PR-26-2022
30 June 2022

DFAT's Birrarung Wilam Walk and Networking for Consular Corps

The Department of Foreign Affairs-State of Victoria Office (DFAT-VSO) organized a guided Birrarung Wilam walk on 30 June 2022 followed by a Consular Corps networking event at the Riverland complex along the Yarra River next to the Federation Square, Melbourne CBD.

Facilitated by the Koorie Heritage Trust, the participants learned about the Aboriginal history of the Birrarung Marr or riverside walk and how the land on which Melbourne is located has changed over time. The walking tour has become popular since the ‘Reconciliation’ initiative of the Australian government that commenced after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991.

DFAT-VSO’s initiative coincides with the annual NAIDOC Week (3-10 July 2022) which celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC, originally an acronym for the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, has been instilled in people’s consciousness since 1991 to refer to the cause of Australia’s indigenous or First Nations Peoples.

The Koorie Heritage guide, the Kulin Nation to which the land where Melbourne is located traditionally consists of the five language groups of people who are the traditional owners, represented by five gum trees in one area of the Federation Square.

Top: The Koorie Heritage Trust guide provides a briefing about indigenous cultural artifacts. Left: Some of the members of the Consular Corps with DFAT officials during the Birrarung Wilam Walk along the Yarra River.