City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

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DAREBIN HERITAGE STUDY STAGE 2had an important place in Aboriginal societies and the Merri Creek, especially near theconfluence of the Yarra River, and also at Northcote, was recorded as being a well knownencampment for the Wurunjderi people since before the arrival of European settlers (e.g. Swift1928:2, 11). During the colder months when the Yarra and tributaries were flooded, theWurundjeri willam moved up into the higher lands, where shelter and firewood were moreplentiful (Presland, 1994:73; Ellender & Christiansen, 2001:39).Camp activities were centred on the hunting and gathering of readily available resources, butalso included collection of suitable stone for tools. Camp movement was dependent on theavailability of game (Presland, 1994:51-2). Hunting and gathering was generally divided alonggender lines with the men hunting for animals such as kangaroos, emus, possums and fish,while the women gathered plant resources and collected shellfish. Techniques and materialsemployed in hunting and gathering depended on the environment. Men, generally equippedwith spear, spear thrower, club, boomerang (wonguim) and stone axe, would hunt for animalswith a combination of hides, lures, stealth and mimicry, or harvest fish and eels from stonetraps built in rivers and swamps. Women, carrying a fire-hardened digging stick (Kannan) andwoven bag or wooden container, would collect Murnong (Yam Daisy) tubers, fruits, seeds andrushes, or poke small animals from burrows, or harvest eels (Presland, 1994:51-83; Ellender &Christiansen, 2001:35-45).Animals and plants were not only harvested for their food value, but also for a range of otheruses. Animal, particularly possum, skins and fur were made into cloaks or spun by hand intoyarn; bones were used to manufacture needles, awls, or spear points; sinew was used forbinding, feathers for decoration, gum and resin for medicinal purposes or binding; bark forcanoes, containers or shields; and rushes for weaving bags (Presland, 1994:51-83; Ellender &Christiansen, 2001:35-45).Clan elders were responsible for passing on skills to younger generations and again senior mentook responsibility for the younger men to teach hunting skills while women elders taughtyoung women to weave and build miams (huts). Elders also took a leading role in ritualactivities, such as the boy’s initiation rite (Tibbut) and the girl’s initiation rite (MurrumTurukuruk). (Ellender & Christiansen, 2001:51-3).Corroborees were also crucial to the life of the clan. They served multiple functions andincluded men, women or both depending on the occasion. They could be used for welcomingother groups to clan lands, in sacred initiation ceremonies, or to mark the beginning of otherlonger ceremonies. Talented people who developed new dances or songs were also very muchadmired (Presland, 1994:83; Ellender & Christiansen, 2001:56-7).For the Darebin area, the Merri and Darebin Creeks would have been a focus of resourcegathering and settlement, as well as a landmark and pathway to other regions. The creeksprovided fish, eels, mussels, waterbirds and roots and tubers. Murnong heaps were noted alongthe banks of both creeks in the nineteenth century (Clark & Heydon, 2004:10). A number ofsmall ephemeral swamps were also present in the Fairfield area prior to drainage works in theearly twentieth century (Swift, 1928:107), and these would also have attracted people. MountCooper has naturally occurring silcrete outcrops which were utilised as a source for rawmaterials for stone tools.At the time of European settlement, the Wurundjeri willam comprised at least three subgroups.These groups were headed by Ngurungaeta, the senior clan leaders. Bebejan’s mob,whose territory included the area at Heidelberg and up the Yarra to Mt Baw Baw, may haveused the area, but it is Billebellary’s mob, who occupied the area north of the Yarra from theMaribyrnong River to the Merri and Darebin Creeks, that is most commonly associated withthe region (Clark, 1990:385).Although decisions affecting a clan would only be made after lengthy discussion amongst thewhole clan, the Ngurungaeta generally had great influence and respect within the clan andbeyond. Billibellary was one of the most influential Ngurungaeta and played a prominent rolein the early history of Aboriginal-European relations in Victoria. He was a signatory to18
VOLUME 2: THEMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORYBatman’s Treaty and led his clan with strength and vision through the 1830s and early 1840s.Assistant Protector William Thomas drew frequently on Billibellary’s knowledge andleadership throughout this time (Clark & Heydon, 2004:38-9).Making contactWhen John Batman arrived in the Melbourne area in June 1835, he came with a treaty topurchase land, and a number of Aboriginal men from Sydney to act as mediators in thisproposed purchase. The treaty claimed to purchase around 600,000 acres of land for an initialpayment of blankets, tomahawks, knives, scissors, looking glasses, handkerchiefs, shirts andflour, and a similar yearly tribute to the Kulin.The treaty was the only one ever offered to Aboriginal people in the colonization of Australia,and thus represents the only serious attempt made to negotiate with Aboriginal people prior tosettlement. In its wording and in the signing ceremony, which included the handing over of ahandful of soil as ‘livery of seisin’, the treaty recognizes the ownership of the land by the Kulinpeople. However there is no doubt that the idea of presenting a treaty to the Aboriginal peoplewas at least partly motivated by a desire to win favour in London, as Batman and the PortPhillip Association knew they were attempting the illegal settlement of the Port Phillip area(see also section 2.4 in Chapter 2).In any case, whilst Batman thought that he was purchasing the land, a purchase of this typehad no meaning to the Kulin signatories. In the understanding of these people, clan land - andparticularly the religious, social and economic rights that it contained - could not be sold.However, the Kulin had a ceremony of welcome, known as a Tanderrum or ‘freedom of thebush’ ceremony. In this ceremony, the visiting clan are not allowed to do anything forthemselves but are instead seated and attended to by the home clan, who bring the visitors giftsin the form of water and as great a variety of food from the home country as can be gathered(Thomas, in Bride ,1898:97-8). Certainly the treaty signing did not only involve payment ofblankets and other goods by Batman to the Kulin people, but the Kulin also gave gifts ofcloaks, stone axes and boomerangs to Batman’s party (Campbell, 1987:102).Importantly, while Batman was seeking out Aboriginal people to negotiate a land purchase, itwas a group of Kulin people who made the ultimate approach. This group included several clanheads, including Billibellary. These Ngurungaeta would have been certain about theirinviolable connection to their land and thus would not have been a knowing party to its sale,but their presence indicates that a decision had been reached among clanspeople to meet anddeal with Batman on their own terms.It is likely therefore that the deal was done with Batman by the Kulin as a traditional strategyof their own, one which offered a necessary hospitality to Batman’s party and granted themtemporary usage of the resources of the land (Broome, 2005a:10-1).Figure 3Burtt, John Wesley,‘Batman's treaty with theaborigines at Merri Creek,6th June 1835’[State Library of Victoria,AN H92.196 INb28769]19
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3.14.1: Building to suit Australian
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CRITERION E:VOLUME 2: THEMATIC ENVI
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City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

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