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.

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nine Aboriginal men in traditional dress stand in a row on a shore with a European man sharing traditional dress but with hat, as a sailing ship passes by

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William Buckley

a European man sits under a tree, whilst 11 Aboriginal men dance about him in celebration

Drawing - Pen and ink, Tommy McRae, 'Buckley with a group of Aborigines', c. 1880s, Koorie Heritage Trust, Picture Collection

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This drawing by Tommy McRae depicts the figure of William Buckley with a group of Koorie men.

Tommy McRae is a Koorie artist from the Goulburn region in north east Victoria born around 1830. This sketch was most likely drawn by Tommy McRae in the 1880s and is one of seven sketches that were purchased by the Koorie Heritage Trust as part of a sketchbook in 1991.

Tommy McRae’s drawings are very significant as they offer insights into Koorie culture, from the late 1800s from a Koorie perspective which is quite rare. McRae depicts traditional scenes of hunting, fishing and ceremony but he also includes depictions of Europeans, Chinese miners and the figure of William Buckley in many of his drawings. Through his eyes we are able to see specific details of some of the activities he choose to depict, hunting possum up a tree, or the specific body decoration worn for dance.