Grampians Halls Gap (Wonderland Range). Part of a collection of Photographs by Mr. O.G. Armstrong as commissioned by the Shire of Stawell for the Inter-colonial and Paris Exhibition in Melbourne in 1866. Although little is known of the lifestyle of the Grampians, Aborigines. Evidence of their thousands of years occupation exists in the form of campsites and Ochre and Pipeclay drawings on the smooth surfaces of rock shelters. There are 40 or more aboriginal art galleries known to be in the Grampians, most of which have been discovered in the past 25 years. Some of these shelters are accessible to visitors. stawell

Jenna Lee dissects and reconstructs colonial 'Indigenous dictionaries' and embeds the works with new cultural meaning. Long obsessed with the duality of the destructive and healing properties that fire can yield, this element has been applied to the paper in the forms of burning and mark-making. In Without Us, Lee uses charcoal to conceal the text on the page, viewing this process as a ritualistic act of reclaiming and honouring Indigenous heritage while challenging the oppressive legacies of colonialism. Lee explains in Art Guide (2022), ‘These books in particular [used to create the proposed works] are Aboriginal language dictionaries—but there’s no such thing as “Aboriginal language”. There are hundreds of languages. The dictionary just presents words, with no reference to where they came from. It was specifically published by collating compendiums from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, with the purpose to give [non-Indigenous] people pleasant sounding Aboriginal words to name children, houses and boats. And yet the first things that were taken from us was our language, children, land and water. And the reason our words were so widely written down was because [white Australians] were trying to eradicate us. They thought we were going extinct. The deeper you get into it, the darker it gets. But the purpose of my work is to take those horrible things and cast them as something beautiful.’Framed artwork

Maree Clarke is a pivotal figure in the reclamation of south-east Australian Aboriginal art and cultural practices and has a passion for reviving and sharing elements of Aboriginal culture that were lost – or lying dormant – as a consequence of colonisation. She a leader in nurturing and promoting the diversity of contemporary Koorie artists through her revival of traditional possum skin cloaks, together with contemporary designs of kangaroo teeth necklaces, river reed necklaces and string headbands adorned with kangaroo teeth and echidna quills. River Reed Necklace forms a key element of the artist’s practice regenerating cultural practices and strengthening cultural identity and knowledge. Maree Clarke has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, and in 2021 she was the subject of a major survey exhibition Maree Clarke – Ancestral Memories at the National Gallery of Victoria. Other recent exhibitions include Tarnanthi, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (2021), The National, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney (2021), Reversible Destiny, Tokyo Photographic Museum, Tokyo Japan (2021) and the King Wood Mallesons Contemporary Art Prize, for which she was awarded the Victorian Artist award. In 2020 she was awarded the Linewide Commission for the Metro Tunnel project and was the recipient of the Australia Council Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Fellowship.

Common wombats are short-legged, muscular, nocturnal marsupials that live in a wide variety of habitats throughout Australia. A common wombat can grow up to 1.2 metres in length and weigh up to 35 kilograms. The name “wombat” comes from the Darug language spoken by the Aboriginal Darug people, who originally inhabited the Sydney area. The wombat was first recorded in 1798 by explorer John Price on a visit to Bargo in New South Wales, however, wombats are depicted on Aboriginal rock-art that date back as far as 4,000 years ago. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum and the National Museum of Victoria, as well as individuals such amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century. This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century. Medium sized stocky wombat with a broad head and two muscular forelegs and two weaker hind legs that are met with long sharp black claws. The hair is long, thick and coarse in brown/yellow shades. The head features two small black eyes that have been made from glass, two short pointed ears and a bare nose pad. On wooden mount: BMM 5901 /taxidermy mount, taxidermy, wombat, animalia, vombatidae, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, common wombat