Before There Were Cities Like Melbourne

Wominjeka. Welcome. Bold letters that greet me at the entrance.

I watch the automated show depicting the creation story of Bunjil, the wedge-tailed eagle and ancestral spirit that sand the country and people of the Kulin nation into being, and think about the aboriginal peoples of Australia. Their story is one that has been suppressed through such a violent history and continues to be overlooked by the rest of society. But these stories are not lost. Tucked inside Nicholson gardens, right outside the bustling laneways of Melbourne central, sits The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre. This centre is focused on telling the stories of aboriginal people, through their First Peoples exhibition, highlighting their struggle to exist in a society that would rather have them assimilate. I sat and listened to an exhibit showcasing various Koorie people, they share stories what culture, connection, and family mean.

Here are some of the things I heard:

"Culture is not stagnant, it’s dynamic. It’s all encompassing. It’s all around up and within us."

"If identity was who you are, culture is how you show it."

"Cultural learning is about all the things that you enjoy. Physically mentally artistically. It is through these things that you remember it"

"When I look in the mirror. I don’t just see my self, I see my great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents"

"Body is just a vehicle that carries my souls, my connection to my ancestry is what makes me me."

These stories are not being lost, we just need to clear a space for them, to place them at the forefront of each conversation.