| ABORIGINAL SITES - Victoria |
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Budj Bim Eel Traps, Ponds and Huts, Macarthur
Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape in the Mt. Eccles-Lake Condah Area, Macarthur, are the largest existing remains of a system of Aboriginal eel-aquaculture. Featured are a system of weirs, ponds and traps at Lake Condah with large groupings of stone hut walls associated with them. The density of these huts demonstrated that Gunditjmara eel-aquaculture supported a large population in the area. The system of weirs, races and ponds represents a rare, nationally important example of Aboriginal innovation and technological development and demonstrates the local Aborigines' detailed knowledge and ability to manipulate the water flows in the region.
The story of the Gunditj Mara people of Western Victoria is intimately related to the eruption of the Mt. Eccles volcano, which was active between 30,000 and 20,000 years ago. Mt. Eccles and the other Western Victorian volcanos are amongst the youngest in Australia.
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Mt. Pilot
The Mount Pilot Aboriginal art site, which is near Chiltern in North Eastern Victoria, is a showcase of the artwork of the dominant indigenous clan of the area, the Duduroa. The clan, of around 2000 people, occupied an area south of Wodonga, around Beechworth, and almost to Wangaratta prior to European settlement. They were a sub-clan of the Goulburn Valley people, the Pangarang. Mt. Pilot was important to the Duduora, Pangarang, Quat Quatta and Minjambutta clans as a spiritual and ceremonial site. Springs located in the rock of the Mt. Pilot lookout were an essential water source to these clans.
The artwork, thought to be over 2000 years old, is of a Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger, a Goanna and a Snake. These three items represent totem spirits of the Duduroa. The site is located on a well signposted walk off Toveys Forest Road which runs off the Beechworth to Chiltern Road about 12 Km from either town. This walk begins near a picnic area towards the bracken. Interpretive signs located along the walk offer a guide to a better understanding of the indigenous way of life.
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The Grampians
Aboriginal people have had an association with the Grampians, traditionally known as Gariwerd, for thousands of years. The numerous local clans have left evidence of their lives in the region, including ancient oven mounds, scatterings of stone left over from tool making, rock art sites and the beliefs handed down from one generation to the next.
These sites are the most well documented, easily accessed and most frequently visited of all the Aboriginal sites in Victoria. Brambuk, the National Park and Cultural Centre in Halls Gap brings to life the history and culture of five aboriginal communities in Victoria. This impressive centre offers visitors information on the rich Aboriginal culture, heritage and local rock art sites.
Today approximately 60 rock art sites, containing more than 4,000 different motifs have been identified in the National Park. Several shelters are open to the public and are all easily accessible.
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