made structures. This includes stone arrangements connected to cosmic movements, many of which have been researched without Traditional Custodian consent but are worthy of note not only of their existence, but the cultural knowledge embedded in them. The Traditional Custodians of that knowledge have the right to deny, omit, exclude researchers from impeding on these knowledge sets enabling them to enact their custodial rights to protect and define their heritage. For this reason, names and locations of these significant places have been omitted from this thesis. 102 A cultural note is that some Language Groups across Australia have strict cultural limitations on some star narratives knowledge sets. Despite this some restricted information is still shared by eager researchers. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 163 Including tangible mapping systems such as stone arrangements enable the reading of the seasonal/cultural timeline/s and narratives. One such narrative is related to the Pleiades which are seen as feminine in different parts of the world: … the Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlas who, when pursued by Orion … they were turned into doves … [as with] Aboriginal legends … [a]ll identify them with a group of seven young women and nearly all portray the girls as fleeing … (Haynes, 1996, 15). The Gunditjmara example tells the story of Pleiades being: Female cockatoos with one being ‘queenlike’ named Gneeanggar with 6 of her helpers. Waa the Raven fell in love with her which was not reciprocated, so he tricked her into thinking he was one of her favourite foods, a grub. When her hook caught him, he shapeshifted into a giant and stole her away. From that day, there has only been 6 stars left in the Pleaides being her helpers (adapted from Dawson, 1881, 100, also see Couzens, 2014, 66-67, and Palmer, 2019). As well as telling the narrative of the creation of stars and constellations, seasonal populations movements are also controlled by the stars. Clarke describes ‘Aboriginal orientation is based upon the observed movements of celestial bodies and the prevailing directions of the seasonal weather’ (2007b, 47). Dawson, who spent many years creating intimate friendships with the Gunditjmara, describes a wise old leader of the Spring Creek Clan, Weeratt Kuyuut (or Morpor) around Woolsthorpe, of the Gunditjmara: … [He] was both a messenger and teacher … he taught the young people the names of the favourite planets and constellations, as indicators of the seasons … Canopus is a very little above the horizon in the east at daybreak, the season for emu eggs has come; when the Pleiades are visible in the east an hour before sunrise, the time for visiting friends…; if some distant locality requires to be visited at night … reached by following a particular star. He taught them also the names of localities, mountain ranges, and lakes, and the directions of the neighbouring tribes (1881, 75). Reading the stars like this place an individual within a ‘united universe’. First Nations people see themselves as part of everything, from the finest grain of sand to the brightest star. The tangible, intangible, physical and metaphysical are all interchangeable, everything looks after everything else. As defined by Your Dictionary (2020), metaphysical incorporates many fields of thought and is the: … branch of philosophy that deals with first principles and seeks to explain the nature of being or (ontology) and of the origin and structure of the universe (cosmology): it is also closely associated with the study of the nature of knowledge (epistemology). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 164 Epistemology is of special interest when referring to connection to Country and spiritual wellness as a universal phenomenon intrinsically linked to wholeness and wellbeing. As stated by Meriam 103 woman Kerry Arabena: 96F Cultural heritage agencies might consider in future work a definition of health and wellbeing that incorporates Indigenous epistemologies of the Universe as an ‘interconnected whole’... placing the Universe as the ‘primary’ to remedy the thoughts and actions that have made human societies as independent as possible from the natural world, and to move away from ‘humancentric’ to ‘earth-caring’ and ‘Universe-referent’ ways of being (2008, 2). According to Dr Mary Graham, who is a Kombumerri 104 woman, ‘to behave as if you are a discrete entity or a conscious isolate is to limit yourself to being an observer in an observed world’ (1999). This is also the case after someone passes away. There is a direct connection to the stars for the spirits of the dead. Ceremony helps them on their journey. 97F Deen Maar for the Gunditjmara is the island of the dead (Figure 5-12). According to Dawson, Deen means ‘A, this, that’ with Maar meaning ‘Aborigines’ 105 (1881, 115). On the coastline opposite Deen Maar is what Dawson describes as a cave named Tarn wirring meaning ‘road of the spirits’, which ‘forms a passage between the mainland and the island.’ He describes what happens when someone dies: 98F … the body is wrapped in grass and buried; and if, afterwards, grass is found at the mouth of the cave, it is proof that a good spirit, called Puit puit chepetch, has removed the body and everything belonging to it through the cave to the island, and has conveyed its spirit to the clouds; and if a meteor is seen about the same time, it is believed to be fire taken up with it. Should fresh grass be found near the cave, when no recent burial has taken place, it indicates that some one has been murdered, and no person will venture near it till the grass decays or is removed. (1881, 51-52). 103 Meriam people of Mer or Murray Island in eastern Torres Strait. Gold Coast region Southeast Queensland. 105 ‘Aborigines’ is the way First Nations people were referred to in the 1800s, but no longer today. 104 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 165 Figure 5-12: Deen Maar, the final journey of Gunditjmara who have passed (Dunens, 2017). The Gunditjmara people were very fortunate to have James Dawson and his daughter Isabella 106 create a special bond with them, as their writings enabled Gunditjmara descendants to connect to culture that otherwise may have been lost. Dawson documented detailed descriptions of the stars and planets and how they relate to different aspects of culture. The stars and planets narrate Country through the signs mirrored in the environment and span long geographical distances. According to Norris: 9F … the association of Orion with a young man or group of males, and the association of Pleiades with a group of girls, are found in many Aboriginal cultures across Australia (2013, 55). The black swan (Cygnus atratus) also often features as a feminine entity. According to the Bundjalung people from the North coast of New South Wales, the Southern Cross, Gnibi, represents the black swan flying (Moran, 2018, 72-73). For the Wurundjeri, Gunuwarra, the black swans, are the Creator Bunjil’s two wives. Another constellation that is usually feminine is Pleiades. The Central/Eastern Gulinj/Kulin example includes five young women called Karatgurk with wiinj (fire) at the end of their wulunj (digging sticks) (Massola, 1968, 52). Gunditjmara gendered and non-gendered stars and constellations are seen in Figure 5-13. 106 Described in Section 4.3 Gunditjmara languages. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 166 feminine masculine smaller stars •Tirng (sun) •Kakii tirng (larger stars) •Butt kuee tuukuung's two wives (two stars near Antares) •Kuurokeheear (flock of cockatoos-Pleiades) •Meeheaarong (moon) •Taaruuk neung (new moon) •Waa (the raven, Canopus) •Gneeangar (the eagle-Sirius) •Butt kuee tuukuung (big stomach-Antares) •Kuukuu narranuung (nearly grandfather-three stars below Antares) •Kummim bieetch (one sitting on the back of the other's neckstars in Scorpio's tail) •Kuupartakil (yellowish); Moroitch (reddish-fire)-stars in Orion •Kunkun Tuuromballank (Southern Cross-knot or tie) •Tuulirmp (Centourie-the pointers-magpie larks) •Parrupum (Mars) •Buunjill (Fomelhaut) •Narweetch maering (star earth) Milky Way •Barnk (big river) Coal Sack •Torong (bunyip) Magellanic cloud Smaller Magellanic cloud •Kuurn kuuronn (male brolga) •Guearang kuuronn (female brolga) Jupiter •Burtit tuung tirng (strike the sun) Venus •Wang'uul (twinkle) and Paapee neowee (mother of the sun) three stars in Orion's belt •Kuppiheear (sisters of Sirius) Hydra •Barrukill (great hunter of kangaroo rats) Comet •Puurt Kuurnuuk (great spirit) Meteor •Gnummae (deformity) crepuscular arch in west in the morning upper crepuscular arch in east at sunset upper arch crepuscular rays in the west after sunset Aurora Australis •Kullat (peep-of-day) •Kuurokeheear puuron (white cockatoo twilight) •Kappiheear puuron ( black cockatoo twilight) •called 'rushes of the sun' •Puae buae (ashes) Figure 5-13: Celestial bodies identified by the Gunditjmara, adapted from Dawson (1881, 99-101). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 167 The sun and the moon are also usually gendered, for example, for the Yolngu see the sun as female and the moon as her husband with many children who are also suns (Hamacher, 2008, 2). The gendering of the stars, planets and constellations may connect them to gendered ceremony, taboos, or narratives. When you compare this to world religions, god is usually seen as a male or sometimes female entity of the highest level, usually with a less powerful ‘helper’ below them. This is the case with First Nations People with the ‘helpers’ or ‘companions’ depicted together in the cosmos or Creation Narratives. These stars and constellations are read in a way that forms the foundation of societal and gendered structures and how to live. They are reflective of life on the physical earth. Highlighting the journey of Creation Beings, their metaphysicality and shapeshifting, and their cultural protocols, and spirituality. 5.4 Connection through spirituality For First Nations communities there is great respect and reverence towards their unique Creation Spirits connected to their Law. According to Grieves of Warraimay and Palawa (Tasmanian) descent, spirituality is seen as an ‘overall wellbeing’ and a: … feeling, with a base in connectedness to the past, ancestors, and the values that they represent… respect for elders, a moral/ethical path. It is about being in an Aboriginal cultural space, experiencing community and connectedness with land and nature … Feeling good about oneself, proud of being an Aboriginal person. It is a state of being that includes knowledge, calmness, acceptance and tolerance, balance and focus, inner strength, cleansing and inner peace, feeling whole, an understanding of cultural roots and “deep wellbeing” (2006, 52). Creation Spirits are usually a creature that flies and has a connection to the place above the clouds. The Star Country or Sky Country is the home of the Creation Beings; it is both physically and spiritually reflected on Earth. Many First Nations people believe that the souls of their dead have this destination also. For example, the name for the cosmos in the Woiwurrung language (Wurundjeri) is Tharangalk Biik (Tharang/Darrang = tree, and galk = stick) so Forest Country in the Stars. According to Dawson, for the Gunditjmara, once a person dies, their ‘shade walks about for three days’, before going to the Sky Country (1881, 51). This kind of spirituality however is not often recognised in the modern lens as the residual effects of invasion still linger throughout all aspects of modern society. As noted by Moran, ‘…colonization is not a past doctrine; its violations and intrusions are embedded systematically in the assumptive framework of modern societies’ (2018, 71). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 168 Figure 5-14: Bunjil on Djap Wurrung and Jardwadjali Country, in the form of a male figure with his two dingo helpers (Clarke, 2017, 190). This can be compared to the opposing philosophy of First Nations people who look at Country collectively and as being a part of it not separate from it. Graham explains that after the Creation Beings have completed their Creations, they: … went back into the land, where they all still remain in the same eternal sleep from which they awakened at the beginning of time … every Aboriginal person has a part of the essence of one of the original creative spirits who formed the Australian landscape. Therefore each person has a charter of custodianship empowering them and making them responsible for renewing that part of the flora and its fauna (1999, 107). However, there are many voids that were created in the spiritual narrative for First Nation’s culture because of invasion. But sometimes there are physical signs left on Country to assist in the narrative’s rediscovery. One of these signs is Bunjil’s Shelter on Djapwurrung and Jardwadjali Country in central west Victoria (Figure 5-14). Some suggest that the image is Bunjil and his two dingo helpers (Heritage Insight Pty Ltd, 2013). Others such as Clarke, suggest that it is a clash Bunjil had with Bunyip, ‘... the site is commemorative of a major clash between Bunjil and Bunyip and is interwoven with the principle of mother-in-law avoidance’ (2017, 189). Both views help enrich the cultural understandings of the spirituality of the respective Traditional Custodians. Other physical signs that can be read on Country are caves. Caves seem to be a conduit between Creators, the narratives of Country and spirituality. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 169 Figure 5-15: Known cave sites throughout Victoria noted by Clarke (2007a, 4). Key is for original source not this thesis. For example, as seen in Figure 5-15, many cave sites are dotted across the lower half of Victoria. Some caves of note are Den of Nargan, a known women’s site (Bataluk Cultural Trail, n.d) on Gunnai Country in Gippsland; Lilydale quarry 107 (Massola, 1968, 60) on Wurundjeri Country, connected to a narrative of how Bunjil threw a star down to create the cave named Bukker tillibul; and the cave on the coast opposite Deen Maar 108 (Dawson, 1881, 51) on Gunditjmara Country, called Tarn wirring ‘road of the spirits’ where the spirits of the deceased travel. Others of note are attached to Bunjil’s travels like Lal Lal falls 109 (ABC Indigenous, 2019) on Wadawurrung Country, Bunjil’s home while on earth. These examples demonstrate how the narratives of Country and physical places connect to the Creator Beings in different ways, such as some places being where they rested or stayed while away from their celestial home. These ‘journeys’ of the Creation Beings also become our ‘journeys’ as they teach us our spiritualities. According to Graham, (1999, 107), while Creation was occurring, humans existed but in different form: 10F 10F 102F Throughout this period humans remained asleep in various embryonic forms, in a state like a kind of proto-humanity. The Creator Beings helped these protohumans to become fully human, teaching them Laws of custodianship of land, the Laws of kinship, of marriage, of correct ceremonies – they gave them every Marked as ‘Lilydale’ on map. Marked as ‘Lady Juliet Percy Island’ on map. 109 Marked as ‘Lal Lal’ on map. 107 108 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 170 kind of knowledge they needed to look after the land and to have a stable society. Connection to Country, Culture, Language and Self creates the foundation of one’s Spirituality. This can be seen through a metaphor of the old tree Baban Darrang ‘Mother Tree’ in the Woiwurrung language, representing ‘culture’ as seen in Figure 5-16. The tree lived through harmonious times ‘pre-invasion’, followed by destructive times ‘invasion’ and eventually chopped down ‘attempted genocide’. Despite this, the tree survived due to its strong foundation, its roots ‘language’. After the tree is cut down, these roots have given the tree enough energy ‘spirituality’ to produce new shoots ‘community leaders’ from the seemingly dead trunk, and enough time to drop seeds the ‘children/next generations’ that eventually grow into new a Baban Darrang. Figure 5-16: The old tree being the metaphor for culture, with the roots being language. Redgum near Little River on Wadawurrung Country, 2010. Source: author. In Victoria there are various Creation Beings. The Gunnai of Gippsland have Boorun the Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) and Tuk the Musk duck (Biziura lobata) (Gunai/Kurnai Traditional Custodians, 2014, 20, Culture Victoria, 2016), while the Yorta Yorta Biame a spiritual entity (Thomson, 2016). The Djab Wurrung and Jardwadjali (among many others throughout Victoria, including Wurundjeri, (see Wark, 2014) have Bunjil the Wedge-tail eagle (Aquila audax), who they believe shape shifted between bird and human form, as seen in Bunjil’s Cave near Gariwerd (Grampians), see Figure 5-14. Oral histories describe Creation Beings as spirits, but Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 171 they are also seen in physical forms, for example seeing Bunjil fly above you, is thought of as a good omen. A sighting lifts a person when spiritually low, as they have an allembracing power which can be described as them guiding and looking over their people. Sometimes people, both On and Off Country, may not understand what certain cultural signs around them mean, but in time it is revealed to them. Attempting to link back through oral histories and cultural information documented in Dawson, can help to reveal more (Figure 5-17). Many First Nation people today, get a ‘tingling feeling’ that overcomes them at certain places, at times explaining that it is the Old People 110 looking after them. The spiritual connection of the Gunditjmara to the animals is very powerful and can help modern day Gunditjmara to find these connections if they have not had the opportunity. This ‘feeling’ also comes through song, when singing in language, our voice comes from somewhere unexplainable in the body, this is also referred to as Old People giving us our voice. For example, Wurundjeri woman Ky-ya Nicholson-Ward describes this as a feeling that is out of her control when speaking about her culture or singing in her mother tongue, Woiwurrung: 103F I don’t feel like it’s me speaking, I feel like it’s my Ancestors telling me what to say. All of their strength is inside me from all the times their voices were silenced. They speak through me (Nicholson-Ward, 2020). Connection through spirituality remains strong, even though one may live Off Country. Being Off Country drains one culturally, but always calls them back. One may not be physically On Country, but the wind is still felt, the thunder is heard and the animals111 are seen. For example, Dawson (1881, 54), describes the Gunditjmara story of the Fire Tail Finch (Stagonopleura bella) who took some embers from the Raven (Corvus coronoides) at Gariwerd (Grampians). When this little bird is spotted, it would remind people of Country. Wettenhall (2010, 11) describes how Gunditjmara Ancestors are always present in every element of Country and how Gunditjmara connect to it: 104F … in every tree, any rock or cave, on the hill over there, in the water underneath or the creek running by … If you knew the names and could sing the story of your country, you had the means and power to inextricably connect to your country. Spirituality through ceremony, can this remain solid today when people live Off Country and are not able to conduct or attend them? Some ceremonies remain like the Coming of Age and Welcome Baby to Country ceremonies and Sorry Business no matter where one lives. Being Off Country does not mean that the spirit of Country dies as the spirit of Country is within us always. 110 Old People are leaders and people who have lived before and still guide their people today. Ancestors, on the other hand, are the Creation Beings. 111 If they are different kinds of animals than your Country, they will still hold elements that remind you of Country. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 172 5.5 Spirituality Off Country Is knowledge of your spiritual beginnings and spirituality something that can be felt and understood On and Off Country, does your spirituality fade? Aunty Iris LovettGardiner (1997, 8) described her connection to Country as empowered when she returns, ‘When I go home … I know that this land is my life, this land is me and I am the land. So it is with all our people’. Can these connections to Country and place be felt to the same extent Off Country? According to Moran et al., (2018, 76) there is a distinct difference between Country and place: Country and place have different meanings, being on Country means being enveloped in the outside mind through being engaged in the relationships of Country. Holding this knowledge is a huge responsibility that is critical to the purpose of being. Knowledge is a way of being when we know and are accepted by Country. Place is somewhere human minds deem to be significant, while Country is itself an agent. If you know who/what your Spiritual Protectors are, do you need to be On Country to attach and be protected by them? Figure 5-17 shows how the Gunditjmara perceive certain animals, the gendered animal connections, and other observations. These are felt both On and Off Country. The signs they characterise do not change or rely on where you are. Even though some animals and gendered animals may differ from Country to Country, how they are connected to you and your spirituality does not change. This therefore continually connects one back to their Country when away from it. men •bat •mantis boys •forbidden to eat female quadrupeds women girls magpie lark powerful owl echidna white & banksia cockatoos itchy nose Venus •owlet nightjar •grey bandicoot •brolga eggs and emu meat-forbidden to be eaten until old and grey •NA •makes your hair turn grey if you kill it •smells death •sign that someone will die soon •announce friends approaching •a friend is coming •if they imagine it setting twice, they will die before morning Figure 5-17: How the Gunditjmara are connected spiritually to animals, including food taboos Source: (Dawson, 1881, 53). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 173 This is also the case for those who have been Off Country for extended periods of time. In this instance one’s spiritual connection does not diminish if Off Country as described by FX25-34#16: Being on Gunditjmara country gives me a really special deep connection every time I return home to Lake Condah. Despite being born and bred in Melbourne due to my grandmother being a part of the Stolen Generation our entire family are extremely still connected to Country to this very day. As soon as I physically get on Country [Lake Condah] I know that I am home, Lake Condah is very spiritual and you can feel the presence of the spirits and the old people as soon as I arrive home on Country. Being a member of the Stolen Generation means that connection to spirituality, culture and Self is highly disrupted, but as seen by FX25-34#16 even if this disruption is generational, connection remains integral to identity: Despite living in Melbourne my entire life, the strong feeling of connection I have without Gunditjmara land and Lake Condah is indescribable. Very strong for myself and my entire family. Colonisation and Stolen Generation caused my nan being taken away from her traditional Country, but it did not affect the feeling she has and the strong link she has to Country. Aunty Iris, who was born On Country, but moved back and forth Off Country in her adulthood, explains that ‘culture is spirituality’, and compares it to a ‘church and Christianity’: This is why I believe that the culture is still here. And it is still in our own hearts. It might be a different way of knowing or saying things, but where our people lived, and how they lived and who they were and things like that is still in our hearts (1997, 94). By stating that culture is something that has adapted to survive but holds onto the fundamental elements shows that connection travels wherever you are. Supporting this notion, Grieves states that: … “spiritual” is not compartmentalized into one section of life or a time for observance as it is in other societies. The concept of spirituality pervaded everything; it is ever-present in the physical, material world (2008, 376). 5.6 Ceremony One way to connect, keep connected, or reconnect is through ceremony. According to Grieves, ‘Ceremony … incorporates stories, music, song and dance, by which the characters and events of the “eternity” or “everywhen” are brought into the sacred space’ (2008, 376). The term ‘everywhen’ is apt to describe ceremonies of today being connected through time, past, present, and future. One such ceremony is a Smoking or Welcome to Country. The eucalyptus oils within the leaves contain antiseptic and healing properties, which have been utilised in modern medicine to alleviate cold and flu symptoms (Nicholson in Jones-Amin, 2014, 7). Further examples include Welcome Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 174 Baby to Country, Coming of Age, naming, funeral, marriage, Sorry Business, and other community ceremonies. There are physical elements that have assisted in reconnecting and rekindling these ceremonies. This includes the reclamation of possum skin cloak making 112 and being out On Country to collect materials for ceremony such as wood for weapons and tools, ochre, food, and fibre plants. According to Wettenhall, for the Gunditjmara, ‘… the ancestor beings were still there, part of the earth, waiting to be animated by ceremony’ (2010, 10). Whether one lives On or Off Country, the signs given by the Spirit Protectors will help people feel like they are On Country. This could be through invite to ceremony on another Country giving opportunities to honour one’s Ancestors and Spirit Protectors while Off Country. 105F Traditional ceremony is also ‘traditional’ in the present tense. However, in modern times, new ceremonies have been created to acknowledge milestones and triumphs of the people. Examples include native title determinations (discussed in Section 4.9 Native Title) and celebrations such as the placement of Budj Bim onto the UNESCO World Heritage list 113 . Figure 5-18 shows the Gunditjmara ceremonial ground at Heywood where guests were welcomed and smoked before enjoying dances about Country celebrating their UNESCO listing. 106F Figure 5-18: Gunditjmara dancers preparing for ceremony at the World Heritage listing celebration in September 2019. Source: author. Community ceremony is the foundation to cultural wellbeing and strength. Some communities regularly have men’s and women’s ‘camps’ where they go out on Country and teach and refresh their cultural knowledge as well as do gendered ceremony. Public ceremony on the other hand is different, where it also provides 112 113 Described later in Section 5.11 The culture of Possum skin cloaks. Discussed in Section 4.11 Budj Bim Cultural Landscape added to World Heritage List. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 175 opportunities for all ages to participate and showcase the richness and pride of culture. Ceremony keeps one grounded and spiritually strong as a community and individual (Figure 5-19). Figure 5-19: Gunditjmara dancers at the Budj Bim World Heritage Listing celebration in September 2019 (Lovett-Murray, 2019a). Another example of ceremony that is conducted in an urban setting is Tanderrum (Figure 5-20), a ceremony that occurs when the eels run in Narrm (Melbourne). This is an Eastern/Central Gulinj ceremony where its five Language Groups come together for a gift exchange, and cultural dance performance in its modern form. Others are in regional centres celebrating culture using technology such as Yapenya in Bendigo (Figure 5-21). Others are ceremonies to celebrate achievements such as for native title determinations, Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs), Traditional Owners Settlement Agreements (TOSAs) (all discussed in Section 4.9 Native Title), partnerships, and repatriation of skeletal remains for reburial. Ceremonies are also conducted to open mainstream and First Nations Festivals to highlight the regionally based cultures to the wider public. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 176 Figure 5-20: Preparations for Tanderrum ceremony of the Central/Eastern Gulinj (Kulin), Melbourne 2018. Source: author. Figure 5-21: The use of projection for the Dja Dja wurrung for their Yapenya ceremony in Bendigo 2018. Photo: author. Something that has assisted communities bring back these ceremonies or take them to the next level is by waking up their sleeping languages and incorporating them in ceremonies. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 177 5.7 Language Language is an integral part of keeping connection to culture and Country strong. Language like culture is very diverse across Australia as demonstrated in Figure 5-22. One does not have to live On Country to learn one’s language, but there are many obstacles to overcome. One of the major ones is that all First Languages within Victoria today are in revival mode, meaning there are no fluent speakers (Nicholson, 2013a). Some may know a few words, phrases or Christian mission songs such as the famous Ngarra Bura Fera 114, but sadly because of invasion, language has been sleeping in the southern states of Australia for at least 2-3 generations. The effects that invasion had on language has been devasting. This is known as Linguicide. Linguicide defined is the gradual death of language by force at the hand of others. Linguicide is the major component of genocide. Sadly, language loss has been immense, and Figure 5-23 indicates how much. Although most of Eastern Australia is English speaking, there are individuals and communities reawakening their Mother Tongue from a dormant state. 107F Figure 5-22: Viewed from a different angle. Australia, seen here in a postcard is comparative to the diversity of First Nation cultures, languages, and beliefs to the obvious differences between the cultures and languages of the world shown here. Source: (Blue Carpet Collective, 2021). 114 More information on the origin of Ngarra Bura Fera can be found here: http://towalkwithyou.com/the-lyrics-to-bura-fera/ Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 178 Figure 5-23: First Nation languages still spoken as compared to English (@NACCHOAustralia). Also see (RUIL, n.d.). Destroy the language, destroy the culture. According to Ellinghaus, genocide derives from ‘… assimilationist policies … [including] the removal of culture through education, Christianization 115 , institutions, child removal, and the breaking up of families (2009, 60). The effects of these genocidal and linguicidal policies are still felt today through the prolonged and continual replacement of culture, religion and language with invaders culture, religion and language and omitting the true history of Australia through the education system. However, there are ways that First Nations people have kept their languages alive, one way is via song. The old way to ‘remember’ the language of your culture was through singing Country. Creation Narratives were often in the form of song, this is termed ‘Songlines’. These Songlines traced the trails left by the varying Creators. They are sung as you travel and must be sung in a sequence so you can way find across Country at different times of year. For example, there may be a Songline that directs you to a place of a freshwater well, or specific plants that only flower at certain places, or the time to hunt certain 115 American spelling used. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 179 animals or directs you by reading the Stars. Over time and because of invasion, many of these Songlines have been lost, but hopefully through further research these can be rediscovered by the custodians of them. One way to retain some knowledge of Songlines is through their original names. Placenames were something that resonated through history, one because the originators of the names kept that knowledge, but they also shared those names with the European observers who documented them (see Clark, 2002). The way they kept the knowledge was through: … regularly visiting sites, by the singing of song-verses associated with a mythological trail in correct order; by the consideration of sacred objects in correct order; or by the repetitive telling of stories by rapidly sketching on the sand (Koch, 2009, 308). Today if these steps cannot be taken regularly or at all due to knowledge loss, there are other ways that language can be revitalised. There has been much activity to reawaken languages such as community and school language programs, digital resources and awareness workshops and lectures (VACL, 2017). The importance of language was also recognised by the 2017 Aborigines and Islanders Day of Observance Committee (NAIDOC 116) theme, ‘Language Matters’. According to Vicki Couzens, a Keerray Woorroong woman, there are several elements to language not simply words, they include: 108F Story, song, dance, movement, motif/symbol, painting and carving are integral parts of our languages. Our languages are the Voices of the Land. Remember, reclaim, revive and regenerate (2018, 5). Supporting this is the creation of locally specific language programs. These include Joel Wright, a Gunditjmara language specialist, who led the Laka Gunditj part of the South West Aboriginal Language Program (SWALP) (The Wheeler Centre, 2016). There has also been the Dhauwurd Wurrung Language Program being run at Heywood Secondary College on Gunditjmara Country (VAEAI, 2018). 116 More information on NAIDOC found here: https://www.naidoc.org.au/. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 180 Keeray wurrung (Western District, Victoria) Mutti Mutti (north west Victoria/New South Wales border Woiwurrung (Wurundjerisouth-central Victoria, Melbourne district) Porran porran koola moothang dhaima-dhaima The storm that destroys wattle blossoms get the fish by spearing it in shallow water What time of year; what type of wattle; what else is happening at the same time of year; food gathering responsibilities How and where to procure fish hear, listen, understand, know Deep understanding rather than simply hearing Marbeangrook Evening star -grook = female suffix, possibly time for women's ceremony when in certain place in horizon Wominjeka Commonly referred to as 'Welcome' Womin = to come; -dj = -instruction; -ka = purpose Demadha Figure 5-24: Cultural knowledge embedded in a single word. Source: (in Nicholson, 2013b). Community Language Programs are the key to uncovering sleeping meanings of words and phrases. First Nations language concepts are difficult to translate directly into English as a whole plethora of cultural knowledge can be contained in a single word as seen in examples in Figure 5-24. However, due to the many language dialects within each Language Group it can be difficult to focus on one Language for a region. This can also be the case when describing one’s language affiliation to others in different situations as there are often multiple connections. 5.8 Identity through language affiliation There are nine distinct languages that come under the definition of Gunditjmara. Some members identify by their specific language affiliation, while others, depending on the situation, will identify by the umbrella term, Gunditjmara. A situation may mean meeting someone formally or informally and describing one’s ancestry. For example, if one were addressing another First Nation Victorian, they would most likely understand your described language affiliation. If addressing an international, nonlocal or non-First Nation person, one may then identity under the umbrella term that is more recognisable to the wider community. For example, the author identifies as Wurundjeri of the Woiwurrung speakers. This is the case for some, while others choose to identify solely under their umbrella term. Some groups/individuals identify with dual names such as the Gunnai/Kurnai of Gippsland, some identify with one or both as they are the same group (see Figure 5-25). This is because when Europeans were transcribing language, they were attempting to spell an oral language that had sounds unfamiliar to English, hence over time the spellings of words adapted and changed Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 181 making transcriptions difficult. In saying this, some communities have chosen to associate with one or both of these adapted names, such as Taungurung/Daungwurrung and Wathaurong/Wadawurrung (see AIATSIS, n.d.-a). 5.9 The diversity of Victorian languages Language forms a major part of defining connection to Country. Victoria itself, as seen in Figure 5-25, has 38 recognised languages and each with regional dialects making around 60 languages for one of the smallest states in Australia. Dawson describes that during Gunditjmara’s: … annual great gatherings of the associated tribes, where sometimes twenty tribes assembled, there were usually four languages spoken, so distinct from one another that the young people speaking one of them could not understand a word of the other three; and even the middle-aged people had difficulty … (1881, 2). This could also be evidence that languages were changing to such an extent that they were no longer ‘pure’ following invasion and population movements during the Mission period, the time Dawson was recording. Figure 5-25: Victorian language map showing the 38 distinct languages and some of the regional dialects (VACL, 2016a). There are over 250 languages throughout Australia, with many dialects making over 600 as seen in Figure 5-26. As a woman, you would know your Mother Tongue Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 182 (patrilineal or matrilineal), your mother’s/father’s, grandparent’s, then eventually your husband’s language. Messengers, who had the right to travel between Clan territories, knew even more languages so they could converse along their travels. The spread of language was enhanced pre-invasion by trade, marriage and further spread through the Mission period mass movements. Even though people were no longer allowed to speak their Mother Tongue on Missions and Reserves, it remained in differing levels and forms as people secretly communicated through language. However, the languages became ‘blended’ and some words and phrases were adopted throughout Victoria. Figure 5-26: Australian First Nation Language Map with over 250 recognised languages, within which there are numerous regional dialects making over 600 languages throughout the continent (Horton, 1996). Even though languages have been smashed and blended over time, their structure remains, and resources are available to assist communities wake up their Mother Tongues. These include historical records, oral histories and research facilities like the National Library of Australia (NLA, n.d.) and Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS, n.d-e). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 183 5.10 How language draws you back to Country Connection to Country is well defined within language, however when Off Country finding resources can be difficult. Organisations like First Languages Australia (FLA) assist in: … working toward a future where Aboriginal language communities and Torres Strait Islander language communities have full command of their languages and can use them as much as they wish to (FLA, n.d.). FLA’s website features an interactive language map called Gambay, seen in Figure 5-27 (FLA, 2017). Also, the Research Unit for Indigenous Language’s (RUIL) website lists ‘50 words’ from First Nation Australia, enabling people to connect when they are Off their Countries (RUIL, n.d.). In an example from the US, Wilson Lavender, an Apache man, speaks of being Off Country and forgetting the names and stories of his homeland, stating, ‘I don’t hear them in my mind anymore. I forget how to live right, forget how to live strong’ (in Basso, 1984, 21). Figure 5-27: First Languages Australia (FLA) Gambay interactive language map, allowing access to language resource Off Country (FLA, 2017). The Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL) is an important resource that has assisted many Victorian Language Groups create their own resources (VACL, 2021). VACL assists in empowering Language Warriors’ or community linguists and local language programs through schools and community groups. They also assist in language training so community members can teach their language to others. They also teach techniques on how to delve into language meanings. Deep analysis of language place names for example highlights that an area may also be gendered. An example is noted by Porteous, where Mount Poolongoork has a Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 184 Gulinj/Kulin 117 name of Bula(ng)goork which means ‘the two women’ (in Clark, 2002, 173), located on Djargurdwurrung/Tyakoort Woorroong Country near Mount Elephant (in Smyth, 1878b, 179). Another Djargurdwurrung/Tyakoort Woorroong example includes the southern peak of what is now known as Mount Leura named Tuunuunbee heear meaning ‘moving moving female’ (Dawson, 1881, 1xxxii, Smyth, 1878b). The Djaara (Dja Dja Wurrung) 118 narrative tells of a wise old volcano Tarrangower (meaning big/heavy and a mountain near the town Maldon) and a young inexperienced volcano Lalgambook (Mount Franklin, near Daylesford). Lalgambook challenged Tarrangower by throwing rocks and lava at him but failed and eventually ‘blew his core’ in his efforts, leaving him ‘coughing and spluttering’ (Nelson in ACA, 2018, 46-47). 109F 10F 5.11 The culture of possum skin cloaks Another example of connecting to Country and culture is the reclamation of making possum skin cloaks. Kuuramuuk is the Kuurnkopanut and Peek whurrung 119 name for the common brush tailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Their name for a large possum skin cloak is Baaluun, while a small one is Tulluukuut mannæn and Knæræt (Dawson, 1881, xlix, xxxiii, xxxiv). The revival of Possum Skin Cloak making in Victoria has enabled full ceremony to again take the forefront of cultural practises. For the Gunditjmara they made different kinds of ‘cloaks’ depending on the weather, as Dawson describes: 1F In winter they [men] add a large kangaroo skin, fur side inwards, which hangs over the shoulders and down the back … Sometimes a small rug made of a dozen skins of the opossum or young kangaroo is worn the same way …Women use the opossum rug at all times, by day as a covering for the back and shoulders and in cold nights as a blanket … In rare instances the rug is made of the skins of the ring-tailed possum (1881, 8). The reclamation of this practise has allowed communities to come together and relearn an essential part of Victorian culture. Cloaks also have ceremonial use like wrapping babies when they are born, during Coming of Age and Welcoming ceremonies. They are used from birth to death, telling one’s life’s journey, making individual cloaks unique, they tell one’s narrative. Marking the rebirth of possum skin cloak making on a large scale was the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 (Figure 5-28). A project led by Victorian First Nation artists Vicki Couzens (Keerray Woorroong/Gunditjmara) and Treahna Hamm and Lee Darroch (both Yorta Yorta) who helped Language Groups from around Victoria reclaim a ceremony that had not been practised for over 180 years (Jones-Amin, 2014, 4). Gulinj/Kulin here ‘goork’ and derivatives of, are a common female suffix in both the Eastern/Central Gulinj/Kulin and Western Gulinj/Kulin of which takes in Western Victoria’s languages. 118 Djaara are the people and Dja Dja Wurrung is the language. 119 Two Clans of the Gunditjmara, James Dawson’s spelling. 117 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 185 Figure 5-28: Victorian Elders in cloaks at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the largest gathering of Victorian Elders in cloaks since European invasion, reaffirming that Victorian First Nation culture is alive and well (Harding, 2006). . A cloak takes a lot of time and precision to create and is handed down generationally today. In the past cloaks were buried with their owners. Dawson describes how they are traditionally cured: A good rug is made from fifty to seventy skins, which were stripped off the opossum, pegged out square or oblong on a sheet of bark, and dried before the fire, then trimmed with a reed knife, and sewn together with the tail sinews of the kangaroo … Previous to sewing … diagonal lines, about half-an-inch apart, are scratched across the flesh side … [with] … sharpened mussel shells. This is done to make them soft and pliable (1881, 9). Today, Vicki Couzens and others are attempting to bring this curing practise back (AIATSIS, n.d-b). But because possums are now a protected species in Victoria, the pelts are mainly purchased from New Zealand or Tasmania. Many are no longer sewn together with kangaroo sinew, but nylon waxed string, with designs applied with a wood burner as seen in Figure 5-29. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 186 Figure 5-29: Replica of the Condah cloak, made by Keerray Woorroong sisters, Vicki and Deborah Couzens, 2002 (National Museum Australia, n.d). The designs on cloaks today reflect Country, animals, family, and Ancestor Spirits and are location-based such that they differ from region to region. Victoria has a carving tradition, consisting mainly of symmetrical lines. The reclamation of cloak making has enabled communities to connect to their culture in a modern and ancient context. It is also an avenue for cross-cultural teaching helping others understand the diversity and richness of Victorian culture. Another way to do this is to compliment through technology. 5.12 Connection to Country through technology Today, technology has assisted First Nation people manage their Country. For example, Brendan Kennedy (2017) – a descendant of the Tati Tati, Wadi Wadi/Watti Watti and Mutti Mutti Language Groups, explains the importance of mixing knowledge sets: This is future Koorie education at its best, the possibilities of this to teach language are endless. It really broadens the horizon of what we can do, bringing the old ways and new technology together. This is one way that the younger generation, can help manage their environment and be involved in community planning. Martu man from the desert region of Western Australia, Curtis Taylor describes the marriage of ancient knowledge and new, ‘Just like the old people we are Dreaming. We have a new dream with technology, we’re using the newest technology with the oldest culture’ (in NMA, 2021c). The use of technology has helped communities ‘culturally map’ there Countries (see Melbourne University, 2019a). Cultural mapping includes recording physical aspects of Country including plants, animals and their movements, water, weather as well as Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 187 recording and monitoring culturally significant sites and places. Community cultural mapping of Gunditjmara Country began on a large scale in 2011-2012 as published in the Ngootyoong Gunditj Ngootyoong Mara South West Management Plan, by utilising technology to digitally map tangible and intangible places (Riches, 2012, 7). The whole physical and spiritual landscape is sacred to the Gunditjmara. There are however individual places/spaces that highlight something significant. Technology was utilised to aid in creating an overall picture of the cultural landscape. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a database of cultural elements of landscape that can be easily added to. Figure 5-30 shows a drone image taken of one of the kuyang channels/weirs at Tae’rak. Figure 5-30: Drone image of kuyang channel/weir whose structure is defined from above (Lovett-Murray, 2020d). Utilising the GIS data and drone footage is making use of technology that can assist in uncovering overgrown areas as seen in Figure 5-31. LiDAR mapping of Gunditjmara Country is conducted in collaboration with universities such as Melbourne University and government departments such as Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP). According to DELWP (2019, 18), the purpose is to transfer ‘data sovereignty back to Traditional Owners’, allowing them to govern their own cultural heritage. There are three types of LiDAR that the Gunditjmara use – robot, handheld, and drone. The University of Melbourne have been using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) - drones to create LiDAR 3D images (Figure 5-31) and Unmanned UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehiclesrobots) (Figure 5-32). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 188 Figure 5-31: Comparisons between what can be seen with the naked eye and how this can be complimented with topology mapping technology (LiDAR) of an eel channel (Lovett-Murray, 2020d). Figure 5-32: UGV travelling up a kuyang causeway creating LiDAR imagery (Melbourne University, 2019b). Other technology utilised is photogrammetry which is ‘the science of obtaining measurements from photographs’ (3DSOURCED, 2021). Figure 5-33 is an example of photogrammetry using a set drone path to create an elevation map and 3D model. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 189 Figure 5-33: Photogrammetry 3D model of some wuurn (houses) at Tae’rak (Lovett-Murray, 2020e). These wuurn (houses) at Tae’rak have foundations in a semicircular shape. According to the Hamilton Spectator: These are situated on the stony ground, and consist of stone basements in the form of a horse shoe with the opening easterly, varying in size from four to seven feet across. The enclosed space was cleared, and it was found that the stones were used for the basement, about one foot high, on which the miamias 120 [shelters] were erected (1892, 3). 12F Technology allows Country to be seen from a different angle, allowing deeper cultural knowledge to be gained that could easily be overlooked if overgrown 121 , or under water. The outcome of the knowledge gained by this technology, compliments the narrative of a deeper cultural landscape. 13F 120 121 Mia mia is a common reference to a shelter, but the Gunditjmara name is wuurn. See Figure 4-13. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 190 Chapter 6 Population Figure 6-1: First Nation world map (National Geographic, n.a). 6.1 Introduction This chapter maps out First Nations populations, within Australia, Victoria, Gunditjmara and briefly worldwide and the extent of British invasion resulting in the rapid demise of populations. Movements are followed from pre-invasion to post-invasion, including ‘Traditional’, ‘Mission Period’, and ‘contemporary/post Mission Periods’. From when populations followed the seasons, or in the Gunditjmara case, manipulation of the environment allowed for permanent residences; through the mission period where movements were restricted with human rights violated through derogatory Protectorate Acts of the 19th century; through to modern times where most First Nations populations now reside in urban settings. 6.2 Population numbers First Nations people populate all parts of the world as seen in Figure 6-1. Figure 6-2 shows the British have invaded 180 countries around the world. Invasion by Europeans of mainland Australia began when Captain Cook voyaged the South Pacific three times between 1768 and 1779. Where the British Admiralty gave ‘Secret Instructions’ to Cook to take possession of land only with the: …Consent of the Natives … in the Name of the King of Great Britain … Despite Cook’s observations … [observing many camp fires along the east coast] … Governor Arthur Phillip claims sovereignty and ownership of the land through the legal concept of terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) over the area that Captain James Cook had named New South Wales (AIATSIS, 2015). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 191 Figure 6-2: 'Numerically, around 90 percent of the world had faced a British invasion, which in a modern world makes it some 180 countries out of 200' (Maps of the World, 2018). Highlighted areas were not invaded by the British. This claiming of ‘sovereignty and ownership’ of the Australian continent began when in 1770 Joseph Banks a British botanist who sailed with Captain Cook, noted it to be ‘thinly inhabited’ or possibly ‘totally uninhabited’ (Mulvaney, 1987, 115). Eventually the continent was ‘claimed’ officially by Britain on the on 26th January 1788, with the British false ideal of terra nullius covering the whole continent of Australia including Tasmania. Due to this inaccurate theory, the First Nations populations were not treated as humans and numbers fell rapidly. In response, the Aboriginal Protectorate was established in Victoria in 1838 (PROV, 2021), only three years after Melbourne was ‘founded’. It was established to ‘protect’ First Nations populations, under the guise of ‘protection’, where attempts to ‘civilise’ through Christianity were aimed at assimilating the ‘remaining’ populations into the invader’s society. George Augustus Robinson, a builder, was appointed the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Victoria between 18391849 after implementing the Aboriginal Protectorate in Tasmania in 1829. While in Tasmania, Robinson observed the swift demise of the First Nation Tasmanians and estimated their population both pre and post invasion: Mortality had been severe, and by 1835 the Aboriginal population, estimated at about 4000 before European settlement began, had shrunk to fewer than 150 natives … Introduced disease was now rapidly reducing the number of survivors (in Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 192 The Eastern/Central Gulinj/Kulin exemplifies how swift invasion took place from 1835, in only 16 years: … almost 12,000 Europeans had appropriated the estates of the Kulin [Gulinj] clans and dispossessed the owners. By 1851 the newly-separated colony of Victoria was occupied by 77,345 Europeans, 391,000 cattle and 6,590,000 sheep … by 1861 some 540,000 Europeans immigrants had claimed all of Victoria except for the mountains and the mallee country they considered uninhabitable … (Barwick, 1971, 108). The recording of accurate First Nation populations in Australian in 1788 would have proved difficult as populations stretched across vast areas. Also, First Nation and Chinese populations were often not included in the census counting during the Gold Rush period (between 1851 and 1893). Further population estimates were taken for the state of Victoria by Robert Brough Smyth, Secretary to the Central Board for Aborigines (F igure 6-3). According to Smyth, the First Nation populations in Victoria in 1861 were estimated at 1860 individuals, noting that the numbers ‘… are only approximate, the wandering habits of the Aborigines rendering it difficult to obtain accurate Returns’. When more ‘accurate’ numbers were easier to obtain during the Mission Period 122 which began in 1820 in New South Wales and 1837 in Victoria 123 with Missions (church-run) and Stations/Reserves (government or privately run) by 1883, much of the First Nation population had been decimated. One reason was the imported illnesses they had no immunity for such as smallpox (3 epidemics); Sexually Transmitted Infections; (Gonorrhoea, Syphilis); Tuberculosis; influenza and pneumonia; whooping cough and measles, diarrhoea and dysentery (see Dowling, 1997). Reynolds supports this by stating that during the Contact Period between First Nation Australians and Europeans, exotic diseases caused severe mortality across Australia (1975, 71). 14F 15F 122 123 Discussed in Section 6.5 Population movements - Mission Period. See Table 4: List of Christian run Missions and government run Reserves throughout Australia. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 193 Melbourne (Total - 35) •Congregated at - Mordialloc, Brighton &c. •Tribe/s - Wawoorong or Yarra and Boorroorong or Coast Tribe Geelong (Total - 20) •Congregated at - Geelong, Winchelsea &c. •Tribe/s - Barabool and Colac Central Western (Total - 20) Ballarat (Total - 255) •Congregated at - Purrumbeet &c. •Tribe/s - Charcourt •Congregated at - Ballarat, Bald Hill, Mount Emu, Bacchus Marsh &c. •Tribe/s - Bereberra, Or Mount Emu, Murrutchuloo or Bald Hill, Buninyong and Bacchus Marsh Upper Loddon (Total - 8) •Congregated at - Mount Franklin &c. •Tribe/s - Upper Loddon Lower Loddon (Total - 40) •Congregated at - Boort &c. •Tribe/s - Lower Loddon Richardson River (Total - 20) North Wimmera (Total - 200) Central Wimmera (Total - 300) South Eastern Wimmera (Total - 90) Portland Bay (Total - 142) Warrnambool (Total - 250) •Congregated at - Rich, Avoca &c. •Richardson •Congregated at - Lake Boga, Swan Hill, banks of Murray •Tribe/s - Wampa Wampa, Watty Watty, Maika Maika •Congregated at - Moravian Mission Station, Vesti's Station and Upper Regions •Tribe/s - Pine Plain, Lake Hindmarsh, Mackenzie, Tatira •Congregated at - Harrow, Apsley •Tribe/s - names lost •Congregated at - Glenelg, Wannon Lake, Condale, Mount Rouse, Portland &c. •Tribe/s - [blank] •Congregated at - Banks of River, Town, &c. •Eight tribes names not received Rodney (Total - 66) •Congregated at - Banks of Goulburn, Campaspe, Townships &c. •Tribe/s - Campaspe and Lower Loddon Wangaratta (Total - 60) •Congregated at - Wahgunyah, Wangaratta, Wodonga, Yackandandah, &c. •Whroo, Glematong, Kiewa, Unnoring, &c. Mitta Mitta (Total - 28) •Congregated at - on the banks of Mitta, &c. •Thurmatong or Little River, and Omeo Upper Goulburn (Total - 96) Port Albert (Total - 23) Sale (Total - 250) •Congregated at - Murchison station, Town, &c. •Congregated at - Port Albert, Tarraville •Tribe/s - [blank] •Congregated at - Banks of Rivers, Town &c. •Eight tribes names not received Figure 6-3: Estimated Victorian First Nation population in 1861. Complied by R. Brough Smyth, Secretary to the Central Board for Aborigines (ABS, 1862, 33, see BPA, 1861, 13). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 194 According to Barwick: Early estimates of the original native population of Victoria range from 5,000 to 15,000 … [was] reduced by one or several smallpox epidemics which spread westward from tribe to tribe between 1789 and 1835. Fewer than 2,000 remained by 1863 (1971, 288). Table 1: Estimated numbers of First Nation people in Victoria in 1863. Numbers of First Nation people in Victoria Numbers of [dual and mixed in 1863 124 heritage 125] 1863 126 Locality Adults Children Total Adults Children Total M F M F M F M F Southern District 17 11 3 2 33 1 1 (Melbourne) Northern District 73 51 33 25 182 1 2 16 9 28 (Goulburn Valley) North-eastern 15 24 14 21 110 2 3 4 5 14 District (Upper Murray) North-western 257 137 53 42 489 7 13 17 10 47 District (Lower Murray) Wimmera 136 77 20 7 240 2 5 9 3 19 South-western 358 173 64 50 645 11 16 28 27 82 District (Western District) South-eastern 1003 537 211 169 1920 23 39 78 60 200 District (Gippsland) 16F 17F 18F Note: This table is a truncated version from source, for full featured table with all Districts Language Group data, and information on historic sources and adjustment of numbers, see Appendix O. Source: (Barwick in Mulvaney, 1971, 292-293). As seen in Table 1, many dual and mixed heritage numbers were noted in the 1863 data. ‘Half-caste’ is a derogatory term that denotes ‘purity’; other derogatory terms of reference included ‘Quadroons’ and ‘Octoroons’ (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 22). Although these population numbers can never be confirmed accurately, the numbers of the demise of the populations can somewhat. According to Reynolds who has written widely on First Nation and European Frontiers, ‘… [the] alarming decline of the Aboriginal population from about 300 000 in 1788 to not much more than 50 000 [occurred] in a little over a century’ (1981, 127). Other estimations can be seen in Figure 6-4. An example of the swiftness of demise was given by W.L Cleland, President of the Royal Society of South Australia: Notes on original table: ‘Complied by BPA, 25 September 1863, totals only published in 2nd Annual Report 1863)’. 125 The derogatory classification ‘half-caste’ is replaced by ‘mixed heritage’ throughout thesis. 126 Notes on original table: ‘Data not given in published census’. 124 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 195 … no longer protected by isolation, he [First Nation Australians] must shortly entirely disappear from the face of the earth for he is an anachronism and archaic (1899, 307). 140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 1788 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1933 1947 1954 1961 1966 1971 NSW Vic. Qld SA WA Tas. NT ACT Figure 6-4: Minimum estimates of the First Nation population of Australian States and Territories between 1788 – 1971. Noting that ACT recordings began in 1911. Source: Derived from (Smith, 1980). Another reason for the swift demise of populations was through Frontier conflict. Reynolds estimates that around 20,000 deaths occurred with vast amounts of evidence found in: … official reports both public and confidential, newspapers, letters, reminiscences … Later observers came across bones and skulls; buried, burnt or hidden and occasionally collected and put proudly on display (1981, 127). According to AIATSIS, from contact, the Frontier conflict ‘… lasted over 140 years and … [created] cultural divides that continue to split Australia to this day’ (2015). As seen in Figure 6-5, revised estimated numbers of First Nations population in Australia in 1788 at around 800,000 indicate that in around 1845 the European populations overtook First Nation populations (i.e., around 57 years after invasion). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 196 Figure 6-5: ‘Population takeover: Aboriginal & Colonists populations, 1788-1850’ (Hunter, 2015, 22, see Reynolds, 1981, 11, White, 1987, 117). The Gunditjmara example is noted by Dawson, where large families above five did not usually occur to ensure the continued sustainability of their extended group (1881, 39). Lourandos suggests: ‘Bands’ [Clans] consisted of 16-20 to 100 people, and over. They were composed of males from the local area, their wives, children and other members or visitors. Membership was fluid. Most interaction between band [Clan] members appears to have occurred within ‘dialect’ and ‘tribal’ (language) boundaries. The population density of the district … [Western Victoria] … ranged from 0.7 to 0.4 people per square km. in the most fertile coastal area [Peek whuurong, Port Fairy] to 0.4-0.3 people per square km. in the inland region south of the Ranges [northern Chaap wuurong 127] (1980, 247248). 19 F A refined focus of the Port Phillip region of Victoria, seen in Table 2, shows populations of Europeans, Chinese and First Nation at the height of the Gold Rush. Of note is Chinese and First Nation populations were not often counted on official census data. Mulvaney notes that the ‘… first full, official census of the … [First Nation] population of Australia was taken only in 1971’ (1987, 115). 127 James Dawson’s spelling used. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 197 Table 2: Victorian population statistics of Europeans, Chinese and First Nation Australians from 7th April 1861 census data. Population Exclusive of Chinese and First Nation Chinese First Nation Total Europeans 513,896 24,732 1,694 540,322 Males 302,881 24,724 1,046 328,651 Females 211,015 8 648 211,671 Source: (ABS, 1862, 9). The First Nation population today, including Torres Strait Islander populations at the last census conducted in 2016, sits at 2.6% of the Australia’s total population (ABS, 2016) 128. 120F 6.3 Population movements over time For many reasons, either forcibly or for necessity, populations of First Nations people moved in waves. The common belief was that First Nations people of Australia were all ‘nomads’ and travelled following the resources and only built temporary homes. However, in the 1970s, this theory changed by studying the manipulated environment of the Gunditjmara of Western Victoria. This included the Budj Bim landscape, and Tae’rak where more permanent basalt stone structures were built and formed the channels for farming the short-finned eels (Anguilla australis). This helped rewrite preinvasion Australian history. Builth notes these dwellings are: … closely related to the presence, seasonal or otherwise, of water bodies - be they channels or wetlands. Hundreds of dwellings and storage remains have been observed in such proximities (2004, 177). Due to the size of Tae’rak, spread over some 250 ha (Crook, 2008, 3), there was no need to seasonally move due to their deliberate manipulation of the environment. According to McNiven: … rather than living passively off whatever nature provided, the Gunditjmara actively and deliberately manipulated local water flows and ecologies to engineer a landscape focused on increasing the availably if eels … included stone structures (such as traps and channels) dating back at least 6,600 years (2017a). The Lake was drained in the late 1800s and again in 1954 for farmland flood prevention. More recently in 2010, the Lake was refilled after a new weir was constructed (see Figure 6-9). The water once again flows through the causeways and used for their intended purpose some of which according to McNiven and colleagues are up to 3.5kms long (2012, 268). Radiocarbon dates gathered by Lourandos and other archaeologists of 19 Western Victorian archaeological sites including coastal shell middens, caves/rock shelters, earth mounds and inland sites (lakes and lunettes), sets the time of Gunditjmara 128 Unfortunately, at time of writing the 2021 census data was not yet released. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 198 occupation at around 12,500 years, with most dates recorded between ‘4000-3000’ years with more ‘increased’ archaeological evidence over the past 2000 years. This increased archaeological evidence is modelled as the ‘intensification’ of site usage/utilisation (1983, 86, 88). However, by dating the bases of the causeways and the sediment found therein, McNiven and colleagues estimates their construction at the Muldoon’s Complex on the southwest edge of Tae’rak to have taken place in phases, beginning with the ‘… initial channel construction through basal block removal c.6600 cal BP (2012, 282). This shows the Gunditjmara utilisation of the lake has been consistent over time with the approximate date of Tae’rak formation around 11,000 BP (McNiven, 2012, 270). Figure 6-6 shows the age range of an eel causeway (channel) at Muldoon’s Trap Complex at Tae’rak. Figure 6-6: ‘Cross-section through Squares B and C located 10cm out from the east wall of the excavation trench. Loose rocks represent blocks forming the constructed channel walls. Bedrock exposed following removal of basalt blocks to form the North and South Channels’ (McNiven, 2012, 276). Alongside the history of Tae’rak, the Gunditjmara oral traditions tell of witnessing tsunamis where a ‘tidal wave’ occurred in Leywhollot (Portland) (Clark, 2002, 174). The Gunditjmara observed the destruction from Yayan (Mount Eckersley). According to the Portland Advertiser: At the time Yallok (Crawford River) was a great arm of the sea; and Banbangil (Mount Vandyke) rose from the plain in one night, and Pyrtpartee (Mount Mistake) leapt up a day or two after. Palawarra (Heywood) was a great swamp, and Benwerrin (Mount Richmond) was on fire. There were great wild beasts in the country then, and at Numburn-burn (Etterick) there were some that the blackfellows dared not encounter. The first blackfellows, the legend asserts, came from where the sun sets, across the isthmus, which the tidal wave destroyed; and when Mount Gambier begins to burn, and the earth to shake, the tidal wave will come again. Anonymous (1870, 2) Oral histories tell further accounts of the region’s volcanic eruptions. Known as the Newer Volcanic Province (NVP) which is only young, between ~4.6 Ma–5 ka (Heath, Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 199 2019, 1-2), or even as early as 7.8 Ma (Wilke, 2020, 5). According to Boyce, the Western Victorian: … sub province contains 42% of NVP volcanic centres in the form of 23% of the NVP’s simple scoria cones, 47% of lava shields, 71% of simple maars and 63% of the complex centres … these eruptions cover an area of >14,600km² (2014, 457). Western Victorian First Nation oral histories are testimony to the witnessing of these eruptions. This is supported by an area’s original placename. Dawson describes the custodial land of the ‘Burug gundidj people who spoke Girae wurrung [Keerraay Woorroonng]’129: Some names of places indicate the existence of heat in the ground at a former period; but no tradition exists of any of the old craters, so numerous in the Western District, ever having thrown out smoke or ashes, with the exception of ‘Bo’ok’, [Mt Shadwell] a hill near the town of Mortlake. An intelligent aboriginal distinctly remembers his grandfather speaking of fire coming out of Bo’ok when he was a young man … thrown out of the hill by the action of fire.’ (Dawson, 1881, 101-102). Figure 6-7: Extent of Victoria’s NVP, showing types of volcanic eruptions (Boyce, 2014, 450). Being such a large volcanic complex (Figure 6-7), many Language Groups across the state would have either witnessed or have narratives tied to the many eruption points. The Budj Bim landscape, according to Wilkie and colleagues, erupted around 36,900 ± 3100 years ago as a scoria and spatter cone (2020, 5). Bonwick, an amateur geologist, 129 Dawson spelling, italics added by author. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 200 referred to the NVP as the ‘burnt fields’ which extended ‘… from the Bay of Port Phillip, near Melbourne and Geelong, to beyond the western border of Victoria, by the Glenelg [River]’ (1861, 543). Further evidence that volcanic eruptions could have been witnessed on a larger scale is revealed through analysis of language. Dawson notes that the Chaapwuurong 130 word for active volcano is Tinææn; and Walpa kuulor, means ‘burning hill’ in Chaap wuurong, and Baawan kuulor in the Kuurn Kopan noot language (1881, xxiii, x1iv). The linguistic accounts from selected areas around Victoria related to lava or lava stone are seen in Figure 6-8. 12F Name Language Group Meaning Kuulin (spring near Mortlake) Giraiwurrung [Keerray woorroong] lava hole Kuulokaar (Port Fairy -pond) Dhauwurdwurrung [Dhauwurd Wurrung] lava hole Willam-be-ween (Pentland Hills between Melbourne and Ballarat) Woiwurrung home of fire Kulurr (Kolora Lagoon S of Mortlake) Djapwurrung [Djabwurrung] lava stone used to rub ochre Collargateyaller (Sago Hill near Ballarat) Wathawurrung [Wadawurrung] lava creek Djargurdwurrung [Tyakoort Woorroong] lava, lava stone Culer-culerr Mount Sugarloaf Figure 6-8: Examples of placenames relating to lava, lava flow and lava stone (Dawson, 1881, 1xxx, Robinson, 1866 , 200, Porteous in Smyth, 1878b, 179). In the Ballarat area, Mt Buninyong (meaning ‘with his/her knees’) on Wadawurrung Country, and Mount Elephant (Terrinallum/Derrinallum meaning ‘home of the swallows or terns’) on neighbouring Tyakoort woorroong Country fought by throwing rocks at each other (Powell, 2018, language from Clark, 2002, 40, 66). 130 Dawson spelling used for Language Group names. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 201 An example that supports human occupation prior to recorded eruption points includes Tower Hill 131 near Warrnambool a nested maar and scoria cone that erupted around 36,800 ±3800 (Wilke, 2020, 5). Edmund Gill, curator of fossils at the former National Museum of Victoria, explains that the Gunditjmara witnessed, ‘burning mountains’ (1938, 3). 123F Scientific evidence supports the theory that First Nation Australians could have witnessed the volcanic activity. The rest of the world’s populations were travelling thousands of kilometres from their origin, however, according to Barras, First Nation ‘… populations appear to have occupied the same place for almost 50,000 years’ (2020). After Tower Hill exploded it left a layer of ash, entombing anything beneath it. According to Gill: … [at the] right bank of the Merri River at Bushfield, north of Warrnambool, a farmer sank a hole eight feet deep in the river terrace … Under hard tuff, in a layer of tuffaceous freshwater limestone, an aboriginal basalt axe with hafting groove was found along with some black shiny mineralized bones … numerous bones, along with a flake and bone implements in the river deposits nearby … (1955, 112, see Gill, 1938, Johnson, 2020c). This kind of evidence shows that there has been continued occupation in Western Victoria for millennia, and due to the sophisticated aquaculture system, there was no need for the Gunditjmara to travel long distances. Today this system is being reawakened. A new weir above an old causeway can be seen in Figure 6-9 with the water returning to Tae’rak in Figure 6-10. Figure 6-9: The new weir constructed in 2010, renewing the sleeping aquaculture system of Tae’rak (VAHC, 2021b). 131 There are many listed names for Tower Hill, see CLARK, I., & HEYDON, T. 2002. Dictionary of Aboriginal Placenames of Victoria, Melbourne, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 202 Figure 6-10: Aerial view of the reclaimed Tae’rak. Source: (VAHC, 2021b). The movements of different Language Groups were severely restricted once invasion severed alliances, and access to their custodial land and resources was denied. However, the tourism potential of this landscape today is immense, especially given the recent Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage listing 132 and could become a reason for more Gunditjmara to live and work On Country. 124F 6.4 Population movements - traditional Victorian First Nation Language Groups pre-invasion were egalitarian societies with a Headman or Leader. These Headmen were revered by their own people and neighbouring groups (see Barwick, 1984). These Headmen were the ones who made the decisions on movements of their people. Pre-invasion, people would travel across and through their custodial areas, while ‘messengers’ would travel further distances to pass communications onto other Language Groups. These messengers were directed by the Headman with names such as Wækerr for both Chaap wuurong and Kuurn Kopan noot, Weehnirr for the Peek woorroong (Dawson, 1881, xxvi), biya(a)(rr) for the Wadawurrung, Lewin for the Gunnai (Dent, 1997, 30), Piyaar for the Tjap wurrung 133 (Blake, 1998, 122), and Wirrigirri for the Wurundjeri. A messenger was very respected and could travel through other Countries freely without the usual required permissions. The only other way you could travel into someone else’s Custodial Land without permission was if you had blood or affiliate connections to it, through birth, marriage, or moiety, as Barwick describes the Kulin/Gulinj example below: 125F Near kinsmen of women married to men of the owning clan were able to visit this territory and use its resources and members of associated clans of the same 132 133 See Section 4.11 Budj Bim Cultural Landscape added to World Heritage List. Tjap wurrung/Chaap wuurrung/Djap wurrung. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 203 moiety also had certain privileges of access. The land tenure system of the Kulin permitted individuals to make claims on various relatives in order to use land beyond their own estate. Individuals 'born' on the land of another clan had lifelong access but did not acquire clan membership. Visitors who had no entitlement could also seek formal permission from clan-heads for temporary access. The safety of all approved visitors was guaranteed. The system worked because reciprocity was the guiding principle of land and resource. (Barwick, 1984, 106) The Messenger brought information relating to many things including inter-Clan or inter-Language Group gatherings, ceremonies, marriages, or deaths. They carried a message stick with markings telling of which direction, location and how long to travel by its unique markings. A Gunditjmara message stick is shown in Figure 6-11. Figure 6-11: Message sticks from all over Australia, held in a foreign museum of Howitt’s collection from 1888. The smallest thin one being a Gunditjmara message stick (Pitt Rivers Museum, 2012). According to Dawson, messengers also wore specific body decoration or ochre ‘paint up’ to signal the nature of their message: To distinguish them from spies or enemies, they generally travel two together … When the information is about a great meeting, a korroberꜵ [corroboree = dance celebration], a marriage, or a fight, their faces are painted with red and white stripes across the cheeks and nose. When the information relates to a death, their heads, faces, and hands, their arms up to the elbows, and their feet and legs up to the knees, are painted with white clay (1881, 74). Most large gatherings took place when food resources were plentiful during spring and summer. However, some were during the colder months as seen in Figure 6-12. As a sign of respect for the hosts, messengers who were multilingual could only speak the hosts language, while on their Country (Barwick, 1984, 105). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 204 Figure 6-12: ‘Summary of the major ethnohistorical information on location of organised meeting or large gatherings and the documented movements of people to attend these’ (McBryde, 1984a, 138). The abundant landscape of the Western District was very desirable for health and wellbeing, with people travelling long distances to bath in the perennial salt lakes for medicinal purposes (Thomas, 2010). Large numbers were also invited for food procurement, which helped strengthen Language Group and Clan affiliations. Dawson retells how kangaroos and emus were hunted in large inter-Clan syncronised expeditions near Muston’s Creek, near its junction with the Hopkins River: When it had been agreed by the chiefs of the associated tribes to have a grand battue [driving game], messengers were sent all around to invite everybody to join. As each tribe left its own country, it spread out in line, and all united to form a circle of fifteen or twenty miles in diameter … [heading towards where the women and children were camped and waiting] … At a fixed time the … circle ben began to contract … [as they] … drew near to the central camp both young and old joined them, and formed a line too compact to allow the escape of the game… in the evening a grand feast and korroberꜵ [corroboree]… next morning the game was fairly divided, and each tribe started homewards… Dawson (1881, 79). To compliment the large game, which could not always be readily available, the Gunditjmara relied on aquatic resources that sustained them throughout the year. According to Lourandos these included: … fish, migratory fish – especially eels [Anguilla australis] – birds, eggs and a range of plant species … offered access to a diverse range of neighbouring Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 205 microenvironments, including the fertile open plains and forests … [such as] … yam-daisy (Microseris scapigera), which was collected … in large quantities … [yam-daisy was a] … cold weather staple, the convolvulus (Convolvulus erubescens) … bulrushes (Typha sp.), orchids (Diuris pedunculata), common fern (Pteridium esculentum), and sedge (Eleocharis sphacelata) (1980, 249). Figure 6-13: The location of Kurtonitj stone house and other excavated stone house sites across Gunditjmara country: Kinghorn (1-4); Allambie (5); Gorrie Swamp (6); Thomas’ (71-11); Tyrendarra (12-15) and Muldoon’s (16) (McNiven, 2017b, 173). The abundance of food resources both for animals and people is evidenced through the archaeological record uncovering permanent ‘stone houses’ as seen in Figure 6-13. These ‘stone villages’ were numerous, in the late 1830s ‘… substantial settlements Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 206 comprising groups of up to 30 beehive-shaped huts were common …’ (Williams, 1987, 311). Figure 6-14: Locality of Caramut in Western Victoria, a site of large gatherings and permanent stone dwellings and large oven mounds (Williams, 1987, 312). Dawson also describes large gatherings at Mirræwuæ just west of Caramut (Figure 6-14). This location being central for many local Language Groups: … the districts now known as the Wannon, Hamilton, Dunkeld, Mount William, Mount Rouse, Mount Napier, Lake Condah, Dunmore, Tarrone, Kangatong, Spring Creek, Framlingham, Lake Boloke [Lake Bolac], Skipton, Flat-topped Hill, Mount Shadwell, Darlington, Mount Noorat, Camperdown, Wardy Yallock and Mount Elephant. None of the coastal tribes attended the meetings at Mirræwuæ, as they were afraid of treachery and of attack on the part of the others. (Dawson, 1881, 3). Other archaeological signs of continual occupation are earth mounds used as large communal ground ovens. According to studies conducted by Williams (1987), the locations highlighted by her study corroborate with the locations Dawson describes around Caramut. Figure 6-15 shows the abundance of mounds around the plentiful swamp lands, while Figure 6-16, shows the corresponding Clans (or Bands as Lourandos calls them) that would have frequented the mound sites. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 207 Figure 6-15: Swamplands and earth mounds (ovens) around the Caramut area in Western Victoria on Gunditjmara Country (Williams, 1987, 314). In terms of the ‘general’ First Nation population of Western Victoria after invasion, the main way of calculating with any accuracy was when large gatherings took place. According to Dawson: … it has been found almost impossible to make the aborigines comprehend or compute very large numbers, or even to obtain, from the very few now alive, and approximate estimate of the aggregate strength of the tribes of the Western district previous to the occupation of the country by the white man ... [the] number of friendly tribes which met annually in midsummer for hunting, feasting, and amusements,- occasions of all others the most likely to draw together the largest gatherings, - and then the average strength of each tribe (1881, 3). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 208 Figure 6-16: The Language Groups and Clans of Western Victoria: (1) Bunganditj; (2) Gunditjmara; (3) Jaadwa; (4) Jaara; (5) Katubanut; (6) Kirrae; Kolakngat; (8) Tjapwurong; (9) Wathaurong 134 (Lourandos, 1980, 247). 126F Another reason for movements was for trade. One of the most prized trade items was greenstone from Wil-im-ee Moor-ring (Mount William) near Lancefield on Wurundjeri Country which was under the guardianship of Wurundjeri Ngurungaeta (Headman) Billibellery (Howitt, 1904, 311). Wil-im-ee Moor-ring’s greenstone was highly prized for its suitability for procuring axe heads and traded far and wide as seen in Figure 6-17 into other parts of what is now known as Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. Figure 6-18 shows what was traded. 134 Lourandos spelling used, Clans are referenced as Bands. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 209 Figure 6-17: Trade routes exposed by trade of greenstone from Wil-im-ee Moor-ing (Mt William) meaning place of the axe near Lancefield on Wurundjeri Country and other stone quarries (McBryde, 1984b, 268). Figure 6-18: Summary of the major ethnohistorical information on a range of goods exchanged in south-eastern Australia and their movement from source to exchange centre (McBryde, 1984a, 136). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 210 Societal structures and cultural protocols of the past continue to inform the present. Language Groups are split into moieties (halves), which are represented by various Creation Beings, with a structure dictating who you can marry. For example, in the Wurundjeri community, you are either Bunjil the wedgetail eagle (Aquila audax), or Waa, the raven (Corvus coronoides); the Tati Tati, Wadi Wadi, Mutti Mutti moieties are also the eagle and raven but they call them Muckwarra and Kilparra (Kennedy, 2020); Gunditjmara have Kappatj/kappaheear the yellow tail black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus) and kuurokeetch, ‘long-billed cockatoo’ (long-billed corella) (Cacatua tenuirostris) (Dawson, 1881, 27). One’s moiety is inherited either patrilineally or matrilineally. The majority of Language Groups in Victoria are patrilineal, but Gunditjmara is matrilineal. You were forbidden to marry someone of the same moiety, and you must marry outside your Clan. This was a preventative measure to keep the gene pool diverse, and to strengthen affiliations with other Language Groups and dictates who had rights to certain resources on other Countries, i.e., one has the same rights as someone with the same moiety On or Off your own Country. Language Group affiliations can be seen in Language similarities by distance, the further apart the less similaries as seen in Table 3 135. For example, Yorta Yorta on the north central border of Victoria with New South Wales only share 10% vocabulary similarities with the east of the state of Victoria (Gippsland). 127F Table 3: Kulin 136 percentages of common vocabulary across Victoria. Bu Warr Co Tjap Wa Woi Bunganditj 41 21 33 23 18 [Buandig] Warrnambool 23 37 27 24 Colac 31 28 27 Western Kulin: 52 43 Tjapwurrung Wathawurrung 51 [Wadawurrung] Eastern Kulin/Gulinj: Woiwurrung Yota -Yota [Yorta Yorta] Pallanganmiddang Dhudhuroa Gippsland Source: (Blake, 2011, 10). 128 F YY 13 Pall 14 Dhu 13 Gipps 13 11 17 14 11 14 20 10 19 22 13 20 16 15 16 14 18 13 22 13 27 - 25 11 10 - 11 - 16 13 - Marital protocol also dictated population flow; a wife would live on their husband’s Country. This husband was usually from a neighbouring Language Group, part of the same Language Family, or from a Language Group further away but with alliances already built or being built by the marriage itself. These chosen Language Groups were very selective depending on relationships. For example, according to Berak, and 135 136 For specific locations see Figure 5-25. ‘Kulin’ includes Eastern/Central Gulinj/Kulin and Western Kulin. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 211 observations by Robinson, many Language Groups saw each other as enemies implicating proposed marriage partnerships and labelling them with ‘strange’ and ‘evil’ connotations: In 1880 William Barak [Berak] told Howitt that in his boyhood the Pangerang [Bangerang] about the Murray Campaspe junction, the Kurnai [Gunnai] of Gippsland, and all those to the south and west of the Wathaurong [Wadawurrung] were all meymet. On his 1841 journey through the Western District Chief Protector Robinson found that his Wathaurong [Wadawurrung] and ‘Jarcoort’ [Tyakoortwuurung] guides label their coastal neighbours, of alien speech, mainmeet. In the same year his subordinate Parker reported that the Jajowrong [Djaara/Dja Dja wurrung] also used this label for all groups, regardless of graphical location, whom they did not marry: “Mainmait”, i.e. “strange” blacks practised the “wooreet” [sorcery] against them (Barwick, 1984, 104-105). There are several language families across the state of Victoria, some say there is up to 11 (Eira, 2012). Hercus has grouped them into seven as seen in Figure 6-19. Figure 6-19: The 7 language families across Victoria showing how similarities rely on geographic location (Hercus, 1986, viii). Language Families are a group of languages who share much language, customs and grammar and alliances. For example, Gunditjmara are included in the Gunditj Language Family. These language structures and relationships with neighbouring Language groups changed dramatically when Europeans arrived, leading into the Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 212 Mission Period of the mid-1800s which had devastating effects on people, families, language, and culture. 6.5 Population movements - Mission Period The Mission Period, part of the ‘Aborigines Protectorate’ that hit Australia between 1838 and 1849, had major impacts on population movements (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 50). The ‘Protectorate’ came about to ‘control and manage’ the First Nation ‘problem’ and to assimilate the remaining First Nation populations that had suffered devastating losses due to invasion processes, through appointing a Select Committee into the ‘condition of Aboriginal people’. The Select Committee then recommended a protectorate system be put into place, instructing that: … the education of the young will of course be amongst the foremost of the cares of the missionaries; and the protectors should render every assistance in their power in advancing this all important part of any general scheme of improvement (Parliamentary Select Committee (Great Britain), 1837, 127). This involved the ‘rounding up’ of most of the First Nation’s population and placing them on Missions and Reserves, making the people easier to ‘manage’ and remove them from hindering progress of the invaders: ‘… one third of one percent of the colony’s land was set aside in order to ‘settle’ the Aboriginal question by centralising them for convenience...’ (Wettenhall, 2010, 38). Missions and Reserves around Victoria included the main eight, seen in Figure 6-20, Coranderrk (near Healesville) with its predecessor Acheron (near Acheron); Cummeragunga (near Barmah); Ramayuck (near Sale); Ebenezer (near Lake Hindmarsh); Lake Tyers (near Lakes Entrance); Framlingham (near Warrnambool) and Lake Condah (near Heywood). By this time, the First Nation Australians and First Nation Tasmanians had suffered heavy losses due to Frontier conflict (discussed later), including loss of hunting grounds and resources. According to Stanner, this forced them to break away from the main group and move closer to the invaders in: … small floating segments, each of which is likely to leave the main tribe and attach itself in parasitic fashion to a cattle station, mission, farm, or settlement. Once this stage has been reached the tribes will never return to the old nomadic life in the bush. Once a tribe is parasitic it is in the half-way house to extinction (Stanner, 1979, 12) Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 213 Figure 6-20: The eight main Missions (Christian run) and Reserves (Government run) of Victoria between 1858-1953. Adapted from Barwick (in Mulvaney, 1971, 290) with additions by author. In 1860, a ‘Central Board to watch over the interests of Aborigines’ who had statutory authority was established by the Governor, after being discussed in Parliament: Previous aboriginal welfare had for some years been, apart from the efforts of the Churches, in the hands of the official “Guardian of Aborigines” and local “Protectors of Aborigines”, the latter being police and other Government officials, and some settlers … The first Board, which consisted of seven members, of whom three were members of Parliament … (Parliament of Victoria, 1957, 4). As seen in Figure 6-20, the outcome of the Board recommendations was to assign parcels of land for Missions and Reserves. By 1867: … it was managing reserves at Framlingham and Coranderrk, had indirect control of a number of missions which received some government assistance and administered a number of small reserves and ration depots (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 50). Different Acts were also established to control First Nations people. According to the Aborigines Protection Act 1869 (Vic), powers given to the Governor regulate: … administrating the Government acting by and with the advice of the Executive Council… [had the power to] … make regulations and orders for any of the purposes … prescribing the place where any aboriginal or any tribe of Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 214 aborigines shall reside … prescribing the terms on which contracts for and on behalf of aboriginals may be made with Europeans, and upon which certificates may be granted to aboriginals who may be able and willing to earn a living by their own exertions … For the care and custody and education of the children of aborigines. In Victoria, by 1874 there were six Government Reserves/Stations with total land reserved for First Nation purposes of 24,692 acres [9,992 ha] (Parliament of Victoria, 1957, 4). By July 1883, the indicative numbers of First Nation Victorians on Missions and Reserves shows population numbers dropped dramatically in a relatively short period of time. According to the Nineteenth Report of the Board for the Protection of the Aborigines in the Colony of Victoria (1884), there were 15 ration depots managed by local ‘guardians’: … at which stores can be obtained by those Aborigines, about 300, who will not come into any of the reserves. The larger number of these are located in the Swan Hill District and about the junction of the Goulburn and the Murray. About one-eighth of those outside the stations are… [dual heritage] (1884a, 3). Table 4: Missions and Reserves across Victoria in 1883. Mission/Reserve Coranderrk Framlingham Lake Condah Lake Wellington [Ramayuck] Lake Tyers Lake Hindmarsh [Ebenezer] TOTAL Dual heritage Number of residents 112 96 89 83 112 76 568 255 Source: (BPA, 1884a, 3). Table 4 shows that by 1883, the residents on Mission and Reserves totalling 568, just under half were dual heritage. For the Gunditjmara, the rising numbers of dual heritage residents at Lake Condah and Framlingham Missions ‘caused’ problems arising from ‘unconformity’ to the rules of the Missions. As a result, the Board decided to move these dual heritage mission residents to Lake Tyers Mission on the other side of the state almost 700 kms away: Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 215 Experience has shown that the children of these people fail to attend school at those places, and further that an undesirable population of … [q] and … [o 137] … gathers in the vicinity of a reserve. This leads to immorality and quarrels, and in the best interests of the natives eligible for assistance these reserves should be closed as early as possible. It is hoped that if the proposed Aborigines Reserves Bill becomes law this problem will speedily be solved (BPA, 1925, 3). 129F The controlling of populations through discriminatory Acts continued and spread to most of Australia, according to the Bringing Them Home Report: By 1911 the Northern Territory and every State except Tasmania had ‘protectionist legislation’ giving the Chief Protector or Protection Board extensive power to control Indigenous people (1997, 23). Once the Missions and Reserves were well established, the Board decided that only mono heritage 138 remain as residents as it was also costing too much to ‘maintain’ the growing dual heritage population. Therefore, section 4 of the Aborigines Protection Act 1886, also known as the Half Caste Act, was created to assimilate all dual heritage individuals into white society as slaves, giving the Board ‘full power and authority’ over: 130F (2) Every [dual heritage individual] who habitually associate[s] and liv[es] with an aboriginal [and] … completed the[ir] thirty-fourth year … (3) Every [dual heritage] female … married to an aboriginal … [and] living with such aboriginal. (4) Every infant unable to earn his or her own living the child of an aboriginal … [and] living with such aboriginal. (5) Any [dual heritage individual who] holds a licence in writing from the Board … to reside upon any place prescribed as a place where any aboriginal or any tribe of aboriginals can reside. Also noted by the Board, outside the Missions ‘the Warrnambool and Condah districts’ were around 50 dual heritage and mixed heritage people ‘not receiving assistance [from the Board] at present’ (BPA, 1925, 4). Figure 6-21 shows that numbers of mixed heritage residents on Missions and Reserves outnumbered those of mono heritage in 1925. This coincided with the time that Missions and Reserves were being shut down, and resistance of Gunditjmara to relocate to Lake Tyers Mission. ‘q’ and ‘o’ = ‘quandroon’ and ‘octoroon’, both derogatory blood quantum definitions of First Nation individuals. Throughout paper ‘mono’, ‘dual’, or ‘mixed’ heritage is used as replacement terms of reference. 138 ‘Full-blood’ refers to the derogatory blood quantum definition, this as well as ‘half-caste’ has been replaced by the author to ‘mono heritage’ and ‘dual heritage’. 137 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 216 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Mono Heritage Dual and Mixed Heritage Figure 6-21: First Nations residents on Missions and Reserves with Mixed Heritage in 1925 139 (BPA, 1925, 4). 13F 22 39 20 9 Births 6 7 6 7 26 45 21 22 Deaths 16 7 11 13 0 5 10 1871 15 1877 20 1884 1894 25 1904 30 35 40 1911 1922 1925 45 50 Figure 6-22: Comparisons between births and deaths in selected years between 1871 and 1925. Source: (BPA, 1871, 4, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1894, 5-9, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1911, 3, BPA, 1922, 2, BPA, 1925, 4, BPA, 1884a, 3). As seen in Figure 6-22, deaths outnumbered births dramatically for a long time. Figures are from Coranderrk, Lake Condah, Ebenezer, Lake Tyers, Ramayuck, Framlingham and ration depots when they were operating. By 1912, only Coranderrk, Lake Condah, Lake Tyers, and ration depots were operational. By 1922 only Lake Tyers, 139 Mono heritage replaced derogatory term of reference. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 217 Framlingham and Coranderrk were in operation, and in 1925, only Lake Tyers, Coranderrk, Framlingham, and Lake Condah. The Board had control of all wages, who people were to marry, and who qualified for residence and rations on Missions and Reserves. As after the 31st December, 1889, no rations will be issued to half-castes under 34 years of age, … have to leave and provide for themselves. The number on the various stations will then be greatly reduced, in view of which the Board are considering the advisability of doing away with one or more stations … the marrying of half-caste girls to pure blacks … should be discouraged as much as possible … many of these girls are almost white … they will probably find husbands among the white population. Source: (BPA, 1888, 3). Lake Condah Mission residents worked hard to maintain a functioning community; however, they were never paid. Residents built by hand the church, as well as all of the fencing (BPA, 1888, 7). When Missions and Reserves were ‘sold’ off’ people were centralised in one place to save costs. The Board further decided that the income derived from the sale or leasing of the land vacated should be appropriated towards the maintenance of the aborigines remaining under care … In pursuance of this policy the station at Lake Condah has been closed as such. [Four older residents] have been allowed to remain in their cottages, their supply of food and clothing being supervised by a local guardian … On the 7th of August, 1917, after all stations had been inspected … it was resolved that all … [residents] … needing assistance should be concentrated at Lake Tyers … Source: (BPA, 1922, 3). 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1869 1871 1877 1883 1894 1904 1911 1922 1925 Total population Figure 6-23: Lake Condah Mission averaged populations between 1871-1925. Lake Condah Mission officially closed in 1918, but some residents remained until 1957. Source: (BPA, 1871, 3, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1884a, 3, BPA, 1894, 3, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1911, 3, BPA, 1925, 4, BPA, 1922, 4, BPA, 1869, 13). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 218 Figure 6-23 shows the average number of residents at Lake Condah Mission in selected years. In 1869, Mr Green, Inspector of Stations, noted in the Sixth Report of the Aborigines Protection Board, that the local ‘Lake Condah and Portland Tribes’ numbered 51 males, 44 females and 36 children, with just under half residing at Lake Condah Mission, showing the swift demise of Country and culture rights following the arrival of the Henty squatters in the early 1840s. 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 New South Wales Queensland Male South Australia Western Australia Female Figure 6-24: First Nation population in Victoria originating from other states of Australia, 1881. Source: (Office of the Government Statist, 1883, 28). As seen in Figure 6-24, there were rising numbers of Victorian First Nation residents who were born interstate. They may have kinship ties across the states dispersing the population further. This was because the managers of Missions and Reserves would allow them to reside on their Mission or Reserve or they could order current residents onto distant Missions or Reserves as a form of punishment. Eventually those who were forced to relocate ended up settling in the surrounding district, ‘forging new relationships and kinship ties’ across vast areas of Victoria and Australia (Critchett, 1998, 82). Figure 6-25 shows populations at Lake Condah Mission between 1871 and 1925 140 highlighting how death rates outnumbered birthrates in 1904 where no births were recorded, as in the years, 1922, 1923 and 1925 showing the collapse of the Mission population. 132F 140 Noting that the Mission closed twice, first in 1918, second in 1957. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 219 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1871 1877 1883 1894 1904 Births Deaths 1911 1912 1922 1923 1925 Population Figure 6-25: Percentages of total population of Lake Condah, compared to births and deaths. Source: (BPA, 1871, 4, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1884a, 3, BPA, 1894, 3, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1911, 4, BPA, 1912, 3, BPA, 1922, 4, BPA, 1923, 4, BPA, 1925, 4) 141. 13F 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Births Deaths Figure 6-26: Lake Condah Mission births and deaths between 1871 – 1925. Source: (BPA, 1871, 4, BPA, 1877, 3, BPA, 1878, 3, BPA, 1879, 3, BPA, 1880, 3, BPA, 1881, 3, BPA, 1882, 3, BPA, 1884a, 3, BPA, 3, BPA, 1884b, 3, BPA, 1885, 3, BPA, 1886, 3, BPA, 1887, 3, BPA, 1888, 4, BPA, 1889, 3, BPA, 1890, 3, BPA, 1891, 3, BPA, 1892, 3, BPA, 1893, 3, BPA, 1894, 3, BPA, 1895, 3, BPA, 1896, 3, BPA, 1897, 3, BPA, 1898, 3, BPA, 1899, 3, BPA, 1900, 3, BPA, 1901, 3, BPA, 1902, 3, BPA, 1903, 3, BPA, 1904, 3, BPA, 1905, 3, BPA, 1906, 3, BPA, 1907, 3, BPA, 1909, 3, BPA, 1910, 3, BPA, 1911, 3, BPA, 1912, 3, BPA, 1922, 3, BPA, 1923, 3, BPA, 1925, 3). 141 Note: The year 1922 only has population data for Lake Condah Mission. Births and deaths are not recorded. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 220 Figure 6-26 shows that the death rate outnumbered the birth-rate for a long time, with spikes in 1889, 1890, 1897, 1898 and 1910 with several years not recording any births. There were other ways that populations were decimated. Around the time Lake Condah mission opened in 1867, Alfred McDonald was a child of one of the first four Gunditjmara families to reside at the Lake Condah Mission. He recalls hiding in the reeds and: … ‘hunters’ in the lava caves around Budj Bim … [the] newcomers had lured the starving Budj Bim clan remnants with offers of flour and massacred them at Lake Condah … after the Eumeralla war [(discussed later), the people] … eked out a fugitive existence among the Stones and swamps … (Wettenhall, 2010, 39). Shooting or poisoning of flour were ‘easy’ ways to rid the invaders of the First Nation ‘problem’. George Augustus Robinson was informed by How.e.nur.neen, alias Sally, who witnessed three of her Clan shot by white men in the valley of Cor-roit: She said the men told them to come and they would give them damper. When they went, they were shot … I felt indignant at this murder by my countrymen but could not act as the evidence of the blacks was not admissible (1841, 249). Robinson also describes being informed that Henty’s man Connel ‘was the white man who poisoned the natives.’ Also, at Winter’s station, he noted ‘It is remarkable that while Winter encouraged the natives at their home … they have a large swivel gun mounted … which is intended, they say, to be used against the blacks if necessary’ (Robinson, 1841, 249-250). Furthermore, on the 24th of February 1842, the bodies of three women were found at Messrs. Smith and Osbrey’s station at Muston’s Creek (Garryowen, 1888, 360). Of these devasting accounts the Muston’s Creek massacre took place at Caramut, the same place seen in Figure 6-14 as a significant gathering place. The massacres included men, women, and children, with the main method being shooting, but arsenic was also used to poison them. This was committed by squatters, shepherds, and Henty’s 142 men. According to Corris, the estimated deaths of First Nations people in Western Victoria from sources such as newspapers, and official and semi-official sources, totalled a low estimate of around 159 men, woman and children, also noting that the First Nation population in Western Victoria only numbered around 3000 in the 1850s - 1880s (1968, 157). 134F This era followed the Darwinist theory of the hierarchy of human classes. The common belief was that those furthest south from the ‘Christian centre’ of Europe, such as First Nations people of Australia, were the lowest form of humanity or ‘living Stone Age’ people (McNiven, 2005, 69) Comparing the ‘break’ between First Nation Australians, Africans 143 and the gorilla as small: 135 F 142 143 The Henty family were one of the first squatters to settle in Portland area. ‘Negros’ used in original source. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 221 At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace throughout the world the savage races (Darwin, 1871, 201, also see McGregor, 1993). Supporting this view was the Vice-President of the Royal Society of Tasmania, James Barnard, who in his address to the 1890 meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science stated: It has become an axiom that, following the law of evolution and survival of the fittest, the inferior races of mankind must give place to the highest type of man, and that this law is adequate to account for the gradual decline in numbers of the aboriginal inhabitants of a country before the march of civilisation (1890, 14). The British representatives regularly informed their superiors in England of the ‘situation’ of the First Nations Australians and Tasmanians. The situation being the high population losses through disease, Frontier conflict and the need for Britain to ‘caretake’ the First Nation population by eventually ‘taking control’ of the remaining populations. This was done through creation of a system of final demise and assimilation, the Aboriginal Protectorate with the impetus being the Mission Period. A First Nation perspective sums up the extent of control the Aboriginal Protectorate had (and continues to have in its modern forms) on First Nations individuals, families, and communities: Our people did not speak English, we had dark skin and we practiced different ways. The white man could not relate and so reacted brutally. [Frontier conflict and massacres] … Colonisation meant oppression and genocide. Aboriginal people were denied the right to live by their own rules, to decide on their own policies. They were denied the freedom to run their own economic and family life. They could not necessarily marry the person they chose, mix with people of their choice, speak to people of a certain skin colour, live in a particular street or on a reserve (Walker, 1993, 2). The belief was that the First Australians and Tasmanians were not intelligent enough to survive the ‘new Australia’, and the aim was to fully assimilate them into white society and separate those of mono First Nation heritage from those with dual and mixed heritage. The belief in the scale of intelligence is seen in writings of the era about First Nation populations: They differ from one another almost as much as uneducated Europeans differ from one another; but while in the latter the capabilities of improvement are very great, in the Australian black they are limited (Smyth, 1878a, 22). The treatment of First Nation populations in Victoria was dismal, one of the worst times coincided with Victoria separating from New South Wales in 1850 with little money spent on food, medicine and clothing on Missions and Reserves. According to Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 222 Cahir, the ‘… 1850s have generally been described as a decade wherein Aboriginal people were overlooked by the new Victorian Government’ (2012, 121). Not all First Nations people ended up on a Mission or Reserve, some attempted to survive: … in towns, or in fringe camps on private property or on the outskirts of towns, on beaches and riverbanks mostly in extreme poor living conditions … (AIATSIS, n.d-a). If residents of Missions and Reserves were ‘deemed troublesome’ they were forced to be fringe dwellers. A Gunditjmara example, in 1910, is Kate Mullett at Lake Condah Mission who was reported as being: … outrageously rude… [to the matron, and her] children [who were] screaming and dancing at 11 oclock [sic] at night … Kate apologised and that day she and her family left for Warrnambool. However they were not allowed rations there and they returned to Coranderrk, camping outside the station (Nelson, 2002, 52). Others attempted to maintain their pre-invasion way of life, with European observers recording: … traditional camping grounds, harming practices, physical ornamentation, housing, clothing, language and earth sculptures being maintained by Djabwurrung people at Challicum Station (central Victoria) in November 1854 (Cahir, 2012, 125). Through this time, many children were born to a European parent, usually a father, these dual heritage individuals became ‘in-between’ people. Brough Smyth described the physicality of dual heritage individuals thus: The young half-castes partake in their form, features, and colour more of the character of the male parent than that of the Aboriginal female ... The nose is usually broad, the wings of the nose are in some elevated, the mouth is large, and the lips are thick, but seldom is any one feature very strongly or coarsely marked. A few show finely-cut features, the delicate outlines of which greatly contrast those seen amongst the natives of pure blood … When the half-castes attain maturity they exhibit, however, the admixture of Aboriginal blood more strongly. They become fleshy and course, their countenances are heavy-and some are almost repulsive. Both the males and females deteriorate after they have passed the age of twelve or fourteen years (1878a, 21). 144 137F Section 8 of the Aborigines Protection Act 1869 (Vic) defined First Nation heritage to include those of dual or mixed heritage and people ‘habitually associating and living with aboriginals. As such, dual and mixed heritage (including generational) people 144 Derogatory labels attached to First Nations are only included in direct quotes. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 223 were defined as First Nations people until the Half-Caste Act of 1886 separated them. Section 127, that came into effect in 1901, of the Commonwealth of Australian Constitution Act (The Constitution) states: In reckoning the numbers of people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted. Therefore, the Census and Statistics Act 1905 that established the Australian Government Bureau of Census and Statistics did not count any First Nations Australians until 1967 following a referendum recognising First Nations people in the Australian constitution (NMA, 2022) According to AIATSIS, there were 200 Christian-run Missions and 21 Governmentrun Reserves in Australia (Table 5). Missions and Reserves were set up to ‘Soften the Dying Pillow’ with the belief that First Nation Australians would ‘die out’ (see Foley, 2000, 4, Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 23). Table 5: List of Christian run Missions and government run Reserves throughout Australia. State No. Missions (church) Earliest Latest Reserves (govt) opened closed New South 11 0 (Reserves) 1820 1320 Wales 7 (Missions) (NSW) 4 (unknown) Victoria 15 8 (Reserves) 1837 1924 (VIC) 7 (Missions) 0 (unknown) Queensland 37 0 (Reserves) 1837 1987 (QLD) 37 (Missions) 0 (unknown) Western 80 5 (Reserves) 1831 today Australia 73 (Missions) (WA) 2 (unknown) South 26 0 (Reserves) 1837 today Australia 24 (Missions) (SA) 2 (unknown) Tasmania 0 (Missions) NA NA (TAS) Some informal Christian/Govt partnerships 145 Northern 53 0 (Reserves) 1846 (with today Territory 53 (Missions) some (NT) 0 (unknown) unknown) TOTAL 222 201 (M) 21(R) Earliest Latest (1820) (today) Source: (AIATSIS, 2020). 138F 145 See more information on Tasmanian ‘Missions’ see: https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/A/Aboriginal%20missions.htm Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 224 The Christian groups controlling the Missions included 31 major religious groups as well as Missionary Societies, Interdenominational groups, and Mission Boards 146. The difference between a Christian-run Mission and a Reserve or Station was that the former indoctrinated Christianity on the residents while the latter were appointed managers by the Aborigines Protection Board 147. 139F 140F Figure 6-27: ‘"T.W. Cameron, Slide Specialist, 430 Bourke St, Melb." Map shows proposed A.I.M. patrol areas of Kimberley, Katherine, Gulf, York, Diamantina, Central, Coolgardie, Murchison, Gascoyne, and Pilbara. Inset shows map of Victoria with numbers of deaconesses, ministers, and missionaries.’ Source: (Graham, 1914). Figure 6-27 shows how the missionaries plagued Australia’s original spirituality with Christianity, covering the entire east coast and the states of Victoria and New South Wales by 1914. The inset notes that there were 340 deaconesses, ministers, and missionaries in Victoria alone. Figure 6-28, shows all the Missions and Reserves across Victoria. While many Missions and Reserves were ‘decommissioned’, some still have residents and are community-run, such as Lake Tyers, Cummeragunga, and Framlingham. 146 For a full list of religious groups see: https://aiatsis.gov.au/research/finding-your-family/familyhistory-sources/mission-and-reserve-records 147 Some Managers however, still incorporated Christianity in their ‘management’ of residents. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 225 Figure 6-28: Missions (Christian run) and Reserves (Government run) in Victoria and Southern New South Wales between 1860-1966. (Barwick in Mulvaney, 1971, 290), including other ‘settlements’ of significance (PROV, 2020). Adapted from dual sources by author. Figure 6-29: Missions and Reserves in Australia Source: (Horton, 1994, 709). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 226 On a continent-wide scale all regions and districts were ‘covered’ by the Mission and Reserve regime (Figure 6-29). In 1867 the government set aside land at Framlingham for the Gunditjmara, but many did not want to move there so: … in the late 1860s, the government brought over 800 hectares … on high ground at the intersection of two traditional pathways overlooking Lake Condah. By the end of 1870, the Gunditjmara had built 16 two room slabs, covered with bark roofs and lined with hessian bags. Sixty acres had been divided into four paddocks and were under cultivation with wheat, oats and potatoes. They had 71 cattle, two draft horses and 18 working bullocks. They had assisted in building a missionary’s residence, a school room and school master’s residence (Wettenhall, 2010, 39). Figure 6-30: Sample of an Exemption Certificate to be released from the ‘protection’ of the Board (Freeman, 2012). Mission managers governed all movements of Mission populations. They also controlled work wages (which were ‘held in trust’ but often reabsorbed into the Mission/Reserve upkeep), and when and if residents could leave (Figure 6-30) and who they could marry. Intermarriage was not allowed by law as Barwick states: Board officials forbade marriages between fullbloods and half castes—even using another clause in the Act which prescribed a fine or gaol term for any person who ‘harboured’ an Aboriginal without the Board’s permission, to Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 227 prosecute half castes who eloped with and attempted to marry fullbloods (in Mulvaney, 1971, 290). This was enforced for many years all over Australia. The Victorian example shows: … the only ultimate solution of the “aboriginal problem”, as it now exists in this State, lies in the social, cultural, and economic integration of the remainder of the race into the general community (Parliament of Victoria, 1957, 4). Even though there was the philosophy of assimilation at play, the restrictions on First Nations residents of Missions and Reserves did not reflect this approach. Permit Marriage Work Children •required to travel outside Mission/Reserve •to work outside Mission/Reserve •to marry •to see your children who have been removed to serve as slaves •Caste system forbid interacial (barwick quote) •no pay for labour •house slaves •building of Mission/Reserve structures •rations given for work •children taken away at adolescence for slavery (house slaves and farm labour slaves) •removed for schooling and housed separately in dorms for example, lake Condah dorm named 'Dormatory of Orphans' Figure 6-31 is a summary of restrictions at all Missions and Reserves throughout Australia. Permit Marriage Work Children •required to travel outside Mission/Reserve •to work outside Mission/Reserve •to marry •to see your children who have been removed to serve as slaves •Caste system forbid interacial (barwick quote) •no pay for labour •house slaves •building of Mission/Reserve structures •rations given for work •children taken away at adolescence for slavery (house slaves and farm labour slaves) •removed for schooling and housed separately in dorms for example, lake Condah dorm named 'Dormatory of Orphans' Figure 6-31: Summary of restrictions on Missions and Reserves. Source: author. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 228 Of note under ‘Children’ in Figure 6-31 is the classification of ‘orphan’, which within a First Nation’s context never existed as Aunties and Uncles played major roles in raising all the children, as noted by Wettenhall: Under the Gunditjmara’s extended kinship systems, the word orphan is nonsense. Children only become orphans when the missionaries chose to remove them from ‘corrupting’ influences, or for any other reason that suited them’ (2010, 40). According to the Aborigines Protection Act 1869 (Vic) section 2 (v), the Government had powers to control children in terms of, the ‘... care custody and education of the children of aborigines.’ Schooling was a common reason for family separation on the Missions and Reserves as seen in Figure 6-32, where the children were often housed in separate dormitories away from the main population. According to the Victorian Government Gazette in 1880, all: … males under 14…, and all unmarried aboriginal females under the age of 18, shall, when so required by the person in charge of any station in connection with or under the control of the said Board, reside, and take their meals, and sleep in any building set apart for such purposes (Victorian Government, 1880, 1912). 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Coranderrk Framlingham Lake Condah Lake Wellington [Ramayuck] Lake Tyers Lake Hindmarsh [Ebenezer] Mission/Reserve Figure 6-32: School attendance at Missions/Reserves around Victoria in 1884 (BPA, 1884a, 3). Another way to decimate and assimilate was to randomly take children: Kidnapping of boys and girls is another serious evil ... Boys and girls are frequently taken from their parents and their tribes, and removed far off whence Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 229 they have no chance of returning; left helpless at the mercy of those who possessed them, white people responsible to no one and under no supervision by any proper authority ... Stringent legislation is required to prevent a continuance of abuses concerning the women and children (Meston, 1896, 4). The impact of movement restrictions is seen through one Gunditjmara man Ernest Mobourne’s expressions of emotion to the Governor of Victoria after being removed from Lake Condah Mission to Lake Tyers Mission. This happened after many of the Missions and Reserves were closed to save costs and centralise the remaining populations: Why are we kept prisoners here and not permitted to return to our friends and home? This country is free and we understand we are under the British flag, but it seems we [are] slaves in the sight [of the Board for the Protection of the Aborigines] (in Wettenhall, 2010, 40). The Act to provide for the Protection and Management of the Aboriginal Natives of Victoria (1869), section 2(I) included powers to dictate ‘the place where any Aboriginal or any tribe of aborigines shall reside’, and section 5 describes the provision of bedding and clothing were ‘considered on loan only and shall remain the property of Her Majesty.’ Section 4 (5) of The Aborigines Protection Act 1886 (Vic), better known as the Half Caste Act (1886-1951), broadens the definition of control of location of ‘residence’ to dual and mixed heritage First Nation people over the age of 34 years. People younger than 34 had to leave their Mission or Reserve but remained under the ‘care’ of the Board until 1893. Those that could stay included those over the age of 34; dual or mixed heritage female married to a mono heritage man; a child; or dual or mixed heritage individual who had a licence in writing from the Board. Sections 7 and 8 of the Act states that the Board: … may if it seems fit from time to time license any half-caste to reside and be maintained upon any place or any of the places now or hereafter to be prescribed by the Governor … and such licence may at any time be withdrawn … the conditions on which half-caste infants may be licenced or apprenticed to any person or persons … transfer of any half-caste child being an orphan to the care of the Department for neglected children … This ‘power’ was extended to include children of dual and mixed heritage, ‘orphaned or not’. In 1893, the Board reported between 412 and 496 First Nation mono, dual and mixed heritage individuals ‘under certificates’ who resided at the Missions and Reserves in Victoria (BPA, 1893, 3). Further regulations via the Aborigines Act 1910 (Vic) removed the dual and mixed heritage definition, but soon after reinstated them in the Aborigines Act 1915 (Vic) when discussing who should be ‘supported’ by the government. Due to the separation of people of different heritages through the various Acts, Mission and Reserve numbers dwindled until in 1930, Framlingham and Coranderrk, both Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 230 government-run Reserves had closed, leaving Lake Tyers as the only government run Reserve remaining open. According to Nelson: Ramayuck and Ebenezer were funded by the Victorian Presbyterian Church which supported missionaries from the related German Moravian Church, and the Anglican Church of Victoria funded the missionaries at Lake Tyers and Lake Condah (2002, 11). After children on Missions and Reserves were separated from their families, mothers often sought after them. The Board for the Protection of Aborigines (BPA) had control over the movements of people and often refused mothers requests to see their children or relatives, stating that the children under separation were ‘better off’. Many children remained in the Home for Neglected Children until they reached teenage years. The trauma mothers and children experienced by being separated are highlighted below. Sarah Dawson, Framlingham, 1880: …. I have three little orphan cousins at Lake Condah: they do not get well treated so I would like to have them up here with me were [sic] they can be well cared for … (PROV, 1880, see Nelson, 2002, 27). John Stähle, Moravian missionary in ‘charge’ of Condah Mission from 1875, replied that the children were well cared for and did not want to leave. The Board refused Sarah’s request. Again, the BPA decided what was ‘best’ for children; Secretary of the BPA to Ellen Good, Framlingham, 14 March, 1917: With reference to your letter … relative to the care of Winnie Austin, I have to inform you that Winnie Austin is thought by the Board to be better at Lake Condah (PROV, 1917, see Nelson, 2002, 35). The upshot was that people were forced to either stay on their assigned Mission or Reserve or forced to go to another. Permits were needed to travel outside of any Mission or Reserve, Figure 6-33 is a Queensland example. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 231 Figure 6-33: Permit to be absent from Cherbourg First Nation Settlement c1954. Source: (Queensland State Archives, n.d). Eventually dual and mixed heritage individuals were not allowed to stay on the Missions and Reserves with family, and those that did were threatened. Rev. Friedrich Hagenauer, Moravian Missionary who in 1889 would become the General Inspector and Secretary of the BPA, informed Mrs B. Rawlings in 1897 that he was instructed: … to inform all those who harbour half castes in their houses to at once as otherwise rations and supplies will be stopped after [?] days … [a week later, he informs Mrs Rawlings that her] … son cannot remain any longer on the station and if you keep him you cannot remain any longer … if you keep him you may come into great [trouble] for yourself and your family (in Nelson, 2002, 43-44). 148 14F When individuals and families were restricted in these ways, their children were taken and institutionalised. According to Chesterman (1995, 20) in his unpublished work, a letter from Rev. Hagenauer, dated 9 September 1897, shows the divisive manner of the BPA in terms of the Gunditjmara: The Board cannot grant rations to Henry Albert and family, as they are half castes, but every assistance will be given to place their children into the Industrial Schools and get them boarded out to respectable families (in, Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 51). 148 Original source: National Archives Australia, NAA B329, p838, 1897; https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=10330403 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 232 This ‘boarding’ in real terms was slavery. Slavery on mass in commonly known in the United States between 1619 and 1865 (Ferris State University, n.d.) and continues around the world today (Underwood, 2018). But little or nothing around Australian slavery has been highlighted. However, Figure 6-34 suggests otherwise. Figure 6-34: ‘Slave Map’ of Australia in 1891, disproving the myth there was no slavery in Australia. Source: (The Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1891, 26). While this slavery was happening in 1891, the Board for the Protection of Aborigines had been running slavery in Victoria for 30 years. That is, the various Acts determined who was ‘permitted’ to reside on Missions and Reserves and dictated population movements from 1860 until 1957 in Victoria. The Aborigines Act 1957 (Vic) focussed on the assimilation of any person of First Nation descent into the ‘general community’. This Act was the beginning of the Stolen Generation that lasted up until the 1970s 149. The effects of the displacement of First Nation people through time and its effects on the Stolen Generation are immense and worthy of further investigation, but beyond the scope of this thesis. 142F Eventually the ideal of ‘absorption’ of First Nation culture, identity, spirituality into the European ideal was a common fascination throughout Australia. This was noted in 1937 at the initial Commonwealth and State Native Welfare Conference where a motion was passed that: … this conference believes that the destiny of the natives of aboriginal origin, but not of the full blood, lies in their ultimate absorption by the people of the 149 Some say this is still happening with the high proportion of First Nation children in non-kin care. More information: http://www.abc.net.au/news/factcheck/2016-04-13/are-indigenous-kids-tentimes-more-likely-to-live-out-of-home/7177866 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 233 Commonwealth, and it therefore recommends that all efforts be directed to that end (Commonwealth of Australia, 1937, 3). The issue of assimilation and absorption commenced with early attempts by missionaries to Christianise First Nation Victorians. Many missionaries attempted to learn the language of the people that they got to know. This was not done from respect but for control and conversion to Christianity. According to Jensz, when referring to Ebenezer missionaries who tried to learn and collect samples of the local Wotjobaluk language: The aim of the collection … was not to preserve or understand indigenous culture, rather to use the indigenous languages as a means of more effectively conveying the word of God through the translations of Biblical texts (2010, 123). Figure 6-35 shows a corroboree of men from Ebenezer Mission north of Gunditjmara Country in 1859. This was the type of cultural practice that missionaries believed was evil and had to succumb to Christian conversion. Hagenauer, described the ‘corroboree’ as being: … carried out in the forest, by moonlight, with shocking gestures in satanical excitement, and is really a festival of the enemy of the soul, in that all sorts of frightening acts are offered for the cause of darkness (in Jensz, 2010, 126). 150 143 F Figure 6-35: ‘Lithograph of a corroboree’, published in Missionblatt in 1859 (in Jensz, 2010, 124). 150 Quoted from the journal Missions-Blatt aus der Brüdergemeine and cited in Mortimer (2013); Poetry in the Air: Mad Bastards and Toomelah in Senses of Cinema at https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2013/feature-articles/poetry-in-the-air-mad-bastards-andtoomelah/#48 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 234 This shows the peak of the struggle between two belief systems that First Nation populations witnessed and were told to submit to; but it also shows that there was resistance. Some First Nations individuals turned their back on Christianity for as long as they could. For example, at Ebenezer Mission, on Wotjobaluk Country, one First Nation resident stated to Hagenauer ‘No more prayer’ (Committe of Melbourne Association in, Jensz, 2010, 125). Sadly, many First Nation Victorians submitted to Christianity by force as hope faded for the survival of their culture. With the ongoing degraded opinion of First Nations people, on Gunditjmara Country, Lake Condah Mission opened in 1867 and closed in 1918, but was still utilised by the Gunditjmara locals. Figure 6-36 shows the timeline of Lake Condah Mission. 1867 • Just over 2043 acres of land reserved 1867 • 14 acres cleared for grazing 1867-1877 1875 1882-1885 • permanent buildings built (cottages, mission house, school house also used for church services) • Rev. Stähle appointed as permanent head of Mission • Church built from Mission choir fundraising • Built by residents from stone they quarried 1913 • Rev. Stähle retired Mission taken over by BPA 1918 • Condah (now a Reserve) closed • Remaining residents forced to Lake Tyers Mission • Four families refused to move and stayed 1919 • School closed but continued to operate 1948 • School closed permanently 1951 • land (less 3 small parcels-cemetery, access road and 43 acres where Mission/Reserve buildings stood) were revoked and given to the Soldier Settlement Commission 1957 • Church demolished • Remaining residents forced to leave Figure 6-36: Timeline of the opening of Lake Condah Mission. Adapted from source 1867-1875 data (McVicker, 2007, 42) and 1882-1957 data (Massola, 1970, 108-109). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 235 Figure 6-37: A wood engraving of Lake Condah Mission in 1874, with a cricket game underway. (Anon, 1874). An historical image of Lake Condah Mission can be seen in Figure 6-37 compared to today as seen in Figure 6-38. Only the foundations of the houses are still visible, with the church completely gone and replaced by a small monument. Figure 6-38: Aerial view of the old Lake Condah Mission (Budj Bim, 2020c). According to Massola, only 17 dual heritage Gunditjmara descendants were ‘scattered around the district’ by 1928 (Massola, 1970, 110). The rest were moved to Lake Tyers Mission in Gippsland. However, the school and church were still utilised by the Mission residents and others from the region. The church (Figure 6-39) was highly respected as a ‘new’ sacred place as noted by Gunditjmara Elder Aunty Euphemia Lovett (Phemie), who reminisces: … church door was never locked and us children were free to go in at any time. We thought of it as a sacred place (in McVicker, 2007, 46). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 236 Figure 6-39: Inside St Mary’s Church at Lake Condah Mission (Boobook48, 2008). Fire ravaged Lake Condah Mission in 1938. Buildings were subsequently demolished by the authorities, but some families still lived there in the dorm, some in tents, while some families moved close by, or further out to the towns of Heywood and Portland. Everyone was eventually forcibly removed, many to Lake Tyers Mission (LovettGardiner, 1997, 20-22, 28). Even though the Mission Period ignored the finite structures and taboos of an ancient society, and families were split up, or moved Off Country as seen in Figure 6-40, First Nation people remained strong. However, this population movement formed the foundation of the vicious cycle of transgenerational trauma. As the name suggests, this trauma did not affect one generation, as the residual effects are still felt today within all First Nation communities. As described by Barbara O’Neill a Dunghutti woman: The resultant loss, violence, disconnection from Country, family, community, language and culture created such pain and anguish that the physical, emotional, intellectual, and psychological functioning and the DNA of First Nations People altered drastically (2019, 54). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 237 Figure 6-40: How population has dispersed during the Mission Period, also linked to language proficiencies. Even though forbidden from speaking language, some words and phrases remained and were ‘adopted’ generally across Victoria 151. Source: (VACL unpublished ppt). 14F By 1900, superintendent Reverend Stähle at Lake Condah Mission between 1875-1913 reported that the: Blacks were dying out and half-caste boys and girls removed so that finality [for the mission] is greatly facilitated and will doubtless be attained in a few years’ 152. 145F Regionally specific words that have been ‘adopted’ across Victoria include ‘coonie’ (excrement), and ‘moona’ (headlice). 152 Cited in Cole (1984). 151 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 238 Figure 6-41: Locations people lived after Lake Condah Mission closed (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 55). After Lake Condah Mission closed for the second time in 1957, many residents were already removed to Lake Tyers Mission after it initially closed in 1918, but others remained or returned (Figure 6-41) to the district to stay connected to their Country, creating contemporary memories and connection to place. These memories also included the settlements surrounding Lake Condah Mission. They tell the story of both removal from – and ongoing connection to – the Mission. Many of the settlements were formed around houses relocated from the Mission and such houses became centres of home and family life for generations. Memories of family and social life during this time tell of visiting families at the Mission and the different settlements, as well as camping, picnicking or travelling through Country. [However, a] number of families also moved far away from their Country after the Mission closed – including into Melbourne, due to fears of having their children taken from them. (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 55). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 239 Figure 6-42: Pre-invasion movements of different Language Groups throughout Western Victoria. Source: (Lourandos, 1977, 210). When you compare the post-invasion population movements (Figure 6-40), with preinvasion population movements (Figure 6-42), the geographical distances are great. The dispersal of languages, cultures and affiliations are relatively contained within the Western District until this was disrupted and populations were dispersed, extending well beyond Language Group boundaries and unique regionally based cultures. The ‘uniqueness’ of tongue began to diminish as soon as the people were separated from their Country and culture and became more ‘blended’. After the Missions and Reserves across Victoria were closed, some families (if they were still allowed to be together) decided to settle in the same district. As evidenced through the questionnaire dataset analysed in Chapter 7, the Gunditjmara settled in pockets around Western Victoria, Adelaide, Melbourne, and the Sunshine Coast of southeast Queensland (discussed later in this chapter). Some moved just Off Country, while others moved to the other side of Australia, with some now residing in Western Australia (WA) and the Northern Territory (NT) and even overseas. Younger ones today seem to live closer to the cities, while the older ones remain on or close to Country. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 240 Figure 6-43: ‘[Aunty] Laura Bell, … walks through the ruins at Lake Condah Mission. The Mission has been in the [legal] ownership of the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners since 1984.’ (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017, 63, also see Victorian Heritage Council, n.d). Some Missions and Reserves are still utilised in some way today. Others are in ruins such as Lake Condah Mission (Figure 6-43). Others are still occupied on a housedcommunity basis such as Cummeragunga Mission on Yorta Yorta Country as well as Gunditjmara’s Framlingham Mission on the Hopkins River, and Lake Tyers Mission on Gunnai Country. The Missions and Reserves were held in trust so people could still live there: During the 1970s and 1980s many of the missions, institutions and reserves were transferred to the Aboriginal Lands Trust [in NT, Qld, SA and WA]. These locations are the foundations of many of today’s Aboriginal communities, although most of them are still administered by government agencies (Western Australian Museum, 2017). According to the Bringing Them Home Report, after 1923 only one of the six Stations (Missions/Reserves) in Victoria remained open as a functional Mission. This was Lake Tyers in Gippsland where life remained regimented by the Board of Protection of Aborigines: … Lake Tyers, [was] the only staffed institution after 1924. The number of people there fluctuated, with a maximum of about 290 in the 1930s ... By 1957 fewer than 200 ... Those who were lived a highly regulated life. Their homes were inspected, they had to seek permission to leave the station and they could be expelled for misconduct or if thought able to earn a living elsewhere (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 52). In Victoria, the Aboriginal Lands Act 1970 was: … established to accommodate Aboriginal Victorians forcibly removed from their homelands, allocating a degree of self-management through the return of Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 241 land and establishment of the Lake Tyers and Framlingham Aboriginal Trusts ... [with subsequent reviews] … to improve governance, facilitate economic development and enable greater self-determination … (State Goverment of Victoria, n.d.). Furthermore, on the 1st January 1987, 53 hectares of Tae’rak was ‘transferred’ back to the Gunditjmara through the Kerrup-Jmara Elders Aboriginal Corporation (ATNS, 2006, Austlii, n.d.) under the Aboriginal Land (Lake Condah and Framlingham Forest) Act 1987 (Vic). Section 13 part (1) of the Act states: (a) • the full power of management, control and enjoyment of Condah Land (b) • the power to transfer interest … to another Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation … (c) • the power to give a lease of Condah land … or licence … to the Crown … Figure 6-44: The ‘power’ of management of Tae’rak after it was officially ‘returned’ to the Gunditjmara (Austlii, n.d.). By land being ‘back’ in the hands of the Traditional Custodians through legislation has enabled the Gunditjmara to manage and control without hinderance and allows more Gunditjmara to return to Country or have a culturally safe place to visit On Country. 6.6 Population movements – contemporary/post Mission Period To take the children, destroy the land and take the language, is to destroy a culture. A devastating part of the ‘Protectorate’ and Mission Period was children being forcibly removed from the families. They were ‘adopted’ out to white families, disconnected from Country, kin, and culture. Figure 6-45 is a clipping from a Northern Territory newspaper in the 1930s. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 242 Figure 6-45: From a 1930s Northern Territory newspaper. Children of dual and mixed First Nation heritage in Darwin, labelled in derogatory terms ‘quadroon’ and ‘octoroon’. Handwriting reads, ‘ I Like the little girl in centre of group, but if taken by anyone else, any of the others would do, as long as they are strong’ (NAA, 1934-1935). The Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines was abolished by the Aborigines Act 1957 (Vic) (see O'Neill, 2009). It was replaced by the Aborigines Welfare Board under the Aborigines Act 1957 who role was set out in sections (1) and (2) (c) to: … promote the moral intellectual and physical welfare of aborigines … (includes not only full-blooded aboriginal natives of Australia but also any person of aboriginal descent) with a view to their assimilation into the general community. [They were also responsible for the] … managing and regulating the use of aboriginal reserves … [such as leasing reserve land] … which his not for the time being required for the use of aborigines. The Aborigines Welfare Board consisted of government ministers appointed by the Governor as well as two First Nations representatives ‘… if there are such persons suitable available and willing to be appointed …’, which may be the first time that First Nations people were offered a seat at the ‘welfare’ table. The Aborigines Welfare Board ‘… did not have specific powers in relation to children.’ First Nation children came under the Children's Welfare Act 1954 (Vic). From 1957, if children were taken from their kin by the government it was done under the 'mainstream' child welfare Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 243 legislation … [the Welfare Board. This was] … abolished in 1968 when the Victorian Government established a Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs’ (FIND&CONNECT, 2021). All these government Policies and Acts wreaked havoc on family structures and still create trauma for the many children that were stolen and those who never had a chance to reconnect with their blood or Country. This also dictated where populations eventually settled, mostly Off Country. However, for the Gunditjmara some families took advantage of opportunities to ‘acquire’ land. MO45-54#56, a questionnaire responder, describes how the Greensborough Hamilton Uplift Society assisted Gunditjmara families in the 1930s and 1940s: … [They had a] couple of blocks just out of Heywood and grandfather and his brother (Frederick and Herbert) got a couple of the timber cabins from the Mission and moved them down there … [they] still have those blocks after burning down still have it and still go out there. In the Australia wide context, Figure 6-46 shows that by 2016 the highest concentrations of First Nation populations were found around Sydney, the central and northern coastal areas of New South Wales, and the Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne districts. Analysed numbers are seen in Figure 6-47. Figure 6-46: Estimated First Nation populations in Australia, by location in 2018 (AIHW, 2021b). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 244 90000 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 Melbourne region, Victoria, regional Victoria Central and Northern coast, New South Wales Brisbane, Queensland Perth, Western Australia Numbers Figure 6-47: People who identify as First Nation in Australia in 2016 census data. Source: (AIHW, 2021b). Of note in Victoria, was that the urban and regional populations only varied by 599 individuals. This is consistent with 22 GMTOAC members travelling from Melbourne to attend meetings discussed in Chapter 7 153. 146F Figure 6-48: ABS data on Cultural connectedness of First Nations populations aged 15 and above, by location. Source: (AIHW, 2021a). 153 See Figure 7-43. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 245 In 2016 the total population who identified as having First Nation heritage reached 798,400, representing 3.3% of the total Australian population, with populations projected to reach over 1.1 million by 2031 (ABS, 2019). Figure 6-48 shows that in 2016, the First Nations populations that live in more remote areas feel they have more ‘cultural connectedness’ than non-remote populations. This raises the question of how people remain ‘connected’ when in an urban environment. 12% 7% 37% 20% 24% Major Cities Inner Regional Outer Regional Remote Very Remote Figure 6-49: Estimated First Nation populations in Australia in 2016. Note: First Nation populations include Torres Strait Islanders. Source: (ABS, 2018b). Figure 6-49 shows by percentage where First Nation populations reside in Australia at the last census in 2016 showing many living regionally with the majority living in major cities. This is also the case for the Gunditjmara where many live Off Country (discussed in Chapter 7). Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 246 Chapter 7 Quantification of questionnaire responses 7.1 Introduction This chapter analyses the responses to the 55 questions within the questionnaire. A coded system is used to identify each responder (Figure 7-1). For context of the data and graphs, this chapter is placed here as it draws on the cultural explorations of previous chapters. Each response is categorised into age, gender, geographic location and comparing that to On and Off Country variabilities. Many were completed anonymously online, with 3 face-to-face interviews 154 . There was some confusion initially after the first meeting with GMTOAC whether this research would infer that people’s identity as Gunditjmara was less valid if they were Off Country. Clarification was given that the ‘On Country, Off Country’ concept used in this research did not infer any pre-conceived ideas about this. It was reiterated by the Gunditjmara that their identity is strong regardless of whether people are On or Off Country. After this clarity was given, how the data would be used, and acknowledging Gunditjmara culture, Ancestors, and cultural protocols, i.e., Intellectual Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP), questions were set up into categories, seen in Figure 7-2155. 147F MX24-35#2 •Male; Off Country; aged between 24-35, responder number 2 ('X' denotes 'Off') FO18-24#40 •Female; On Country; aged between 18-24; responder number 40 ('O' denotes 'On') Figure 7-1: Coded system used for questionnaire responders. Geographic location is only available from 2007-2015. COVID-19 restricted more interviews from being conducted. 155 Q1 is a general introduction question outlining university protocols and declarations. 154 Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 247 Personal details revolving around their Gunditjmara identity and family connections and if they are connected to other Language Groups/Clans (Multiclan) or non-First Nation heritage. What age group and gender they belong to (gender roles) How they define Country and their connection to it How they care for Country Creation Narratives and/or Songlines that they were willing to share Whether Country is a spiritual, physical, tangible, or intangible entity and if they had to live On Country to feel connected to these On Country and Off Country related questions and if they live On or Off as well as their immediate and extended families and for how long i.e., sporadically, or generationally If they have access to cultural and language information if they live On or Off Country If they know any techniques used by GMTOAC for culturally mapping Country Mission Era and their family’s movements during and post Mission Period What they hold dear about Tae’rak and the Mission site If living Off Country changes their connection to it, and what helps them remain connected, and what the hurdles are when they live in a city Off Country If they feel they have input into cultural heritage management/ partnerships/consultation process when Off Country for extended times If Off Country are any language programs easily available If On Country any children of responders attend or have attended Heywood Secondary College language programs and if they use language at home because of it Questions revolving around if they attend GMTOAC meetings, as an individual or family representative If they do not attend GMTOAC meetings regularly or at all if they still receive information from meetings i.e., minutes and if there are any hurdles to attending regularly Figure 7-2: Questionnaire categories. Below are examples of the coded system used to identify responders by age, gender and if they live On or Off Country. 7.1.1 Q2 What does it mean to be Gunditjmara? Analysing the questionnaire data reveals that most definitions of being Gunditjmara refer to resilience of culture and identity, with dominant descriptions being family/bloodline/Clans, pride, culture, connection and belonging as seen in Figure 7-3. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 248 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Figure 7-3: Descriptive terms given by questionnaire responders in response to Q2 ‘What does it mean to you to be Gunditjmara?’ Many responders also have multiple connections as described by MX54-65#57: Its in my bloodline. Pretty proud and happy and proud to be Gunditj, Ive got a few bloodlines in Victoria, on this side of Gariwerd [Grampians] and the other side [sic]. Responder FX35-44#4 also included the massive contributions of family members in world wars, adding to the proudness of their bloodline: I feel proud and strong to be a gunditjamara woman because of the rich history we hold. ie Eumeralla War, oldest living aquaculture system in the world. having a military record of 21 family members to have served in numerous wars around the world [sic]. FX45-54#8 states that being Gunditjmara is comparative to taking breaths to sustain life: This is central to my identity as has been all of my life, so it is as much a part of me as breathing. MO25-34#9 described the longevity of their cultural connections and how these connections are both macro and micro for them and their community as a whole: … to be me, to be part of a culture and embrace a culture … with lores and customs defined over thousands of years, my identity, my family and community and my culture. it connects me with my Gunditj kin and teaches me how to view the world [sic]. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 249 Others like MX25-34#10 described being Gunditjmara isn’t something simple and includes embracing many identities: I don’t think words can do justice to how it feels to be gunditjmara. I adopted the western way of life to my gunditjmara as I do with the rest of my nations. It means lore, earth, air, spirit, water, sun, moon, fire, stars and everything else I hold dear to me [sic]. FX25-34#12 described the struggle and resilience of their people: It is so important to me to be Gunditjmara because of the stories ive heard about the Gunditj war and knowledge that was prevented from being passed down from my ancestors and what they all went through yet still here i am today representing what colonisation tried to destroy [sic]. As discussed in Section 5.11 Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation structure, there are 14 recognised Apical Ancestors of the Gunditjmara people and associated Clans (see Appendix K and Appendix L). The connections the questionnaire responders have also are numerous, with many individuals being connected to several families and/or Apical Ancestors (Figure 7-4) as described by MO25-24#9: … 4 of my ancestors come from 4 parts of dhawurd wurrung country … the descendant family groups of these 4 ancestors are big and well known throughout the state [sic]. 7.1.2 Q3 What Gunditjmara families do you belong to? Most responders listed their modern family connections, while some listed and described their Apical Ancestry also (Figure 7-4), such as FX45-54#14 who describes their direct descent: Boourn Bourn Blood line our last surviving Wunget Bourn Bourns son moved onto the mission in 1835-36 and was given the name King because he was a Wunget = Chief. Mandy Nicholson - On Country Off Country - 250 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 Lovett McDonald Rose Egan Sutton Austin Harradine Clark Chatfield King Winters Mobourne Rotumah Kanoa Arden Wright Clarke Proctor Couzens Vickery Foster Onus Green Alberts Sutton Saunders Johnson Taylor Dawson Brown Michell Morris Bell King Billy 0 Families or apical Ancestor connected to Figure 7-4: Responders and which family or Apical Ancestor they are connected to. Also, FX55-64#18: Toorum'yoweeeitch kerrup jamarra' I am great great great grandchild of trugganni on [C]larke/Briggs ancestry line [sic]. Others unfortunately do not have access to their family linage, such as FX25-34#48, who states they are ‘not sure’ which Gunditjmara families they are connected to. Some described in depth their ancient connections, and how some Gunditjmara today obtained their surnames, such as MX25-34#10: I belong to King Billy the last gunditjmara head man before lake condah mission was set up. Our western names are king, foster and onus. tho we did take in 5 other families when one of my great grandfathers took them in after their chiefs were killed in the frontier wars. And our lore is they become our family which are Saunders, Wright’s, Arden, Day and smiths. before lake condah mission opened th