Related events
Tours:
Discovering Aboriginal Melbourne
This exciting tour explores the impact of European colonisation on the culture and natural landscape of the place that we call Melbourne today. Meeting your Aboriginal Interpreter at Enterprise Park, take a journey back in time as you re-live the history of the Birrarung and the cultural connections of the Koorie people who have walked alongside the Birrarung for over 60,000 years and still do.
This tour peels back the layers of contemporary, urban existence to see what has, and hasn’t, changed in the past few centuries. Your Interpreter will share never before seen paintings and sketches of how Aboriginal Melbourne has been transformed. As you follow the course of Melbourne’s major river, you will also learn the course of Melbourne’s history. You could walk the Yarra River a million times and never see what your Interpreter will show you!
Learn how plants were used for food and medicines as you walk along Birrarung. At Fed Square, hop on the famous City Circle Tram with your Interpreter for the quick trip to the Melbourne Observation Deck at Rialto. View Bunjil’s country from the air. Bunjil is the great creator for the local people. From the best view in town at the Melbourne 360 Observation Deck, your Aboriginal Interpreter will point out the many cultural sites that can only be discovered through Aboriginal eyes - share stories that will ignite your imagination and transport you back in time. Learn how many of the places are still used in similar ways centuries on. On the short stroll to the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre, your Interpreter will continue to unlock some of the secrets of the alleys and laneways of Melbourne.
At the Cultural Centre, the cultural immersion will continue while you discover that there are 38 countries in Victoria, view amazing exhibitions, learn how traditional artefacts were used and hear stories of what life is like today for Aboriginal people. A special treat will be bush tucker tasting – see for yourself how soothing a cup of lemon myrtle tea can be! This journey into the world’s oldest living culture will leave a lasting impression.
Cost: $66 per head (incl. GST)
Date/Time: Monday 7 July 9:30am - 1:00pm
Bookings: Bookings can be made as part of the registration process.
For more information on the Koorie Heritage Trust, please follow the links on the Sponsors page.
Queer Carlton: a history walk with the Australian Lesbian & Gay Archives
For well over a decade now the gang from the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives has been leading excited crowds through the secret history of queer Melbourne, revealing the delights of the City, St Kilda and Fitzroy. This year, the 30th anniversary of the Archives' founding, it is Carlton’s turn. Starting at Melbourne Uni with its Gay Lib dances, CAMP in the Buff and a lesbian beat, we venture off-campus to reveal the pubs and clubs and discos of the 1970s, Melbourne’s first gay rights organisation and unnatural (trade) unions … The history that John Howard’s national curriculum somehow forgot. Limited places available.
Date: Monday, 7 July
Time: 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Cost: $22 (incl. GST)
Bookings: Bookings can be made as part of the registration process
A tour of Central Victorian goldfield landscapes
Join historian Keir Reeves on a guided tour of Central Victoria's goldfield landscapes.
ITINERARY:
Wesley Hill Market
The morning will begin with a quick tour of the hydraulic sluicing works at Forrest Creek. Across the road is the Wesley market situated in Castlemaine oldest suburb of the same name. This market has been going for 150 years.
Herron's Reef
Herron's Reef is the most intact alluvial mining landscape left on the Castlemaine diggings. This also means that it is probably one of the most intact mining landscapes left in the world. Here we will look at different aspects of the site and tour Herron’s Reef. This involves quite a bit of walking to an old miners hut so wear appropriate footwear.
Garfield Wheel
The Garfield Waterwheel is a signature piece of the Castlemaine Diggings National Park. It also forms the basis for much of the promotion of the region as a goldfields destination. However the history of the wheel is as impressive as its iconic status. Here we will discuss the management of water, perhaps the greatest challenge that the diggers would have encountered in their quest for gold.
Tute's Cottage
From the Garfield Wheel we will head to Tute’s Cottage, a small miners cottage situated in an area of Castlemaine that was gold bearing ground.
Tute’s Cottage was the final home in town to be occupied under the miners right. It is a modest dwelling that evokes the early stages of the gold rushes and was still occupied in the mid-1990’s! In preparation for our visit you may wish to visit the Heritage Victoria website and research the Victorian Heritage register online for Tute’s Cottage at: www.heritage.vic.gov.au. We will also discuss the issues such as conserving historic buildings and the role of the local community in assisting with the preservation of cultural heritage.
Afternoon Tea, visit the Castlemaine market building.
Return to Melbourne drop off at the University by 6PM.
Cost: $110 (incl GST)
Date: Monday 7 July
Time: All day. We will return to Melbourne University by 6PM.
Bookings: Bookings can be made as part of the registration process.