Join us on Sunday 28 April 2024, from 1:30pm – 4:30pm for an Open Afternoon at the Old Post Office Museum, 111 Yarra Street, Warrandyte to help celebrate the Warrandyte Historical Society’s exciting new Aboriginal Room exhibit. The new displays explore the connection between the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and the Warrandyte area and people – both past and present.
The display was developed in collaboration with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.
3pm – Brief Presentation
Bush food themed refreshments will be available. For catering purposes please RSVP to info@whsoc.org.au
FREE ENTRY and WHS is encouraging everyone from across Manningham and Nillumbik to attend.
The display has been generously funded by Warrandyte Riverside Market and the open afternoon proudly supported by Nillumbik Shire Council and Warrandyte Lions.
About the Exhibition:
This new exhibit continues WHS’s important work in actively promoting the Aboriginal history of Warrandyte and the Wurundjeri.
In the early 1980s, a series of articles by archaeologist Lee Scott-Virtue on Warrandyte Prehistory appeared in the WHS newsletter.
Lee was a Warrandyte resident and a Society member at the time.
The articles were of great interest (a transcript is available on request) as they explained the relationship between the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and the Warrandyte area.
Lee found the archaeological and documentary evidence she obtained during her research indicated a fairly coordinated occupation and use of the Warrandyte area over a considerable period.
She then endeavoured to put together the story of Aboriginal occupation of Warrandyte and the immediate surrounding area.
In 1983, and based on this work, WHS mounted a special exhibition on Aboriginal History during the Warrandyte Festival.
Lee curated this with contributions from several local people who provided artefacts to display.
Input also came from the Victorian Archaeological Survey and Latrobe University Prehistory Department, amongst others.
For more than 40 years, a specific room dedicated to educating visitors and school groups about Aboriginal history has been maintained in the Warrandyte Museum.
In keeping with the views of the time, the display materials, both photos and text, were focused more on the wider colonial history than specifically on the Wurundjeri and Warrandyte.
Mainly authored by historian member Murray Houghton, the information was detailed, thorough, and a scholarly analysis, drawing on material available at the time.
However, in recent years, following the new context, language, and attitudes surrounding the Voice Referendum, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and Victorian Treaty negotiations, the Society felt the subject, language and focus of the display needed to be updated and a new approach was needed.
A new and more visual display was envisaged.
It was decided to review, reframe, and expand the display to tell the rich Aboriginal history of Warrandyte with the emphasis and content appropriately reflecting the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung rather than a colonial perspective.
The new displays explore the connection between the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and the Warrandyte area and people — both Aboriginal and European — past and present.
The display was developed in collaboration with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.
Their suggestions and valuable input led to the clarification of major issues and more meaningful text.
Their support on the project is gratefully acknowledged.
