Take a walk in Billibellary’s footsteps

This year the University of Melbourne celebrates its 160th anniversary. But for over 40,000 years before it was established by an Act of Incorporation (in January 1853), the Wurundjeri people of the Woiwurrung language group walked the land and hunted on the grassy plains and surrounding eucalypt woodland, utilising the various water sources of what was then a plentiful wetland.

“Lying within the University’s built environment are the whispers and songs of the Wurundjeri people, speaking of a strong connection to country which Wurundjeri people continue to have today,” says Shawana Andrews, a Trawlwoolway woman of North East Tasmania and Indigenous Health Lecturer in the University of Melbourne’s School of Health Sciences.

“The Wurundjeri acquired deep knowledge of their extensive territory through songlines, trade routes, ceremony and seasonal cycles.

“Living according to the seasons, the stars and landscape and imbibing it with memory, history and cultural value has created a continuum that nourishes generation after generation.”

Ms Andrews is one of three Indigenous members of a research team that has developed a self-guided Aboriginal cultural walk around the University and its surrounds. The team was supported by a reference group comprising cross-faculty staff with funding from the Office of the Provost, and received advice from Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Margaret Gardiner and the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council.

The walk is named in honour of Billibellary, a Wurundjeri Ngurungaeta (or clan head) and uncle of William Barak who as a boy witnessed the signing of John Batman’s ‘treaty’ in 1835 which was to have grave and profound consequences. 

Billibellary’s Walk starts at the university’s Gate 3 entrance in Swanston Street and finishes in University Square in Grattan Street, a concluding stage chosen by the designers to remind walkers of the Wurundjeri people’s continued traditions and connection to this part of the Melbourne landscape.

“At stop 6 of the walk, you are asked to sit on the cool grass of the System Garden behind the Botany Building and listen to the voices you can hear,” says Ms Andrews.

“And then to imagine they are speaking Woiwurrung, the language of the Wurundjeri people, hearing them shout in excitement after a successful hunt, singing as they gather yam daisy, laughing as they play and joking or whispering as child learns from Elder.

“These are the sounds of an ancient oral tradition filled with history, memory, joy and sorrow.”

Once the final stages are completed, and permanent signs are installed along all stops of the walk, students, staff and visitors will be constantly reminded of the original custodians whose spirit is alive within today’s campus. According to Shaun Ewen, Deputy Director of the Centre for Health and Society in the Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and Associate Dean (Indigenous Development) for the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, the concept of the walk originates in one of the graduate attributes envisaged for all students across the University – that of being attuned to cultural diversity by valuing different cultures.

“We expect our medical students to build a relationship with society and develop an understanding of the health of Indigenous Australians including their history, cultural development and the impact of colonisation and the ongoing health disparities of Indigenous peoples in this country and globally,” says Professor Ewen.

“When aiming to teach university students about these principles and attributes, an ongoing educational challenge for the University is to create deeper rather than more superficial learning experiences.

“We think Billibellary’s Walk will provide that depth by engaging not just students and staff, but also visitors to the University, and enhancing their sense of this place and their place within it.”

For someone like Craig Torrens, a Wehumbul man from the Bundjalung nation north-east of New South Wales, who is with Shawana Andrews a member of the Billibellary’s Walk research team and works as a corporate records officer in the University’s Secretary’s Department, taking the tour is an honour, and has also been an educative experience for him.

“So far, I’ve guided ten walks, two for staff at the University, one for Indigenous secondary school students who had come on campus for a science camp, one for postgraduate students from Ormond College, and some for other undergraduate students, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, as part of their curriculum,” Mr Torrens says.

“They’ve been well received, with common feedback saying it’s a great idea, really informative and adding another dimension to the university experience.”

www.murrupbarak.unimelb.edu.au