The Focus Region
This website is proudly brought to you by the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, the Wathaurong and Ballarat Aboriginal Cooperatives and the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust.
Australians share beautiful landscapes that are rich with cultural heritage inherited from the first peoples of this land.
When European settlers arrived, the entire Australian continent was known and inhabited by Aboriginal people. Virtually every lake, creek, river, hill, mountain and valley was named in one or the several hundred languages then in use. And they were understood in terms of belief systems with histories stretching back tens of thousands of years.
Today, even in the most densely settled regions of the continent, such as central south west Victoria, our landscapes retain traces of ways of life that were able to support rich cultures over hundreds of generations. Throughout the plains, ranges and coasts, farmlands, towns and cities there are tens of thousands of places that were occupied by Aboriginal people for various periods of time throughout the course of tens of thousands of years. Many of these places still hold evidence of that occupation and of the ways in which those people lived.
Aboriginal cultural heritage is important to all Australians, and is an inheritance that we should endeavour to pass on to our children. In recognition of this, Aboriginal communities today are working with landholders, councils, government authorities and others to identify and preserve cultural heritage sites, artifacts and knowledge.
Aboriginal heritage sites and artifacts may be found during environmental, agricultural, building, engineering and other activities. These pages provide an introduction to Aboriginal heritage in order to help you recognise it, work out what to do when you find it, and will assist you to plan and conduct your work in a manner that preserves it.
In the Culture & History section you will find information about the people who lived in the Corangamite region of Victoria at the time of settlement - the ancestors of many of today's Aboriginal Victorians.
The Aboriginal Heritage section provides information on what to do if you find Aboriginal Heritage sites or artifacts. It includes detailed descriptions of various types of Aboriginal cultural heritage that may be encountered in the Corangamite region during the conduct of farming, recreational, landcare and other activities. The descriptions include maps showing the approximate location of known heritage sites and artifact finds. They also explain what to do if you find such items or places.
The Resources and Links section provides details of books, legislation, websites and other resources that may be useful to people wishing to learn more about Aboriginal heritage and history in the corangamite region. Links many online resources are included.
An initiative funded by
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Australian Government
Department of Environment and Heritage