This is a book by Vanda Savill giving information on the Lake Condah Aboriginal settlement, its inhabitants and its immediate neighbouring settlers. Lake Condah Mission settlement in Western Victoria was established in 1867. Vanda Savill (1913-2005) with her husband ran a dairy farm and the Bower Birds Nest Museum and History Centre at Heywood. She was passionate about keeping alive the local people’s personal histories and for 20 years, in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, she wrote and published many books on the areas around Heywood. This book is of interest as it gives information on the history of Lake Condah Aboriginal Settlement and the neighbouring settlers in this area. It is also of interest because of the author’s warm and conversational writing style. This is a soft cover book of 164 pages. It has a red cover with black and white images on the front cover of a church and a hand holding a pen. It has been stapled. There are many black and white sketches, illustrations and photographs in the book. The text has been handwritten in cursive script and then printed. lake condah aboriginal settlement, history of western victoria, vanda savill, warrnambool, history

The Lake Condah Mission site includes bluestone ruins and a reconstructed timber building, as well as the cemetery which were part of the original settlement. With European settlement in the 1830s came conflict. Gunditjmara people fought for their land during the Eumerella wars, which lasted more than 20 years. As this conflict drew to an end in the 1860s, many Aboriginal people were displaced and the Victorian government began to develop reserves to house them. Many Aboriginal people refused to move from their ancestral land and eventually the government agreed to build a mission at Lake Condah, close to some of the eel traps and within sight of Budj Bim (Mt Eccles). The mission opened in 1867. The Mission was formally closed in 1918, and Aboriginal people were forced off the Mission, some moving to Lake Tyers. The Gunditjmara protested against the Mission’s closure and many continued to reside in the buildings until the majority of the reserve land was handed over to the Soldier Settlement Scheme in the 1940s. The mission was destroyed by the government in the 1950s in an effort to force the integration of Gunditjmara people with the general community but the Gunditjmara people continued to live in the area and protect their heritage. The mission lands were returned to the Gunditjmara in 1987. Lake Condah Mission is a place with special meaning to the Gunditjmara community - as a community meeting place, an administrative centre, a symbol of political struggle and a link to family histories. As a result the Gunditjmara community do not want open public access to this site. Key Features of Interest Ruins of stone cottages and plot remains of buildings such as the church Reconstructed dormitory building (https://www.budjbim.com.au/visit/cultural-sites/lake-condah-mission/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz6j36ZvF-QIV8ZhmAh2tmA3qEAAYASAAEgLxrvD_BwE, accessed 2022)Colour photographs of the former Lake Condah Aboriginal Missionlake condah, lake condah aboriginal mission, aborigines, aboriginal, gunditjmara, eumerella wars