Lake Condah Mission facts for kids

Lake Condah Mission, also known as Condah Mission, was a special place set up in 1867 by the Anglican Church in Victoria, Australia. It was about 3 kilometers from Lake Condah, which the local Aboriginal people traditionally called Tae Rak. The mission was also about 20 to 25 kilometers south-east of Condah. The land for the mission, about 2,000 acres north of Darlot Creek, was officially set aside in 1869. The mission kept running until 1951. After that, most of the land was given to a program called the Soldiers Settlement Scheme. This program provided land for white soldiers who had fought in World War II.

The area was originally the home of the Kerrup Jmara people, who are a group within the larger Gunditjmara nation. The mission lands were given back to the Gunditjmara people on January 1, 1987. The mission was mentioned in a very important report called the Bringing Them Home Report (1997). This report talked about how many Indigenous Australian children were taken from their families and placed in institutions like Lake Condah Mission.

Today, Lake Condah Mission is part of the Budj Bim heritage areas. This includes the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, which is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Lake Condah: Home of the Kerrup-Jmara People

The Kerrup-Jmara people, whose name means "people of the lake," are a special group of Aboriginal people from the Gunditjmara nation. For thousands of years before Europeans arrived, they lived around the shores of Lake Condah, which they called Tae Rak. They had a very important job: to care for the lake.

European settlers first found Lake Condah in 1841. David Edgar and William Thompson Edgar were exploring the area and named it Lake Condon. Later, in 1849, a farmer named Cecil Pybus Cooke bought land nearby. He changed the name to Lake Condah because he thought it meant "black swan," a bird that lived on the lake. The Gunditjmara people were forced off their lands by these new settlers. Some were moved to the mission, but they didn't go without a fight, as seen in the Eumeralla Wars.

Starting the Mission in 1867

Cecil Pybus Cooke had a good relationship with the local Gunditjmara people. This was one reason why the Anglican Mission board chose this land for an Aboriginal mission. Cooke gave the land and £2,000 to build an Anglican church. The government also gave over 2,000 acres of land in 1867. The mission site was officially set aside in 1869. This was the same year that the Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines was created by a law called the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869. The mission buildings were about 4 kilometers west of Lake Condah.

Different government boards oversaw the mission over the years. These boards were meant to "protect" Aboriginal people, but they often controlled their lives.

The first person in charge of the mission was Job Francis. He was a former Moravian missionary. He was supposed to move people from another mission called Framlingham to Lake Condah. However, most people refused to move or soon returned to Framlingham. After a few changes, another Moravian missionary, Heinrich Stähle, took over in April 1875. He was known for being very strict. He kept the residents under strong control. For example, he didn't let them work on nearby farms. He also wouldn't let family members move onto the mission. He saw food rations as a reward, not something people had a right to. The residents used local grasses to make fish traps to get more food. English was the main language at the mission, and using Aboriginal languages was discouraged. Old reports show that more people died than were born at the mission. By 1905, there were so few children that the school only ran part-time.

The mission had several buildings. There was a house and kitchen for the missionary, a school, a children's dormitory, and a storage building. Some buildings were made of wood, but local bluestone (a type of rock) was also used for houses and the church. The church, named St Mary's, was built between 1883 and 1885 and officially opened in 1885. In total, there were 26 buildings, and 15 acres of land were used for farming. By 1871, about 80 people lived there, and by the late 1880s, about 120.

The "Half-Caste Act" of 1886

In 1886, a law called the Half-Caste Act 1886 was passed. This law said that Aboriginal people who had both Aboriginal and European heritage (often called "half-caste" at the time, a term now considered offensive) had to leave the reserves. However, another law, the Aborigines Act 1910, later cancelled this decision, and many people were able to return.

In March 1898, the Church Mission Society gave ownership of Lake Condah and Lake Tyers Missions to another church group. Government teachers taught at the mission school. After Heinrich Stähle retired in 1913, an army captain took over. The mission officially closed at the end of 1918. Many young men from the mission joined the army during World War I. At least eighteen of them died serving their country. However, when the soldiers who survived returned, their requests for land were refused. The last residents were moved to Lake Tyers, except for four elderly people who were allowed to stay under the care of the local police. The residents asked for the land to be given to them for farming, but this was refused. Instead, parts of the land were sold to white soldiers who were settling after the war.

Former residents who lived nearby still went to the church and sent their children to the mission school. The school kept running until June 1948.

Closing the Mission in 1950–51

In 1950, the decision was made to close the mission. The church and other buildings were destroyed to help with this closure. Some records say the church was destroyed in 1950, with its stones used for other buildings. Other sources say it was demolished in 1957. The government wanted the Aboriginal people to move to nearby towns like Hamilton, Warrnambool, Heywood, and Portland. However, some Gunditjmara people continued to live in the area until the late 1950s. They mostly lived off the land, catching fish and hunting rabbits and other animals, which they sometimes sold.

In 1951, the mission land, except for three small areas (the cemetery, its access road, and 43 acres where the mission buildings were), was officially taken back by the government. This land was then given to the Soldiers Settlement Commission. Sadly, Gunditjmara people who had served in the Australian Army during World War II were not allowed to claim land. This was the same unfair situation that happened after World War I. These 43 acres were all that was left for the Gunditjmara people from the original 2,043 acres given to them 83 years earlier by Queen Victoria. This land was meant to make up for the loss of their traditional lands.

Returning the Land in 1987

The mission lands were given back to the Gunditjmara people, specifically the Kerrup-Jmara Elders Aboriginal Corporation, on January 1, 1987. This happened because of a law called the Aboriginal Land (Lake Condah and Framlingham Forest) Act 1987. The 53-hectare former reserve was officially given to the Kerrup Jmara Elders Corporation. This transfer meant the corporation had "full management, control and enjoyment" of the land. The National Parks service and the Kerrup-Jmara people worked together on a project to rebuild parts of the mission, including buildings for tourists to stay in.

The Kerrup-Jmara Elders Corporation faced difficulties in the 1990s. The land was first managed by the Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation. Then, in March 2008, the Australian government officially gave the land to the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC). As of 2020, GMTOAC continues to own and manage the land.

Lake Condah Mission in the 21st Century: Heritage Listing

The mission land became part of a larger area called "The Mt Eccles Lake Condah Area" in July 2004. This area, about 7,880 hectares, was declared part of the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape under a law called the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

On July 6, 2019, the mission was included in the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. This important area was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site on that date, recognizing its global importance.

Legacy of Lake Condah Mission

Lake Condah Mission Station was mentioned in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997). This report highlighted how the mission was one of the places where Indigenous children were housed after being taken away from their families.