Yingabeal Indigenous GeographyLevels 7 and 8: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples at Heide and Cultures Note to Teachers This unit of work has been designed to fulfil the content requirements of the Victorian Curriculum (History) Year 7 & 8 topic entitled ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Cultures’. It focuses on the Scarred Tree at Heide Museum of Modern Art as a starting point for discussing concepts such as Indigenous geography and wayfinding, Indigenous customs and traditions, food and resources and the importance of preserving Indigenous artefacts and intangible heritage. This education resource will assist students to develop their knowledge of Indigenous culture and the issues that threaten contemporary Indigenous heritage. Acknowledgements Thank you to the following people for their input into this education resource: Kendrah Morgan Curator Heide Museum of Modern Art Uncle Bill Nicholson Wurundjeri Elder Wurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage Council Dugald Noyes Head Gardener Heide Museum of Modern Art Dr Jim Poulter Local Historian Wurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage Council Stan Yarramunua Artist and musician Art Yarramunua PAGE 2 Curriculum Links Victorian Curriculum, Level 7 & 8 Historical Knowledge Historical Concepts and Skills Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Chronology cultures 1. Sequence significant events in chronological 1. How physical or geographical features order to analyse the causes and effects influenced the development of Aboriginal and and identify continuities and changes Torres Strait Islander peoples’ communities, (VCHHC097) foundational stories and land management practices (VCHHK105) Historical sources as evidence 2. The significant beliefs, values and practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 1. Analyse and corroborate sources and ask and cultures including trade with other questions about their accuracy, usefulness and communities, causes and effects of warfare, reliability (VCHHC099) and death and funerary customs (VCHHK106) 2. Analyse the different perspectives of people in 3. The nature of sources of evidence about the past (VCHHC100) ancient Australia and what they reveal about 3. Explain different historical interpretations Australia’s ancient past, such as the use of and contested debates about the past resources (VCHHK107) (VCHHC101) 4. The importance of conserving the remains of the ancient past, including the heritage, Continuity and change culture and artefacts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (VCHHK108) 1. Identify and explain patterns of continuity and change in society to the way of life (VCHHC102) Cause and effect 1. Analyse the causes and effects of significant events that caused change and/or a decline over the period (VCHHC103) Historical significance 1. Evaluate the role and achievement of a significant individual, development and/or cultural achievement that led to progress (VCHHC104) The full Victorian Curriculum can be accessed at http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/the- humanities/history/curriculum/f-10. PAGE 3 Introduction Watch the documentary ‘Yingabeal: Indigenous Geography at Heide’ before you start using this education kit. The documentary is available at the Heide Museum of Modern Art website, https://www.heide.com.au/education/ education-resources. Before you begin watching the documentary, fill in the left-hand column of the table below, based on your knowledge and assumptions. Then complete the right-hand column after you watch the documentary. How did Indigenous people find their way around the bushland prior to the colonisation of Australia by European settlers? Give examples. Response prior to watching Response after watching documentary: documentary: PAGE 4 When constructing a documentary, it is important to interview a range of experts in order to create a well-rounded discussion and introduce a range of perspectives. As you watch the documentary, note down the following information about the people interviewed. Interviewee What is this person’s Note down 2–3 pieces of area of expertise? information they contributed to the documentary Kendrah Morgan Dr Jim Poulter Dugald Noyes Uncle Bill Nicholson PAGE 5 Womin-jeka (Welcome) Yingabeal is the name of a scarred tree in the grounds of Heide Museum of Modern Art in the suburb of Bulleen, Victoria. Before Heide became an art gallery, it was the home of John and Sunday Reed. They were patrons of the arts who arrived at the property in 1934 and created a place where artists could come to work. After they died, their house became the Heide Museum of Modern Art, a gallery that displays Australian art, including the collection that the Reeds built up in their lifetime. But for thousands of years before the arrival of the Reeds, the land belonged to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. Yingabeal, the scarred tree at Heide. Image courtesy of the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria. PAGE 6 Yingabeal Timeline 60,000 + years ago Indigenous societies inhabit Australia c. 1300 - 1500 Yingabeal begins to grow 1700 Captain Cook first sights Australia 1650 Yingabeal is scarred by the Wurundjeri people 1934 John and Sunday Reed purchase the parcel 1981 Heide Museum of Modern Art of land on which Yingabeal is located opens as a public art gallery PAGE 7 What is a Scarred Tree? Scarred trees are those that have been permanently marked by Indigenous communities using their bark to make tools or equipment. The piece of wood missing from the trunk of Yingabeal was most likely harvested from the tree by the Wurundjeri people to make a small canoe for fishing on the Yarra River. The Yarra runs alongside Heide and provided water, food and transport to the Wurundjeri. Yingabeal, the scarred tree at Heide. Two men in possum skin cloaks paddle a red gum Image courtesy of the History Teachers’ bark canoe on the Yarra River. Association of Victoria. Photograph by Fred Kruger, c. 1870. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria. The scarred tree Yingabeal is located on Wurundjeri land at the Heide Museum of Modern Art. The Wurundjeri people are the traditional owners of many parts of Melbourne and regional Victoria. These are marked in yellow on the map below. Their language is called Woiwurrung. Wurundjeri Land Map, Victoria. Image courtesy of the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council PAGE 8 This map of Heide Museum of Modern Art shows the exact location of Yingabeal. Image courtesy of Heide Museum of Modern Art. PAGE 9 Communication between Indigenous Groups Prior to 1788, Australia had hundreds of different language groups, making it difficult for Indigenous groups to communicate with each other. In the documentary, Dr Jim Poulter discussed the tradition of ‘singing country’ as a passport for Indigenous people travelling through the lands of other tribes. The song was created to praise the country, thereby showing that the travellers were coming in peace. Indigenous people had different languages and ways of communicating with each other that are different to those in Western cultures. Important information was sent through a device called a ‘message stick’. This was a long, round piece of solid wood, about the Singing country was like length of a banana, with marks and symbols carved showing your passport. into it. Communications between groups were usually created for events such as corroborees or when elders wanted to negotiate marriages between younger members. Marriages between tribes were important in maintaining a diverse gene pool. Interactive: The symbols on the sticks were pictorial and could Visit the interactive Victorian be understood by all language groups (much as a languages map at Museum Victoria ‘no smoking’ sign is intelligible to people around the to hear how different words were world today). The person charged with delivering the pronounced: stick was called the messenger; the messenger’s job was to deliver the message stick to the elders of the http://museumvictoria.com. neighbouring group. Like ‘singing country’, the stick was au/bunjilaka/visiting/first- a passport to travelling safely through foreign lands. peoples/victorian-languages/ PAGE 10 Bark Objects The scar on Yingabeal looks too small to be for a canoe; however, as Dr Jim Poulter mentions in the documentary, as the tree heals, the scar shrinks. Tree bark was needed for making many useful objects such as bark canoes, tarnuks (bowls for collecting or storing food and water) and shields. This illustration shows a man climbing halfway up a tree to find suitable bark. He would make an outline on the bark with a stone axe and then carefully cut a large piece away. It would then be hollowed out, soaked in the river to soften, and dried over a fire to draw out the moisture. Yingabeal, the scarred tree at Heide. Image courtesy of the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria. A young man climbing a tree to harvest bark. M. Dubourg, 1813. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria. PAGE 11 Stripping bark was more sustainable than cutting down trees to make tools and canoes. Bark was also used for making quick and light shelters as groups travelled across country. Australian Aboriginals and humpy in the Victorian Alps. c. 1890-1930. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria. A tarnuk is wooden container used for collecting food. This one has been lined with soft paperbark, making it suitable to carry a baby in. Image courtesy of the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra. PAGE 12 European Scarred Trees Many European settlers also adopted the practice of bark-stripping, resulting in European scarred trees. The following features can be used to distinguish European scarred trees: • European scars occur on a selected range of tree species, mostly eucalypts such as stringybark, messmate and box. River red gum appears to have seldom been used. • European bark removal scars are limited to rectangular panels, approximately 1–3 m in length, which reflect their primary use for weatherproofing buildings and other structures. • European scars are invariably located at the base of a tree, generally ending within 0.5 m of the ground surface.