We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called Victoria, and all First Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders — past, present and future.
Please be aware that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Some material may contain terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Victorian Collections.
Users of this site should be aware that in many areas of Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning. The length of this time varies and is determined by the community.
Reuse of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander material on this site may require cultural clearances. Users are advised to contact the source organisation to discuss appropriate reuse.
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Have a question? Contact Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages
Public Record Office Victoria and the National Archives of Australia hold many government records about Aboriginal people in Victoria. This guide is designed to help Victorian Aboriginal people find records about their family and country. It will also assist anyone researching the history and administration of Aboriginal affairs in Victoria to find relevant records.
document reproductions, maps, b&w photographs
This book is the second of Gardner's 3 volume history on the Kurnai tribes. It studies the Kurnai through the diaries and letters of various European observers, including an explorer, squatters, government officials, Aboriginal protectors, missionaries and an anthropologist. There is also an account of one of the victims, a summary of Gardner's massacre thesis and an appendix on the 'white woman' affair. This book is considered the most professional production of the trilogy and was highly commended in the Caltex-Bendigo Advertiser Awards of 1988.
B&w illustrations, b&w photographs
histories, victorian aborigines, victorian history, local history, victoria, gippsland, kurnai, european
stories, short stories, histories, culture, literature, fiction, australia, australian literature, aboriginal literature, aboriginal stories
It had never happened before! No one had every taken legal action against the University of Melbourne and the Museum of Victoria, challenging their right to keep collections of the skeletal remains of the ancestor of Aboriginal people ... . For the 25th anniversary of the reburial in Kings Doman Garden, Shannon Faulkhead and Jim Berg tell the story of this significant battle in the history of colonisation of this country. The story incorporates the voices of 22 people, both Koorie and non-Koorie, who were involved at the time- Gatefold.
B&w illustrations, b&w photographs
museum of victoria, koori, koorie, , ancestors, history, histories, melbourne university, laws, melboune, victoria, art, artists
The most comprehensive one-volume book of identification
Colour illustrations, b&w illustrations, word lists, maps
birds, australia, identification
Curator: Esmai Manahan. Third exhibition in a series titled "Tribal expressions", held in Melbourne, 2004. Includes bibliographical references.
colour photographs, b&w photographs, maps
art, arts, victoria, koori, koorie, gallery, exhibition, arts victoria, melbourne, artists
From far-flung sites in Australia and the Pacific Islands, Lorimer Fison and A. W. Howitt produced the landmark study, 'Kamilaroi and Kurnai' (1880). Their book revealed the complexity of Aboriginal and Pacific Island societies and changed the course of anthropology in the early years of the discipline. Using archival sources and an innovative approach, Southern Anthropology explores the research, writing and reception of 'Kamilaroi and Kurnai'. Historical chapters track Fison and Howitt's collection and analysis of anthropological material in the context of raging debates about the evolution of humans. This narrative is interspersed with an introduction to the kinship and social organisation of Aboriginal and Pacific Island people that highlight the enduring value of Fison and Howitt's methods and the resurgence of their questions in contemporary anthropology. Southern Anthropology is designed to be read across disciplinary boundaries.
b&w illustrations, b&w photographs, tables, document reproductions
histories, anthropology, howitt, fisson, kamilaroi, kurnai, evolution, archives, australia
Vol 3 Anthology of Sources
b&w illustrations, b&w photographs, colour illustrations
djabwurrung, djab wurrung, western victoria, victoria, port phillip aboriginal protectorate, biographies, genealogies, pastoral stations, social histories, place names, siewright, lake condah, balllarat, thomas jerusalem, king billy, mount emu, histories
Vol 1 A History of the Djabwurrung, 1836-1901
maps, b&w illustrations, b&w photographs, colour illustrations
djabwurrung, djab wurrung, western victoria, victoria, port phillip aboriginal protectorate, biographies, genealogies, pastoral stations, social histories, place names, siewright, lake condah, balllarat, thomas jerusalem, king billy, mount emu, histories
As both a welfare and activist body, the League is the "mother" of all Aboriginal Victorian community organisations, having spawned a diverse range of them...Over the years the League has proven that despite the pervasive mythology, Aboriginal people are able to successfully govern their own organisations. In particular, the League has proven its capacity for managing good governance while maintaining Aboriginal cultural values.
aborigines advancement league, history, government, social relations
Vol 2 Biographies, genealogies, pastoral station profiles, collectors of Djabwurrung heritage, and place names.
maps, b&w illustrations, b&w photographs, colour illustrations
djabwurrung, djab wurrung, western victoria, victoria, port phillip aboriginal protectorate, biographies, genealogies, pastoral stations, social histories, place names, siewright, lake condah, balllarat, thomas jerusalem, king billy, mount emu
In August 2013, Kiwa Digital, in conjunction with the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages brought the KIWA SLAM™ to the Ngulu (Language) Class of Healesville High school. Under the guidance of Aunty Joy Murphy, our Wurundjeri elder, nineteen years 7, 8 & 9 students undertook an intensive two days of Dreamtime story telling, culminating in four dreamtime stories told through striking artwork and narrated in the students' own voices. (cover notes)
vacl, healesville high school, creation stories, dreamtime, storytelling, education, digital resources, storybook app
When Bartja's best friend Mayila plans to leave the forest they live in to visit the ocean, Bartja wants to find her the perfect parting gift. With some advice from Uncle Ambrose and the forest animals, Bartja creates a gift that Mayila will treasure. Bartja and Mayila written by Sue Atkinson (Yorta Yorta) and illustrated by Annette Sax (Taungurung). This is the first book in the YSS series, giving young children insight into Indigenous Victorian culture. The Yarn Strong Sista series is supported by background notes and ideas for related activities.
Koorie Youth speak out about the relevance of education for them.
vaeai, indigenous youth forums, youth attitudes
A compilation of 6 short films by Aboriginal filmakers dramatising various aspects of Aboriginal life in white Australia. Touches on topics which include Black Deaths In Custody, family life, social interaction and social disadvantage, traditions and racial discrimination. No way to forget /? writer, director, Richard Frankland (11 min.) Fly Peewee fly /? writer, director, Sally Riley (10 min.) Round up /? writer, director, Rima Tamou (16 min.) Two bob mermaid /? writer, director, Darlene Johnson (15 min.) Payback /? writer, director, Warwick Thornton (10 min.) Black man down /? writer, co-producer, Sam Watson ; director, Bill McCrow (11 min.) No way to forget /? writer, director, Richard Frankland (11 min.).
videocassette
indigenous filmmakers, richard frankland, darlene johnson, sally riley, rima tamou, warwick thornton, australian film institute, afi
Video on education using the practice of language and culture teaching.
videocassette
pitjantjatjara, language studies, teaching language, multicultural education, language and culture teaching
The video "tells the story of two types of Australian Indigenous language revival programs. The languages involved are Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri."
videocassette
kaurna, ngarrindjeri, curriculum development, language revival, education, language learning, bilingualism, lote, south australian education system
This is a how-to presentation on how to conduct research using the Australian Archives.
videocassette
archives research, information services, access control
videocassette
pharmaceutical benefits scheme, health care, drugs
Jimmy Little offers help to newly-established Aboriginal corporations in successfully running meetings. He outlines the suitable qualities of a chairperson, the duties of other office bearers such as the Treasurer and the Secretary and runs through definitions of "quorum","agenda" and "minutes".
videocassette
indigenous business enterprise, jimmy little
videocassette
indigenous business enterprises
videocassette
waywurru, dhudhuroa
videocassette
indigenous place names
videocassette
wathaurong
The Bunuba, Gooniyandi and Kija language nests portrayed here are run by the Kimberley Language Resource Centre and supported by the communities. The nests allow pre-school children to learn their own traditional languages in a stimulating environment. They are immersed in the language through activities like dancing, fishing and collecting bush tucker.
videocassette
bunuba, gooniyandi, kija, western australia, language education
videocassette
doonoch dancers, indigenous dance, koorie heritage trust
Maps, b&w illustrations
coranderrk, kulin, barak, strzelecki, racial science, infanticide, genocide, assimilation, bon berry childrens asylum
gumleaf, uncle herb patten
This thesis examines and analyses the linguistic data in the papers of the Reverend William Thomas (1793-1867) in the Mitchell Library, Sydney (Thomas MS 214). This data was found to refer mainly to the Aboriginal language of the Melbourne area, described by Blake and Reid (1998) as the Central Victorian Language.
word lists
wathawurrung, wathaurong, boonwurrung, boon wurrung, woiwurrung, thagungwurrung, djadjawurrung, tjapwurrung, wergaia, wemba baraba, wemba wemba, yeti, madhi madhi, ledji, wadi, nari nari, wimmera, ballarat, bacchus marsh, gippsland, mount gambier, wonnin, john green, george augustus robinson, r h mathews, luise hercus, linguistics, sociolinguistics
Honours thesis in linguistics (unpublished) at Monash University. Detailed studies of Gippsland languages (Ganai) including maps, extensive discussion of historical sources, and a fairly detailed grammatical study of Ganai. Includes wordlists organised by areas of meaning.
Maps, word lists
ganai, gippsland
BA (Honours) thesis examining the vocabularies presented in the William Thomas Papers.
maps, word lists
boonwurrung, taungurung, woiwurrung, barry blake, reverend william thomas, eatern kulin language, language revival
Victorian Collections acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
