Coranderrk facts for kids
Coranderrk was a special place for Aboriginal Australians in Victoria. It was managed by the Victorian government from 1863 to 1924. This reserve was about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Melbourne. The people who lived there were mainly from the Woiwurrung, Bunurong, and Taungurung groups. They were the ones who first chose this land for their home.
Coranderrk was a very successful farm for many years. The Aboriginal people grew and sold crops like wheat and hops. They also sold handmade crafts in the growing Melbourne market. However, in the 1870s and 1880s, the government started to control their lives more. This led to a law called the Aborigines Protection Act 1886. This law forced many people, especially those of mixed Aboriginal and European heritage under 35, to leave the reserve. Because of these unfair rules, a group of Coranderrk residents sent a letter to the Victorian government in 1886. This letter, known as the Coranderrk Petition, protested the controls placed on their lives.
The Coranderrk reserve was officially closed in 1924. Most of the people living there were then forced to move to another place called Lake Tyers Mission.
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How Coranderrk Started
The Victorian government created Coranderrk in 1863. It was about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Melbourne. Since the 1830s, European settlers had arrived in Victoria. This meant Aboriginal people lost their traditional lands. The government created reserves like Coranderrk to provide land for them.
In 1859, a group of Taungurung men, led by Wurundjeri elders Simon Wonga and Tommy Munnering, asked for land. They spoke to William Thomas, who was the Protector of Aborigines. They wanted land for the Kulin people near the Acheron River. At first, the government seemed to agree. But a powerful land owner, Hugh Glass, interfered. This led to the group being moved to a colder, less suitable site.
In 1860, the Kulin people found two helpful friends: John Green and his wife Mary. John Green was a Scottish Presbyterian lay preacher. They started a school for the local children. In 1861, John Green became an inspector for the new Aboriginal Protection Board. After trying to set up a settlement elsewhere, Green asked to return to the Woiwurrung area. He wanted to create a new reserve near the Yarra River.
In March 1863, after three years of moving around, leaders like Simon Wonga and William Barak led about 40 Woi Wurrung, Taungurong, and Bunurong people. They traveled with Green and his family. When they arrived, their chosen site was already taken by settlers. So, they set up camp at a traditional spot near the Yarra and Badger Creek, close to Healesville. They asked for official ownership of this land. They wanted the land approved quickly so they could settle down. On June 30, 1863, an area of 9.6 square kilometers (3.7 square miles) was officially named "Coranderrk." The Aboriginal people suggested this name. It was the name they used for the Christmas Bush, a white flowering plant found in the area.
By mid-1864, about 70 Aboriginal people were living at Coranderrk.
Coranderrk Station was very successful for many years. It was run by Aboriginal people. They sold wheat, hops, and crafts in the busy Melbourne market. Their farm products even won first prize at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1881. They had won other awards in earlier years too.
By 1874, the Aboriginal Protection Board (APB) started looking for ways to weaken Coranderrk. They wanted to move people away because the farm was doing so well. Nearby farmers also wanted the mission closed. They thought the land was "too valuable" for Aboriginal people to live on.
A photographer named Fred Kruger was hired to take pictures of the site and its residents.
The Coranderrk Petition
In the 1870s and 1880s, people living at Coranderrk sent groups to the Victorian government. They protested that they had few rights. They also protested the threats to close their reserve.
Louisa Briggs (1836–1925), a Bunurong woman, lived at Coranderrk with her family and nine children. She lived there from 1871 and again from 1874. In 1876, she became the manager of the dormitory and was paid for it. She was a leader and spoke for the residents. She even gave evidence at an inquiry about how the reserve was managed in 1876.
A special investigation called the Royal Commission on the Aborigines took place in 1877. It looked at six reserves in Victoria. This was followed by another government inquiry in 1881. These led to the Aborigines Protection Act 1886. This law forced many people of mixed Aboriginal and European heritage under 35 to leave the reserves.
Louisa Briggs became a widow in 1878. She was forced off the reserve. She returned in 1882 but was forced to leave again in 1886. This was because her children were considered "half-caste" and under 35.
Activist William Barak and others sent a petition to the Victorian Government in 1886. It was on behalf of the Aboriginal people of Coranderrk. They wrote: "Could we get our freedom to go away Shearing and Harvesting and to come home when we wish... We should be free like the White Population... we are all dying away now and we Blacks of Aboriginal Blood, wish to have now freedom for all our life time... Why does the Board seek in these latter days more stronger authority over us Aborigines than it has yet been?"
The Coranderrk Petition still exists today. You can see it on display at the Melbourne Museum in Carlton.
The story of these events was made into a play. It is called Coranderrk: We will show the country. Giordano Nanni and Andrea James wrote it. In the play, actors read the actual words of people who took part in the 1881 inquiry. A book about the play, with a long introduction about the history, was published in 2013.
Closing of Coranderrk
Because of the Aborigines Protection Act of 1886, about 60 people were forced to leave Coranderrk. This happened just before a difficult economic time in the 1890s. Their forced departure badly hurt Coranderrk as a farm. Only about 15 strong men were left to work the successful hop gardens.
Almost half of the land was taken back by the government in 1893. By 1924, orders came to close Coranderrk as an Aboriginal Station. This happened even though Wurundjeri soldiers who had fought in World War I protested.
The reserve officially closed in 1924. Most residents were moved to Lake Tyers Mission in Gippsland, eastern Victoria.
Five older people refused to move. They continued living at Coranderrk until they passed away. The last known Aboriginal woman to live at Coranderrk was Elizabeth (Lizzie) Davis. She died in 1956 at 104 years old. She was not allowed to be buried at Coranderrk with her husband and siblings. The last Indigenous child born at Coranderrk Station was James Wandin in 1933. He was born in his grandmother Jemima Wandin's home.
After the last Indigenous residents passed away in the 1950s, the land was given to the Soldier Settlement Scheme. This scheme provided land to soldiers returning from war.
Healesville Sanctuary
In 1920, Sir Colin MacKenzie, a famous medical researcher, leased 78 acres (32 hectares) from the Aboriginal Protection Board. He wanted to study Australian animals. This was the start of the Healesville Sanctuary. It is a popular zoo for Australian native animals today. The sanctuary now sits on part of the original Coranderrk reserve.
Coranderrk Today
Many Aboriginal families still live in the Upper Yarra and Healesville areas today.
In March 1998, a part of the Coranderrk Aboriginal Station was returned to the Wurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage Council. The Indigenous Land Corporation bought 0.81 square kilometers (0.31 square miles) of land.
Coranderrk was added to the Australian National Heritage List on June 7, 2011. This means it is recognized as a very important place in Australia's history.
Cultural Stories
Giordano Nanni co-wrote a play called Coranderrk with Yorta Yorta/Kurnai playwright Andrea James. The play is based on the true historical events of Coranderrk. It was produced by the Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative and La Mama Theatre. It was performed at the Playhouse at Sydney Opera House in 2012. A book about the play was also published in 2013.
In 2017, Ilbijerri and the Belvoir Theatre worked together to create another version of Coranderrk. This play recreated the 1881 inquiry.
See also
- First Australians, Episode 3: Freedom For Our Lifetime
- James Wandin
- Simon Wonga
- William Barak
- Wurundjeri
