Last week our historian, David attended the ‘Sharing Truth’ forum with Jacqui Wandin, a Wurundjeri Elder and direct descendant (great-great niece) of William Barak, respected leader of the Wurundjeri people. Jacqui spoke with great passion off her ancestors and how in 1863, their numbers having been drastically reduced by displacement, violence and disease, they made a claim to their own land near Badger Creek in Healesville.
Through negotiations with the state Government, Barak was successful in setting up Coranderrk Aboriginal Station, named after the Victorian Christmas bush plant that grew profusely in the area. Very soon after its establishment many other Aboriginal clans were attracted to Coranderrk and the station grew to some 4,750 acres.
The station was run on the same basis as many European type stations of that time and was very successful in growing hay, maize, vegetables and produced award winning hops. Traditional baskets, weapons and rugs were produced for their own use but also to sell to make money. Cheese and jam were also made and a fine heard of cattle was kept on the station. The people there living a somewhat traditional cultural life and at the same time integrating to the more European norm. Despite this and after several attempts to lobby Government for its retention, the Coranderrk station was finally closed in 1924 with most of the inhabitants moved to a mission at Lake Tyres.
In 1998, 200 acres of the original station was purchased by the Indigenous Land Corporation and is now managed by the WEAC (Wandoon Estate Aboriginal Corporation).
David also attended the First Nations Bush Foods & Land Management Workshop hosted by Macleod Sustainability Community and Banyule council. David Wandin, another direct descendant of William Barak’s sister, gave a fantastic talk on land management. There was great discussion on the difference between land ‘ownership’ and land ‘custodianship’.
In Aboriginal culture, the custodianship of one’s country is a sacred privilege and a responsibility beyond all other, to do no harm, to respond to the needs and balance of your environment in everything you do. David Wandin a team of volunteers are attempting to revive the land at Coranderrk by growing traditional grasses and crops such as the Murnong (Yam Daisy) and Kangaroo Grass (harvested to make the world’s first bread) and many others.
Photo credits: John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
