Summary

Gunai/Kurnai Elder Albert Mullett recalls;
'Our mob was in the market for tourism last century. The old people would put out their baskets, have fires and sell them to the tourists. They would sell them brooches for ten bob and they'd sell hundreds of them. I still make them when I have the time.' Uncle Albert Mullett.
On the traditional lands of the Gunai/Kurnai people, Bung Yarnda (Lake Tyers Mission) in East Gippsland became home to Aboriginal people who had been forcibly removed from their homelands across all parts of Victoria. By the late 1870s, Bung Yarnda was a popular tourist destination that became a 'must' for holidaymakers drawn to the beautiful waterways and coastal bush land.
The presence of tourists at the mission was both a curse and a blessing for the residents, who resented the intrusion but enjoyed the economic independence gained through selling artefacts. Men would carve traditional weapons, such as spears, clubs and boomerangs, while women would weave baskets and mats, and create feather flowers to sell. Children, too, would engage in trade, making small painted-wood brooches at the mission school and selling them for ten shillings each.

Physical Description

Wooden brooch with pin adhered to the back, carved in the shape of a boomerang. Hand painted depicting an emu and a kangaroo either side of a tree with both animals holding an object.

Significance

The Gunai/Kurnai peoples have a strong historical and ongoing connection to the Gippsland region with many of their significant sites are associated with water resources. The Gunai/Kurnai have voiced their connection to Country forcefully and have won several fights to reclaim their homelands. In 1970 they made a significant gain in being handed back Bung Yarnda. On 22 October 2010 the Federal Court recognised that the Gunai/Kurnai hold native title over much of Gippsland. On the same day, the State of Victoria entered into an agreement with the Gunai/Kurnai (Recognition and Settlement Agreement) under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010.
It is a testament to the Gunai/Kurnai people's relationship, knowledge of and respect for their Country that the Gippsland Basin bioregion is home to some of Australia's most pristine waterways.

More Information