History_Aboriginal

__**Wurundjeri**__ The indigenous Wurundjeri people were the first to claim the land that now formed Melbourne, over 40,000 years ago. They lived by fishing, hunting and gathering in the Port Phillip Bay. The word 'Wurundjeri' comes from the word 'wurun' meaning manna gum (//Eucalptus viminalis//), and 'djeri',a grub that found in many trees. Wurundjeri are one of the indigenous groups of people in the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin Alliance (the alliance of five indigenous Australian nation). Before European settlement, Melbourne was a important meeting place for the Kulin nation as it was shared by other tribes in unity. Wurundjeri people spoke their traditional Woiwurrung language before they learnt English to be in contact with the European settlers that came in the 1830s (Woiwurrung came from the word 'Woi', meaning the way of pronouncing words, and 'wurrung' means language). But later in history, many children were stolen from Wurundjeri families and were forced to live in white families. So this generation is called the stolen generation and they don't understand and speak the Woiwurrung language. In the past 27 years, the Woiwurrung speakers had dropped from 207 to 28 speakers. And it is getting worse in the future.

__**Wurundjeri Clans**__ The Wurundjeri were based in the Birarung Valley (Yarra Valley) and were divided into 6 clans: __**John Batman's Treaty**__ On 1835, John Batman arrived at Port Phillip, he met the Wurundjeri people and wanted to buy their land around the Yarra River. On the 6th of June 1835, the treaty was signed by John Batman and some Wurundjeri elders. Batman's treaty was the first and only time documented when Europeans negotiated their presence. In the treaty, Batman bought 2000 sq km of land around the Yarra River, and the Wurundjeri people traded the land for items such as Tomahawks, knives, scissors, jackets and a yearly tribute of items. Many years later, the treaty was legally invalid as it belongs to the crown, not Wurundjeri people. Wurundjeri had no chiefs of land owner and would never agreed to alienate their land.
 * **Wurundjeri-willam/balluk** - Yarra Valley, Yarra River catchment area to Heidelberg.
 * **Balluk-willam** - South of the Yarra Valley extend to Dandenong, Cranbourne, Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp.
 * **Gunnung-willam-balluk -** East of the Great Dividing Ranges and north to launcefield.
 * **Kurung-jang-balluk** - Werribee river to Sunbury.
 * **Marin-balluk/Boi-berrit** - Land west of the Maribyrnong River and Sunbury.
 * **Kurnaje-berreing-** The land between Maribyrnong and Yarra River.

__**Battle of Yering**__ Battle of Yering was a conflict between Wurundjeri people and the settler/ border police which occurred on the 13th January 1840 .The battle arose after the disagreement of settlement and the right of harvest their potato crop on the other side of the border. During the battle, the captain of the border police, Henry Gisborne captured the Clan leader, Jaga Jaga. After hearing of the capture, Wurundjeri clansman and the troopers mounted a counterattack, after a few shots were exchanged, the Wurundjeri clansman were forced to retreat into a nearby Billabong. They successfully drew the troopers away from Jaga Jaga, allowing them to unite Jaga Jaga.

**__Coranderrk__** Coranderrk was a Indigenous Australian mission station set up in 1863, to provide land under the policy of concentration. This station was needed as the European farming had make it very difficult for the aboriginal people to find their traditional food sources and shelter. So the Victorian Aboriginal people found a site that they believed would be suitable for the Aboriginal people to live as a community. This site became known as the Coranderrk mission. By the mid 1870s, Coranderrk became a large village with schoolhouses, bakery and a butcher. The growing community's hard work had made Coranderrk a highly productive farming area and a valuable piece of land.

__**Wurundjeri and Aborigines today**__ The Wurundjeri people today are the descendants of migrants from various parts of Victoria, and were believed to be the descendants of Bebejan (an leader of a Wurundjeri clan). According to past history, the population of the Wurundjeri and Aborigines were hit by two epidemics. In 1803, English explorer James Fleming explored the Maribyrnong and Yarra River and soon realised that the Aborigines had Small pox on their faces. He concluded that the Aborigines had the small pox epidemic, killing at least half of the Aboriginal population. The second epidemic occured after the European settlement, all sorts of diseases were introduced to the Aborigines. By the 1870s, most of the Aboriginal people and Wurundjeri people had disappeared. (currently population of <100, unsure) The Wurundjeri people today are mostly members of the stolen generation, which means they know nothing about their own culture. Joy Murphy Wandin (a Wurundjeri elder) said:

"In the recent past, the Wurundjeri culture was undermined by people being forbidden to "talk culture" and language. Another loss was the loss of children taken from their families. Now, some knowledge of the past has been found and collected from documents. By finding and doing this, the Wurundjeri will bring their past to the present and recreate a place of belonging. A "keeping place" should be to keep things for future generations of our people, not a showcase for all, not a resource to earn dollars. I work towards maintaining the Wurundjeri culture for the Wurundjeri people of the future."

__**Apologise to the Aborigines**__ On the 13th of Febuary 2008, the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to the Aboriginal people, especially to the stolen generations. On that day, at the Australian Parliament House, Kevin Rudd made a speech called 'Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples.' In this four minute speech the Prime Minister said that it is a new page for the Australian history, 'by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence in the future.' He apologised to the stolen generations, for taking them away from their families, and forcing them to live in a white family, assimilating them. Between 1969 and 1970, about 100 thousand aboriginal children were stolen from their families.

After the speech, many of the 'stolen generations' felt a great relief and accepted the apologise, but it will never heal the memory of the pain and hurt that they experinced. This is the speech of Kevin Rudd: //**— I move**// //**That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.**// //**We reflect on their past mistreatment.**// //**We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations—this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.**// //**The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with**// //**confidence to the future.**// //**We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these**// //**our fellow Australians.**// //**We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their**// //**country.**// //**For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.**// //**To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.**// //**And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.**// //**We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the**// //**nation.**// //**For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.**// //**We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.**// //**A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.**// //**A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life**// //**expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.**// //**A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.**// //**A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.**// //**A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the**// //**next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.**//

__**National Sorry Day**__ National Sorry Day is an Australian-wide observance held on May 26 each year. On this day, people come together and share the process towards healing for the stolen generations, families and communities. The first National sorry day was held on May 26 1998, which is one year after a report about removal of Aboriginal children from their families. On the National Sorry Day, activities and events take place throughout Australia included: National sorry day activities also included signing messages and writing 'sorry books' to show their commitment toward reconciliation.
 * Concerts and barbecues.
 * Reconciliation walks or street marches.
 * Sorry Day flag raising events.
 * Morning teas or lunches.
 * Speeches from community leaders, including Indigenous Australian elders, as well as educators
 * Media statements from politicians within federal, state and local governments.

__**Bibliography-**__

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