Unit 6: SACRED LAND

Level 4 VELS, Years 5 and 6

Overview
During this unit students investigate how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people used
and cared for the land in the past, and the continuing relationship they still have with it.
Students also investigate some of the environmental issues facing Australia and the World
today, in particular overuse and waste. They make links between what they have learned
about sustainable practices and conservation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and current environmental issues. They explore ways they can make
improvements at home and at school.

Understandings
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people see themselves as part creation. They
believe they were created them from the land by the Creator Spirit who provided for
them through the gifts of nature provided from the earth, that which they call Mother.
They had a scared responsibility to care for the earth.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people used sustainable practices and only took
what they needed from the land.
Human beings impact on the environment both positively and negatively.
What we do to the environment today impacts on what happens to the environment in
the future.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples beliefs about and approaches to land
management can continue to contribute to a healthier sustainable environment for all
Australians.

Rich Question
Will continuining the practices of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people allow us
to have a sustainable future?

Contributing Questions
How do people impact on the environment?
How did Aboriginal people use and care for the land?
How do they use and care for it now?
How much do we need?
How much do we use?
If we waste less can we make a difference?
Why do we need to develop more sustainable practices?
How can we have a positive impact on the environment?
What can we learn from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about
sustainable land use?

Background Notes
From the Yarra Healing website: essential learnings.
Victorian Koorie people cared for specific areas of land. Knowledge regarding the
extent of and responsibilities for this land was passed on by the Elders through
generations. Territories were marked by clearly defined natural boundaries and

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 comprised of related language groups and clan associations, which in turn gave a
person his/her strongest sense of identity.
Victorian Koorie people see themselves as a part of the environment and formed
sustainable relationships with it.
Indigenous Australian's interaction with the land are based on an understanding of
both flora and fauna as life forms which were intimately related to human life. An
awareness of the essential integration of humans with the land could be summed
up as a deep sense of oneness with the land.
Indigenous Austrlian's spiritual relationship with the land ensured that they were
conservationists.
Aboriginal people living in many diverse environments across Victoria had
developed effective and economical technologies for sustaining their needs and
their environment.
Natural resources were utilised in accordance with traditional and cultural practices
by Indigenous Australians in this country. Strategies such as firestick burning were
used in ways that regenerated the vegetation because it encouraged re-growth and
attracted animals and insects to various regions of the continent. There was a great
respect for the land manifested in patterns of resource use. The use of the land by
Indigenous Australians featured practices that would lead to sustainability.
Respect for and identification with the land, its plants and animals - always an
integral part of Indigenous Australian cultures - is something many more Australians
are beginning to share.
In many land management schemes, advice is now being sought from the
traditional owners. Indigenous Australians have a custodial link to the land which
requires their expertise and knowledge on how to manage the land.in their area.
Not all Victorian Aborignal people today have a natural environmental expertise,
largely because of their long-term dispossession and dislocation. Generally there
are people in each community who are able to pass on knowledge about the natural
world that was once a part of everyday life.
Despite massive changes in the environment and in lifestyles due to urbanisation,
industrialisation and agricultural innovation, Victorian Aborignal people's beliefs
about and approaches to land management and land care can continue to
contribute to a healthier, sustainable environment for all Australians.

From the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne website www.rbg.vic.gov.au

People from the Kulin Nations had, and still have, an intimate relationship and deep
spiritual connection with their land. They had knowledge of the seasons which
governed the movements of Aboriginal people within their traditional boundaries, They
had intimate knowledge of the plants and their uses, and of animal behaviour. After
thousands of years of Aboriginal interaction, the country still provided a healthy lifestyle
for the communities. Theirs was not a nomadic hand to mouth existence, but rather an
observant, effective and economic strategy within their own traditional boundaries for
sustaining their needs in balance with their environment.
Skills were learned by observation, imitation, real life practice and the all-important oral
tradition of the Elders.
The daily needs and the needs of future generations were synonymous. They knew
and more profoundly, lived environmental sustainability.

Resources

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Written texts
Aboriginal Australia: Culture and Society series, ATSIC, Canberra, 1990. A magazine
series with information about all aspects of traditional Aboriginal life.

Challoner, J, (1993), Collins Eyewitness Science: Energy, Harper Collins, Pymble, NSW.

Eidelson, M, (1977), The Melbourne Dreaming: A Guide to the Aboriginal Places of

Melbourne, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.

Elders: Wisdom from Australias Indigenous Leaders, 2003, Cambridge University Press,
Port Melbourne.

Gore, A, (2007), An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming, Bloomsbury

Publications

Little, L, 2004, The Mark of the Wagarl, Magabala Books, Broome, Western Australia.

Randall, B and Hogan, M, 2006, Nyuntu Ninti; What You Should Know, ABC books,
Sydney.

Scientriffic magazine, CSIRO, Nov-Dec 2006. Indigenous Science p 6-7.

Websites
www.dreamtime.net.au/indigenous/index.cfm

www.rbg.vic.gov.au website of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne which also has a
resource kit for teachers on their Aboriginal Resources Trail.

www.abc.net.au/tv/carboncops This website contains video clips from the ABC TV

program Carbon Cops which examines ways people waste natural resources in their
homes and suggestions for reducing this.

www.islandwood.org/kids/impact/footprint.php This website includes a questionaire to help

you calculate how big your environmental footprint is. It also contains information about
how this is damaging our world and ways we can reduce this.

www.futurescapes.com.au Gould league website designed to simulate the type of future

we could have if we do or dont reduce, reuse or recycle.

www.unicef.org/ To navigate the UNICEF website click on the voices of youth button on
the menu at the top of the page. Then click on the Explore button in red at the top of the
page. Select the Water, environment and sanitation option on the main menu to find
global information about the scarcity and importance of the worlds water resources.
Includes an interactive game and ideas for how you can make a difference.

www.epa.gov/ Click on the for KIDS button in the left hand menu. This is the
comprehensive US website of the Environmental Protection Agency.

www.ollierecycles.com/ Australian website for kids with ideas on reducing reusing and
recycling and interactive features and quizzes.

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www.yvw.com.au/ The Yarra Valley Water website includes animated explanations with
audio of the water cycle and several other aspects of water conservation hosted by
Cloudia Raindrop.

www.powerhousemuseum.com/ This website contains an interactive feature where

students are able to calculate their impact on the sustainability of the earth by measuring
their global footprint. To find this feature click on Online Resources on the top menu.
Scroll down the page to find the EcoLogical online interactives icon. Click on this button
then click on the BIGFOOT interactive option.

Audio Visual
State of the Planet a BBC DVD 2006

The Australia Today Series: Aboriginal Australians video (1988)

Kanyini Hopscotch Entertainment DVD

An Inconvenient Truth Paramount Home Entertainment, 2007

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 VELS Links
Standards are indicated in italics.
Physical, Personal and Social Learning Strand
INTERPERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Working in teams
At Level 4, students work effectively in different teams and take on a variety of roles to complete tasks of
varying length and complexity. They work cooperatively to allocate tasks and develop timelines. Students
accept responsibility for their role and tasks. They explain the benefits of working in a team. They provide
feedback to others and evaluate their own and the teams performance.

PERSONAL LEARNING
The Individual Learner
They monitor and describe progress in their learning and demonstrate learning habits that address their
individual needs. They seek and respond to teacher feedback to develop their content knowledge and
understanding.
Managing personal learning
At Level 4, students develop and implement plans to complete short-term and long-term tasks within
timeframes set by the teacher, utilising appropriate resources. They undertake some set tasks
independently, identifying stages for completion

CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP

Community engagement
They present a point of view on a significant current issue or issues and include recommendations about the
actions that individuals and governments can take to resolve issues. They demonstrate understanding that
there are different viewpoints on an issue, and contribute to group and class decision-making.

Discipline Based Learning Strand

ENGLISH
Reading
At Level 4, students read, interpret and respond to a wide range of literary, everyday and media texts in print
and in multimodal formats. They analyse these texts and support interpretations with evidence drawn from
the text. They describe how texts are constructed for particular purposes, and identify how sociocultural
values, attitudes and beliefs are presented in texts.
Writing
At Level 4, students produce, in print and electronic forms, a variety of texts for different purposes using
structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience and context of the writing.
Speaking and listening
At Level 4, students plan, rehearse and make presentations for different purposes. They sustain a point of
view and provide succinct accounts of personal experiences or events. They adjust their speaking to take
account of context, purpose and audience, and vary tone, volume and pace of speech to create or
emphasise meaning.

GEOGRAPHY
Students explore how humans have affected the Australian environment. Examples could include: Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities care of the land. Using an inquiry-based approach, students explore
environmental issues and consider possible solutions to current and future challenges.
Geographical knowledge and understanding
They compare the various ways humans have used and affected the Australian environment. Students
recommend ways of protecting environmentally sensitive areas in a sustainable way. They provide examples
and evidence based on their inquiries.
Geospatial skills
They research, collect, record and describe data obtained through field study surveys and measurements to
form conclusions about the use of resources.

SCIENCE
Science at work
At Level 4, students analyse a range of science-related local issues and describe the relevance of science to
their own and other peoples lives. They explain how sustainable practices have been developed and/or are
applied in their local environment.
Students use the terms relationships and cause and effect when discussing and drawing conclusions from
the data they collect.

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 Interdisciplinary Strand
COMMUNICATION
Listening, viewing and responding
At Level 4, students ask clarifying questions about ideas and information they listen to and view. They
develop interpretations of the content and provide reasons for them. They explain why peers may develop
alternative interpretations.
Presenting
At Level 4, students summarise and organise ideas and information, logically and clearly in a range of
presentations. They identify the features of an effective presentation and adapt elements of their own
presentations to reflect them. Using provided criteria, they evaluate the effectiveness of their own and others
presentations.

DESIGN AND CREATIVITY TECHNOLOGY

Investigating and designing
At Level 4, students contribute to the development of design briefs that include some limitations and
specifications. Individually and in teams, they use a range of methods to research and collect data in
response to design briefs.
Producing
At Level 4, students use their production plan and select and work safely with a variety of
materials/ingredients and systems components to produce functional products and/or systems. They use a
range of measuring, marking, joining/combining techniques to alter materials and finishing/presentation
methods, and operate tools and equipment competently, showing consideration of safety and hygiene, and
record their progress.
Analysing and evaluating
At Level 4, students reflect on their designs as they develop them and use evaluation criteria, identified from
design briefs, to justify their design choices.

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

ICT for visualising thinking
At Level 4, students apply ICT tools and techniques to represent and explore processes, patterns and cause-
and-effect relationships. Students use ICT tools and techniques that support the organisation and analysis of
concepts, issues and ideas and that allow relationships to be identified and inferences drawn from them.
ICT for creating
At Level 4, students safely and independently use a range of skills, procedures, equipment and functions to
process different data types and produce accurate and suitably formatted products to suit different purposes
and audiences.
ICT for communicating
At Level 4, students use email, websites and frequently asked question facilities to acquire from, or share
information with, peers and known and unknown experts. When emailing, they successfully attach files and
they apply protocols for sending and receiving electronic information. They successfully upload their work to
a protected public online space. Using recommended search engines, students refine their search strategies
to locate information quickly. They evaluate the integrity of the located information based on its accuracy and
the reliability of the web host.

THINKING PROCESSES
Reasoning, processing and inquiry
At Level 4, students develop their own questions for investigation, collect relevant information from a range
of sources and make judgments about its worth. They distinguish between fact and opinion. They use the
information they collect to develop concepts, solve problems or inform decision making. They develop
reasoned arguments using supporting evidence.
Creativity
At Level 4, students use creative thinking strategies to generate imaginative solutions when solving
problems. They demonstrate creativity in their thinking in a range of contexts and test the possibilities of
concrete and abstract ideas generated by themselves and others.
Reflection, evaluation and metacognition
At Level 4, students use a broad range of thinking processes and tools, and reflect on and evaluate their
effectiveness. They articulate their thinking processes. They document changes in their ideas and beliefs
over time.

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 Assessment Strategies
When What Why How
Pre and post Concept To establish what students Ask students to individually create a concept
assessment Map know at the beginning and end map showing what they already know or
activity at the of the unit about think they know about:
start of the environmental issues and to What environmental issues are in the
unit and the track the development of their world today?
Personalising understandings. What are people doing about these
stage issues?
Science, Geography Repeat the activity at the end of the unit and
ask students to compare.
What do you know now that you didnt
know before?
Have you changed your opinions about
any of these issues?
What helped you to learn this?
Pre and post KWL To establish what students Ask students to record what they know
assessment know about how Aboriginal about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
activity at the and Torres Strait Islander people and the way they used the land (K).
start of the people used the land and to They also record any questions they have
unit and the track the development of their about this- what they want to know (W). At
Personalising understandings. the end of the Building stage ask students to
stage record what they have found out about the
Civics and Citizenship, way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Geography people used the land (L).
Introduced Reflective To gain insight into how the Introduce the journal after the Botanic
during the Journal students are feeling about Gardens excursion. Continue to use it for
Building issues raised during the unit, reflection on the issues presented during the
stage and what their personal beliefs are unit. If students have not used a reflective
used and how they may change. journal before this will need to be modelled
throughout English, Geography, and reflective language explicitly taught.
the unit. Personal Learning Thinking
Processes
End of Diorama To assess students Using all the information students have
Building and understandings of what the gathered so far they design and produce a
stage presentation environment was like before diorama depicting an Aboriginal camp-site
European settlement and how as it would have been in the local area prior
the Aboriginal people used to European settlement. The diorama has to
and cared for the land. To represent as authentically as possible the
assess students abilities to features students have researched. They
investigate, design and then present the diorama to the class and
produce an accurate model, explain what is in the scene and how the
and to give an oral Aboriginal people would have been using
presentation. and caring for the land. They complete self
Geography, English, and peer evaluations on their presentations
Communication, Civic and
Citizenship, DCT.
End of Advertising To assess students Students form interest based groups to
Investigating campaign understandings of ways they investigate ways of reducing waste at home
can be environmentally or school. They present their findings as an
sustainable. advertising campaign designed to
encourage students and families to reduce
Geography, Science, ICT, their amount of wastage.
Civics and Citizenship, ICT The advertising campaign could be in the
form of:
a video clip
radio advert
an electronically generated brochure
They present the advertisement and
complete a self and peer assessment.

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 BUILDING
Activities planned during this stage of the unit are designed to build the foundational
knowledge and skills the students will need to investigate this topic.
Purpose Activity Teacher notes
To gather Pre-assessment tasks
students prior Concept Map Keep these
knowledge and Ask students to individually create a concept map responses for
engage them showing what they already know or think they know comparison
in the unit. about: later when
What environmental issues are in the world today? students repeat
What are people doing about these issues? the activities
KWL chart and reflect.
Ask students to record what they know about Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people and the way they used
the land (K). They also record any questions they have
about this- what they want to know (W).

Pre-excursion activities
To build some Prior to the excursion view video The Australia Today If students are
background Series: Aboriginal Australians (1988). Discuss the finding it difficult
knowledge following: to pose good
about In small groups discuss what they have found out from questions use a
Aboriginal and the video. Then each student writes two important questioning
Torres Strait things they found out on separate pieces of paper. scaffold such
Islander people Use post box strategy to sort the information into as Weiderholds
and in categories; family, hunting and food, significant matrix to help
particular how places, religious and spiritual beliefs, change, develop richer
they felt about stewardship-looking after the land, traditions, questions.
and used the miscellaneous. What,
land. Each group takes a category and sorts through the where,
statements made. They come up with 3-5 statements when,
in their category. which, who,
View DVD a second time. Go back into same groups why, how.
and add any further information and then generate Is, did, can,
questions. would, will,
Share and display the questions on the wondering might.
board.

Read information text as a shared text from ATSIC

publication 1989 Culture and Society, Aboriginal
Australia: Bush Food, Canberra. Discuss. Add to the
discoveries and wonderings board. During the course of
the unit revisit the students wonderings on a regular
basis to identify which questions they have discovered
answers to.

Excursion
For the Excursion to the Botanical Gardens Aboriginal and A teacher
students to Torres Strait Islander Resources Trail. The Royal resource kit is
gather some Botanic Gardens Melbourne (RBGM) rests on the also
first hand ancestral lands of the Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung downloadable

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information people of the Kulin Nation. For countless generations on the Royal
about this special place was a traditional and highly significant Botanic
Indigenous camping and meeting place for the local custodians of the Gardens
plants and food area. website.
sources. To
consider how Construct a class mural using photographs and If students have
the Aboriginal natural materials of the plants and natural materials not used a
and Torres seen at the botanical gardens. reflective
Strait Islander Structured writing activity. Each student records 3-5 journal before
people used facts on strips of paper showing something they found this will need to
these and what out on the excursion. Bundle the strips into categories. be modelled
the landscape Ask students to name the category. This will form the and reflective
would have basis of a class information report. Construct an language
looked like prior introduction and conclusion together. Groups can then explicitly taught.
to European take one bundle each to construct a paragraph of the They will
settlement. information report. continue to
Introduce a reflective journal that students record their reflect in the
thoughts, ideas and questions in. journal during
the course of
the unit.
Shared Reading
To gather Use the article Taking Care; how Aboriginal people used A copy of the
further and cared for their environment article Taking
information Read and discuss the information about how the care can be
about how Aboriginal people in and around Melbourne, prior to found at the
Aboriginal and European settlement, used and cared for the land. end of the unit.
Torres Strait (Extension material can be found in Aboriginal Australia: This unit
Islander people Culture and Society series, ATSIC, Canberra, 1990. A contains
used the land. magazine series with information about all aspects of information
traditional Aboriginal life.) specific to the
Northwest of
Record the information found in the shared reading and Melbourne. For
any extension articles on a data chart. information
Life before about other
1788
areas of
Facts about Melbourne see
local Nations
the text: The
Spiritual Melbourne
beliefs and
celebrations Dreaming: A
Food sources Guide to the
Hunting Aboriginal
Places of
Caring for
and using the Melbourne,
land

Identify some of the places mentioned in the article on a

local map.

Kanyini
To make Watch the DVD Kanyini. Discuss the attitude and
explicit the philosophy of Bob Randall. Use the page from the book
Aboriginal and developed from the documentatary Nyuntu Ninti; What

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Torres Strait You Should Know, by Bob Randall and Melanie Hogan.
Islander Ask the students to consider the page in the book that
peoples states: We only took what we needed, we never wasted
philosophy anything. Discuss as a whole class then ask students to
about caring for respond to this in their reflection journals.
the land.
Diorama
To assess Using the information gathered so far students design By developing a
students and produce a diorama depicting an Aboriginal camp-site criteria or rubric
understandings as it would have been in the local area prior to European with students it
about how settlement. The diorama has to represent as authentically will support
Aboriginal and as possible the features students have researched. them in
Torres Strait knowing what is
Islander people Presentation of dioramas. Students individually give an expected of the
used the land oral presentation of their diorama to the whole class or to diorama and
and what the small groups. They explain what is in the scene and how the oral
land looked like the Aboriginal people would have been using and caring presentation.
prior to for the land. They complete self and peer evaluations on Eg. if the
European their presentations diorama is to be
settlement. authentic what
will it need to
show?
What makes a
great
presentation/
oral
explanation?
INVESTIGATING
Activities at this stage of the unit are designed to take the investigation deeper. Students are
required to work more independently and apply the skills and the knowledge they have
developed.
Purpose Activity Notes
Debonos Thinking Hats
To broaden Watch excerpts from a DVD- Al Gores An
students Inconvenient Truth or David Attenboroughs State of
understandings the Planet.
about current Discuss; how are we damaging our
environmental planet/environment?
issues. Introduce 6 Thinking Hats as a framework that will be
used throughout the Investigating stage to think about
the issues. Start with 3 hats- White (facts), Black
(caution/problems) and Red (how do I feel about this?)
Divide students into 6 groups. Each group works on
one of the hats (2 groups will have each colour). Give
them 10 minutes to brainstorm and record on poster
sized paper what they heard and saw on the DVD.
Rotate the posters so each group has the chance to
work on each of the 3 hats. Share the posters at the
end.

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 Environmental Footprints
Read the article from the website;
www.islandwood.org/kids/impact/footprint.php as a
shared reading text. Discuss some of the reasons why
there are environmental problems. Students then explore
the website including calculating their own environmental
footprint. Discuss the footprints as a whole class. Who
made the largest footprint? Who made the smallest
footprint? What were they doing that was different? If we
take out just one of the contributing elements would it
make a difference? Emphasise the main ways we can
make a difference to reduce our consumption.

Link this back to our quote The Aboriginal people only

took what they needed. They didnt waste anything.
Ask students to consider these questions and reflect in
their journals:
How much do we need?
How much do we use?
How much do we waste?
Do we destroy things we cannot produce again?

Exploring the positives

To begin to Students identify positive actions people are already
identify some of taking using resources such as the following:
the positive www.carboncops
steps people articles from newspapers
are already guest speakers from local action groups
taking.
Revisit and add to the 6 Hats activity. Introduce the
Yellow hat (positives)- what are the positive things people
are doing to improve the situation?

Sustainability audit
Students complete home and school audits of how much
we are using and how much we are wasting. Divide
students into groups to gather data in the following areas:
water
rubbish
paper
energy
Discuss the impact of this waste on the environment. How
much waste do we create? Is it necessary? What is the
difference between how much we need, how much we
use and how much we waste? What impact does this
have on the environment?

Introduce the Green hat (creativity) to the 6 Hats

framework. Students brainstorm ways we can improve
this situation at home or school.

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 Group Investigations
To assess Students form interest based groups (eg. water, rubbish, Once again
students paper, energy) to further investigate ways of reducing criteria or a
understandings waste at home or school. They present their findings as rubric
of ways they an advertising campaign designed to encourage students developed with
can be and families to reduce their amount of wastage. the students for
environmentally The advertising campaign could be in the form of: the advertising
sustainable. a video clip campaign will
radio advert support them in
an electronically generated brochure completing the
They present the advertisement and complete a self and task.
peer assessment.

PERSONALISING
Activities at this stage of the unit are designed to help students reflect on and put into practise
what has been learned in real life contexts.
Pre and post tests
For teachers Students complete the concept map and KWL again.
and students to They compare the original to the final version and
assess discuss:
developments What do you know now that you didnt know before?
in students Have you changed your opinions about any of these
understandings issues?
during the What helped you to learn this?
course of the
unit.
Reflection
To determine In small groups students discuss the focus question: Will
whether continuining the practices of the Aboriginal people allow
students can us to have a sustainable future?
make the link
between the They then reflect individually in their journals.
way Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait Islander
people use and
care for the
land and
environmental
issues today.
Action
To embed Discuss the suggestions raised by groups during the It is important
learning by advertising campaigns. Complete a PMI on some of the that students
applying main suggestions. Students then decide on personal and generate and
understandings school actions they can take. own the action.
in a real life
context.

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Links to Reading for information
Locating main ideas
Literacy Recording and organising information
Critical reading- issue analysis
Writing explanations
Writing information reports
Orally giving information and explanation (diorama presentation)
Persuasive text- analysis of what makes a good persuasive text
(advertisement), creating an advertising campaign oral and written
Read Jackie Frenchs novel Walking the Boundaries as a serial story.

Links to Reading and interpreting graphs and statistical information

Collecting, recording and representing data (group investigations)
Numeracy Percentages and ratios

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Taking Care; how Aboriginal people used and cared
for their environment
By Deborah Vietri

Aboriginal people before 1788

At the time of European colonisation there were over 600 different Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander groups who spoke more than 250 different
languages. Historically, each person could speak their own language and that
of neighbouring groups. Natural features of the land were used as
boundaries. There was great diversity among the lifestyles of Indigenous
Australians, each group had their own beliefs and culture that was passed
down from generation to generation-through songs, dance, art and story
telling. Each group was quite unique. The traditional communities moved
within their clearly defined boundaries following a seasonal pattern which
determined what food sources would be available and which ceremonies were
to be performed. Some groups stayed in one place and built more permanent
camps containing structures made of stone, bark, wood and mud. Indigenous
Australians could cross boundaries with the permission of the local clan. They
often did this to trade goods with others.

The Wurundjeri

The first people who lived in the Melbourne area were the Wurundjeri people.
They were one of the 5 traditional groups which made up the Kulin Nations
that covered the area we know as central Victoria. The Wurundjeri people
belonged to the Woiwurrung language group. They had two moiety totems,
Bunjil the eagle and Waang the crow. Today the Wurundjeri are the traditional
landowners of much of the land in and around Melbourne.

There are several clans within the Wurundjeri area. These include;
Wurundjeri-balluk and Wurundjeri-willam towards the east, Ballul-willam to the
south, Gunnung-willam-balluk in the northeast, Kurung-jang-balluk and Marin-
balluk in the west, and Kurnaje-berreing who were more central to the centre
of Mebourne. Within these clans the people lived in smaller family groups of
approximately 30-40 people. They moved around their area in order to
harvest the food according to seasons. They regularly met as a clan group for
special occasions such as corroborees, which kept unity between the groups.

Special places of the Kurung-jang-balluk

The Kurung-jang-balluk lived in the area between the Werribee River and
Sunbury. Scientists have found evidence that these people lived in this area
for 40,000 years but it is thought that they had been there for a lot longer than
that. Cooking sites and scarred trees have been found along the riverbanks
including at the Melton Valley golf course. Evidence of flint tool making and
axe grinding stones have also been found in the area including a quarry on Mt
William near Lancefield where they made their axes, and an axe grinding
stone at Mt Macedon.

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Sacred sites have also been located in this area. Bullum Bullum (located in
Burnside along the Western Highway) means white butterfly and represents
freedom of expression. It is one of many Aboriginal sites along the Koroit
Creek. Most of the places where the Aboriginal people camped were along
the rivers or creeks as they provided food and plants that were also used as
medicine. Artefacts found at this site show the Aboriginal people camped here
over a long period of time. It is a place that has a lot of rare plants and
animals.

Other sites include what is now called Hannah Watts Park where the last
known corroboree in the area was held in 1863. Corroborees were a
celebration where several clans from the same clan group met. During a
corroboree there would be dancing and music. Often important tribal issues
were discussed; marriages were arranged, goods exchanged, and disputes
settled. Sunbury is another area where evidence has been found of these
special meetings. Earth rings have been found in several places in Sunbury
where it is thought that young boys and women were initiated. It was essential
that there was plenty of food to be found in the areas where they had their
ceremonies as there were many people to feed and the celebrations went on
for several weeks.

Along the Maribyrnong River evidence of the Aboriginal people using traps to
catch eels have been found. They camped at Brimbank Park for long periods
of time, as the food was abundant there. Archaeologists have discovered 25
places within the park as being significant. These include scarred trees where
strips of bark were taken from the trees to make canoes or shelters. They
collected shellfish, freshwater mussels, fish, plants and birds to eat. Grasses
and bark from trees in the Brimbank Park area were used to make baskets
and nets.

Sources of food

There was an abundance of food in this area for the Aboriginal people. Tubers
of the yam daisy were a staple food. Large quantities of these were found
along the creeks and rivers in the Kurung-jang-balluks area. During the
summer and early autumn was the season for eels. The eels would spend
most of the year inland, but in autumn they would migrate to the sea to breed.
Then in the spring the young eels would travel upstream back to their inland
waterways. At these times the Aboriginal people would set funnel shaped
traps made of woven fibres to catch the eels. They also created weirs using
boulders and woven rushes to channel the eels into their traps. Kangaroos,
birds, possums, bandicoots, reptiles and wallabies were all plentiful in this
area that provided good hunting for the men. It was traditional that the men
did the hunting and the women and small children gathered the plants. There
were many waterways in this area that provided fish. The Kurung-jang-balluk
used canoes, spears, nets, lures and sometimes poison to catch the fish.

Caring for and managing the land

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For thousands of years Aboriginal people have been caring for and managing
their environment. They believe they are part of the land and that all living
things are one. This is the basis of their spiritual and religious beliefs.
Because they came from the land, and are one with the land, it is natural that
they would look after the land. The spirit ancestors charged the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people with the responsibility of caring for the land.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people only took what they needed
for survival. They never over-hunted or over-used a particular area. They
didnt stay too long in one place so the areas of vegetation had time to
regenerate. They left the best tubers and water plants to ensure they kept
growing. They made use of every part of an animal they killed using the meat
for food, the skins for cloaks and warmth. They wasted nothing. After eating
fruit they would spit out the seeds into fertile ground so new fruit would grow.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people understood the importance of
fire in the cycle of life. They carried fire with them either as coals or sticks
where the end was alight. They used this to start new fires when they needed
them. They used firestick farming methods to catch animals for food but also
as a land management strategy. By burning off areas of dead growth it
encouraged new grass that attracted animals such as kangaroos. It also
meant these areas were less likely to cause major bushfires that would
destroy great areas of land. Some of the bush plants only sprouted new seeds
after fire.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders used strips of bark to make their canoes
and shelters. They did this by cutting strips of bark from living trees. These
are the marks seen on the scarred trees in and around Melbourne. Several
layers of these strips would provide very effective canoes that could be taken
long distances. Using the bark for shelter kept either the rain or sun off the
people and then composted into the earth once they moved on to the next
place. By taking strips from the living trees the trees continued to grow. They
didnt need to cut down trees or entire forests to meet their needs.

All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a totem. Totems are an
important part of Indigenous identity as it links Indigenous Australians to their
country of birth, clan group, spirit ancestors and ultimately to the Creator
Spirit. Each totem carried with it specific responsibilities and obligations,
These totems identified them as being part of a family grouping. Each person
had a special connection with their totem and a responsibility to take care of it.
This meant they were not allowed to eat it. It also ensured the preservation of
species.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today still have a great
respect for and understanding of the land. Some people have lost contact with
their heritage but many have had this knowledge passed down to them by
their Elders. Totems are still a part of Indigenous identity today for many
Indigenous Australians. They still have a great spiritual connection with all
living things. The knowledge and sustainable practices of local Aboriginal and

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Torres Strait Islander people are being used more and more to assist in
managing the land today in their particular area.

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