Cultural Heritage

• The creators of G Line acknowledge and pay respects to the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation as the traditional owners of the land linking the MCG to the Birrarung (Yarra River).

  We respect the Wurundjeri people’s ongoing belief in the creative spirit of Bunjil (Eagle) and seek to honour that spirit in the work we undertake in this place.

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  From pre-contact to today, the land located on the river planes of the Yarra have undergone significant change.

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  From pre-contact to today, the land located on the river planes of the Yarra have undergone significant change.

• Cultural sites of significance

  • Content Credit

    These sites are drawn from Mapping Aboriginal Melbourne, a resource developed by the City of Melbourne.

    Mapping Aboriginal Melbourne.

  

• G Line is working with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Traditional Owners to uncover the cultural histories of this site and find ways to interpret them across the precinct. Cultural values shape the vision from the start.

  First Nations knowledge will be present in the public realm of every neighbourhood. Country’s presence in the precinct is authored by its custodians. The project team’s role is to create the conditions for that authorship.
  
  The corridor connects sites of deep First Nations significance, including the scar tree, Birrarung Marr, Camp Sovereignty, and William Barak Bridge. New public space along its length gives more people reasons to come together. Along G Line, First Nations knowledge and story unfolds in sequence. As people move through the precinct, the history and ongoing presence of Country become part of the journey.
  
  The landscape acknowledges how the site has changed over time while establishing it as a new place to gather and reflect. Cultural values are embedded within the landscape through form, planting, and a strong celebration of local identity. The design interprets the site’s material history alongside its significance to First Nations people. The landscape strategy will communicate to residents and visitors that they are on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung land.

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  The design seeks to establish a layered character that references the site’s history.

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  The design seeks to establish a layered character that references the site’s history.

• We’re only at the very start of this journey, walking alongside the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Traditional Owners on whose land this project sits. We’ve taken a small, genuine first step and laid the groundwork for a real partnership as we tackle this together.

• Common questions

  What role will Traditional Owners – the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation play in this project?

  The creators of G Line have invited the Wurundjeri to participate in the development proposal and welcome further engagement with them as Traditional Owners. The extent that Wurundjeri participate is open to them. At a formal level the project acknowledges that Wurundjeri have an extremely vital role to play as the designated Cultural Heritage authority assigned to them under relevant laws in Victoria.

  What might a genuine partnership with Wurundjeri look like?

  The level of partnership will be actively explored by the project team in the hope that Wurundjeri come to value this relationship as truly genuine. Options for engagement will be explored with Wurundjeri regarding their immediate aspiration for cultural interpretation and recognition. For example, a cultural heritage based visitor centre, landscapes, plantings, and dual-language wayfinding signage across the podium. Economic opportunities for Aboriginal businesses to be located within the precinct longer term including sporting and artistic partnerships. First nations jobs identified in construction and ongoing employment. Ongoing cultural engagement and guidance of the precinct should be a feature of the governance for the area.

  Who decides how cultural heritage stories are told?

  The way cultural heritage of this land is told is solely the prerogative of the Traditional Owners.

  What if Wurundjeri’s views are in conflict with the masterplan?

  Victorian Traditional Owners have powers under relevant Victorian Cultural Heritage and Planning legislation. The project must address and comply with those powers. The project intends to eliminate, if possible, any potential conflict through a partnership with Wurundjeri or by agreement with Wurundjeri.

  What can Wurundjeri’s ongoing custodianship look like?

  The project is intended to be underpinned by a long-term lease of public land. The engagement of Traditional Owners in those arrangements would need to be addressed should the project proceed.

  Does this connect to the wider Kulin Nation?

  The way in which the project can recognise and showcase the importance of Tanderrum (Welcoming to Country) and Corroboree (cultural celebration) will be totally guided by the Traditional Owners and spatially linked through signage or pathways to other sites along the Birrarung (Yarra River), into Yarra Park and beyond.