Blackburn Lake Sanctuary
Blackburn, Victoria
Blackburn Lake Sanctuary
First Peoples' ongoing connection
Caring for Country for thousands of years
The Sanctuary is part of Kulin Nations lands, and specifically the Country of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung.
The Wurundjeri People take their name from the Woiwurrung language word ‘wurun’, meaning the Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) which is common along ‘Birrarung’ (Yarra River), and ‘djeri‘, the grub that is found in or near the tree. Wurundjeri are the ‘grub that lives under the bark of the Manna gum’, and their Ancestors have lived on this land for millennia.
The Sanctuary sits at the origins of the waterway known as the 'Kooyong Koot' (or 'haunt of the Waterfowl' in Woiwurrung) - Gardiner's Creek. Its water flows ultimately into the Birrarung (Yarra River) (or 'place of mists and shadows' in Woiwurrung).
Aboriginal peoples continue to have a strong spiritual and relational connection with this land and waterways. It is a dreaming path they have followed and camped beside through countless seasons.
Learn more and get involved
You can learn more about the Wurundjeri’s ongoing connection to Country from their website or visit our Visitors Centre. Much work is being done to 'wake up' Woiwurrung, a video about this is below, and you can also visit Clothing the Gap.
Non-Indigenous Australians have much work to do to learn more about Australia's true history, and First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing. The Yoorrook Justice Commission is a great place to start. As is reading the Uluru Statement from The Heart - a video is linked below.
If you’d like to get involved with local groups supporting reconciliation, see Whitehorse Friends for Reconciliation.
A video with Mandy Nicholson explaining the meaning of Wurundjeri
A video reading of the Uluru Statement from the Heart
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The Blackburn Lake Sanctuary is a special place that sits at the origins of the Kooyong Koot tributary.
This Country, its creatures, lands, skies and waterways, has been continuously loved and cared for by the Wurundjeri peoples for over 60,000 years. We hope to walk with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung in caring for this place.
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung as the First Peoples of this area and pay our respects to their spirits, ancestors and elders.