The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) is committed to reconciliation.
Our journey now includes four Reconciliation Action Plans, the return of the National Trust owned Ebenezer Mission to the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, the creation of our Aboriginal Advisory Committee to the Board, and undertaking Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Surveys at our sites.
The Board of the National Trust feels strongly that a healthy and engaged community is one that embraces its shared heritage and can work together to respectfully celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage. Through the Reconciliation Action Plan our goals include providing pathways for joint custodian land management; increasing the democratic participation of Aboriginal Australians; and real reconciliation based on agreed principles of engagement and mutual respect.
Our Vision
Our vision for reconciliation is a community that appreciates, conserves and celebrates our shared heritage, and embraces the diversity of contemporary Australia. We aspire to a more equitable society where the interpretation, presentation and management of Victoria’s cultural heritage is based on historical acceptance, truth-telling, and creating meaningful opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to shape the way we acknowledge and celebrate Victoria’s cultural past and present.
We believe that it is vital to acknowledge the past, including aspects of our history which are painful and uncomfortable. In order to move forward, towards reconciliation, we must also expand our understanding of the past by acknowledging new perspectives, and recognising present injustices.
We cannot erase history, but we can tell the whole story.
The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) (NTV) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.
Our Head Office, Tasma Terrace, is based in East Melbourne, and we have properties in the CBD, South Wharf and South Yarra, in Melbourne’s southern suburbs including South Melbourne, Elsternwick, Caulfield North and St Kilda East, the Mornington Peninsula including Red Hill, Langwarrin South, Mount Martha and McCrae, Greater Geelong and further afar including Winchelsea and Portarlington, the suburbs of Ivanhoe and Heidelberg, and the regional towns of Skipton, Smeaton, Yarra Glen, Chiltern and Port Fairy.
These properties are located within the boundaries of the following Registered Aboriginal Parties: Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation and the Yorta Yorta National Aboriginal Corporation.
Bunurong Cultural Ecology by Adam Magennis
This art piece is layered, representing a linear and stratigraphic culmination and snapshot of Bunurong Country.
Bunurong Country is the place our of ancestors. I have illustrated a map of our Bunurong landscape in the centre of the art piece.
Surrounding the Bunurong map of Country is an integration of the Bunurong universe containing the cultural ecology of Bunurong Country. This includes marine, coastal and terrestrial ecological habitats. Dreaming tracks flow through all the ecologies within the art piece and is an example how our ancestors connected and mapped our Country. Their spiritual presence is within the landscape and their physical presence is displayed in the archaeological places and sites that they have created.
The medium used to create art piece is soft pastel and chinagraph. I hope you enjoy this art piece showing Bunurong Country and our ancestors’ landscapes.
About the Artist
Adam Magennis is a Bunurong artist with a professional career in the arts that reached a 25 year milestone in 2020. Adam’s studio is based in Mornington where he produces finished
art pieces and operates his art consultancy business. He has regular commissions for public art installations and has created various murals and sculptural works for public asset projects. Adam is the Director of Kaptify Art Services, a Professional Art Consultancy and Victorian Indigenous Business
that is based in Mornington and operates throughout Victoria and in the Kulin Nation region area.
Adam’s work, Bunurong Cultural Ecology, was created to interpret Bunurong Country for the reinterpretation of Rippon Lea Estate.
The NTV is developing our 4th RAP to further the progress made on our reconciliation journey to date, and further realise our vision for reconciliation through incorporating strategies across all areas of our business. As the state’s leading independent heritage organisation, we have a desire and responsibility to demonstrate leadership on reconciliation, and support the rights of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Reconciliation has been a fundamental pillar of our organisation since 2011, representing one of the most important commitments we have made in our 60+ year history. After four Reconciliation Action Plans, we are excited to continue our meaningful work, continuing to learn and grow as we strengthen existing relationships and create new ones.
In light of recent examples of the destruction of Aboriginal cultural heritage, and continuing threats to recognised sites, the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) is reaffirming its commitment to reconciliation, as we strive to support the rights of Traditional Owners, and build a mutual understanding of our shared heritage.
On Thursday 5 December 2013, the National Trust handed over their freehold interests in the Ebenezer Mission, Antwerp to the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation - Traditional Owners, Registered Aboriginal Party and Native Title Holders.
