Yesterday

Learning about First Nations history, culture and knowledge.

In and around the Yarra Valley, for over 60,000 years, the Wurundjeri people have lived sustainably. They identify as the "Manna Gum people" because of their deep connection to this tree from which their name is derived from 'wurun' (Manna Gum) and 'djeri'  (the grub found in the tree).

The Wurundjeri have important Creation stories that feature the creator spirits who shaped the land, who helped create the first humans from the bark of a manna gum tree and who established the laws of the land.

Their society was governed by complex systems of law and kinship, and they passed down knowledge, traditions, and creation stories through oral traditions, art, song, and dance. 

Colonisation effectively destroyed this civilization. In the Yarra Valley, we have two important stories. In 1840, the famous Battle of Yering occurred and in 1863, Coranderrk was created as a place for the few remnants of different mobs who survived the early expansion of Melbourne.