Cookies help us provide a better experience for you. By continuing to use our site, you accept the use of cookies. Read our Cookies Policy.
For thousands of years the Gunditjmara people have been living, breathing and following the footsteps of their ancestors in the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. This has officially been recognised, after years of lobbying, by being named on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
What is Budj Bim Cultural Landscape I hear you ask?
It is a place that tells a thousand stories. It is a place that provided for the Gunditjimara people for six millennia. It is a place that is now protected for future generations.
Budj Bim, previously known as Mount Eccles, is a long dormant volcano that erupted over 30,000 years ago. This eruption created a lava flow which extends over 50 kilometres southwest and covers what is now known as the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape.
You can see how the Gunditjimara people utilised the volcanic rocks, at the Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected area. The rock was used some 6,600 years ago to manipulate the water to create an aquaculture system. This complex system of weirs and purpose built channels were used to catch eels and direct them into holding and growing ponds to use throughout the year. The Gunditjimara people used the eel’s as their currency, trading them with other tribes around the area for tools such as green solid rock to carve into a spear head.
The volcanic rocks were also used as the base of their huts, of which there are remains of at least 150 huts within the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. A short walk in Tyrendarra will take you to the heart of the Gunditjimara peoples history.
Let the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape take you back thousands of years.
Let the Adventure Begin.
Photo's by Visit Victoria
