The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, in South West Victoria, is Australia’s first UNESCO World Heritage area listed purely for its Aboriginal cultural heritage values. Budj Bim is one of the world’s most extensive and oldest aquaculture systems, with construction beginning at least 6,600 years ago. The aquaculture system provided a six millennia-long economic and social base for Gunditjmara society.
The eel traps at Budj Bim comprise a vast network of weirs, dams, and stone canals to manage water levels in various lake basins. Some of the channels are hundreds of metres long and were dug out of basalt lava flow.
These structures force aquatic life into traps as water levels rise and fall. The canals also appear to have been used to create holding ponds until eels were needed for food. Not only did this provide the region’s Gunditjmara people with a year-round food supply – it was also important for trade.
The site also features the remnants of almost 300 stone houses — the only remaining permanent settlement built by an Indigenous community in Australia.
The nomination for World Heritage listing was made in partnership by the Gunditjmara, Victorian and Australian governments. As one of the partners, the Gunditjmara have agreed to Harry Weber, Director of Heritage Services of the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, presenting an overview of their amazing country to you at this webinar.
Uncle Neil Evers fo the Manly Warringah Pittwater Aboriginal Support group will also give an introduction and Welcome to Country.