Surveying Gurru (Lake Hindmarsh)

Summary

The video script discusses the cultural and historical significance of Lake Hindmarsh in Victoria, Australia. It is a freshwater lake with deep ties to Aboriginal traditions, serving as a creation story and a trading route. The script features interviews with archaeologists, cultural heritage surveyors, and local Aboriginal representatives, who share insights into their work in preserving and studying the area's rich history. They highlight the importance of oral history, artifact identification, and the need for community engagement and education to maintain cultural heritage.

Takeaways

• 🌄 Lake Hindmarsh, also known as 'Guru', is a significant freshwater lake in Victoria, Australia, with cultural and historical importance to the Aboriginal people.
• 🐾 The lake is part of a creation story that spans multiple language groups, symbolizing the impact of a kangaroo's grazing which created the lake's shape.
• 🛣️ The area was historically a trading route, evidenced by artifacts found from different regions, indicating extensive trade among Aboriginal groups.
• 👥 The script features various professionals, including a cultural heritage surveyor, archaeologists, and historians, all working together to study and preserve the area's heritage.
• 🎓 Field workers from Brenda Gage and Land Council are being trained in cultural heritage management, showing a commitment to developing local expertise in artifact identification.
• 🔍 The team is conducting archaeological excavations, including test pits, to search for subsurface artifacts and ensure development does not interfere with historical sites.
• 🗺️ The last comprehensive survey of the area was conducted in 1979 by the Victorian Archaeological Survey, indicating a need for updated research and documentation.
• 🔨 Artifacts such as grinding stones, scrapers, and flint tools reveal the Aboriginal people's past activities and their use of local resources for tool-making.
• 🌳 Scarred trees and other environmental markers provide evidence of Aboriginal occupation and are being registered for protection under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
• 🚫 There is a concern about the damage caused by trail bike riders and natural occurrences like fire, which threaten the preservation of these cultural sites.
• 📚 The script emphasizes the importance of education and awareness about Aboriginal heritage, the need for community involvement, and the protection of these sites for future generations.

Q & A

What is the significance of Lake Hindmarsh in Victoria?

Lake Hindmarsh is significant as the largest freshwater lake in Victoria and for its cultural importance in the creation story of the local Aboriginal people, extending across several different language groups.

What role did kangaroos play in the Aboriginal creation story of Lake Hindmarsh?

In the creation story, kangaroos created Lake Hindmarsh by stopping to graze, which resulted in the formation of a large open area or 'punch out' on the landscape.

How does the presence of artifacts in the area indicate trade among Aboriginal groups?

Artifacts found in the area that are not native to the region suggest that there was widespread trade among different Aboriginal groups, as these items would have been brought in from elsewhere.

What is the profession of Eric Cooper and what is his business called?

Eric Cooper is an archaeologist and historian based in Horsham. He owns a business called Walkabout Cultural Heritage Management, which focuses on cultural heritage management plans, primarily in western Victoria.

What educational background do Ben Muir and Sandra Night have in relation to cultural heritage management?

Ben Muir and Sandra Night are field workers from the Brenda Gage and Land Council who are completing a certificate in cultural heritage management through Latrobe University, making them skilled in identifying artifacts.

What type of archaeological work is Frank Bolden involved in at Lake Hindmarsh?

Frank Bolden, an archaeology student from Adelaide, is assisting with a project at Lake Hindmarsh, which includes excavations and test pits for an extension of the San Juan, looking for subsurface artifacts.

What is the significance of oral history in the archaeological work being conducted?

Oral history is significant as it provides a living record of the traditional owners' connection to the land and their cultural heritage, offering insights that complement written reports and textbooks.

What is the importance of preserving and documenting the archaeological sites around Lake Hindmarsh?

Preserving and documenting these sites is crucial for understanding the Aboriginal people's history, their way of life, and for passing on this knowledge to future generations. It also helps in protecting the sites from damage caused by activities like trail bike riding.

What is the significance of the scarred trees found in the area?

Scarred trees are significant as they provide evidence of Aboriginal occupation and their use of the land, such as for making shields or huts. They may also show evidence of both stone axe and steel axe use, indicating different eras of interaction with the environment.

What is the role of education in preserving and promoting cultural heritage?

Education plays a key role in creating awareness about cultural heritage, fostering respect for the land, and promoting the preservation of sites and artifacts. It also helps in dispelling misconceptions and creating pride within local communities about their unique heritage.

How does the archaeological work at Lake Hindmarsh contribute to the understanding of Aboriginal history?

The archaeological work at Lake Hindmarsh contributes by uncovering artifacts and evidence of past Aboriginal life, trade, and cultural practices. It helps to piece together a more comprehensive picture of their history and the ways in which they interacted with the environment.

Outlines

00:00

🌄 Significance of Lake and Aboriginal Heritage

The first paragraph discusses the importance of Lake Tyrrell, known traditionally as 'Guru', to the region of Victoria. It is the largest freshwater lake and holds a central role in the creation story of the local Aboriginal people, extending across various language groups. The lake's formation is attributed to a kangaroo's grazing, symbolizing a significant geographical and cultural impact. The paragraph also touches on the trading routes that extended to Lake Tyrrell, evidenced by artifacts not native to the area, indicating extensive trade networks. It introduces various professionals involved in cultural heritage management and their work in identifying artifacts and preserving archaeological practices.

05:02

🔍 Archaeological Discoveries and Preservation

The second paragraph delves into the archaeological work being conducted around Lake Tyrrell, focusing on the excavation of test pits to a depth of 2.8 meters to uncover subsurface artifacts. It mentions the discovery of a grinding stone, inland flint, and a bone flake, all of which are significant to the Aboriginal culture. The paragraph highlights the importance of these findings in understanding the Aboriginal way of life and their connection to the land. It also addresses the challenges faced in preserving these sites from damage caused by trail bike riders and natural occurrences like fire, emphasizing the need for documentation and respect for these cultural heritage sites.

10:04

📚 Cultural Heritage Education and Protection

The third paragraph emphasizes the importance of cultural heritage education and the need for awareness about the preservation of Aboriginal sites. It discusses the potential of archaeological work in Australia, which has evidence of some of the world's oldest material culture dating back 55,000 years. The paragraph calls for more funding and education to inform people about the unique cultural and heritage values present in their local areas. It also stresses the importance of respecting the land and the role of oral history in understanding the Aboriginal connection to the country, as well as the need to keep the culture alive through education and community involvement.

Keywords

💡Lake Condah

Lake Condah, also known as 'Guru' in the traditional name, is the largest freshwater lake in Victoria and holds significant importance to the local Aboriginal people. It is a central element in the creation story of the area, symbolizing the cultural and historical heritage of the indigenous community. The script mentions the lake being created by a kangaroo that grazed and created a large open space, which is a part of the Aboriginal oral history.

💡Aboriginal people

The Aboriginal people are the indigenous inhabitants of the land, with a deep connection to the land and its history. In the script, their significance is highlighted through their creation story associated with Lake Condah and their broader cultural practices, such as trading routes and artifact usage, which are part of their rich heritage.

💡Cultural heritage management

Cultural heritage management involves the preservation, documentation, and promotion of cultural heritage sites and artifacts. Eric Cooper, a Horsham-based archaeologist and historian, mentions his business, Walkabout Cultural Heritage Management, which undertakes such projects, particularly in western Victoria.

💡Artifacts

Artifacts are objects made by humans that provide information about past cultures and societies. The script discusses various artifacts found in the area, such as grinding stones, scrapers, and flint, which were used by Aboriginal people for making tools and performing daily activities.

💡Archaeology

Archaeology is the scientific study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains. The script features several archaeologists, including Frank Bolden and others, who are working on uncovering and understanding the history of the area through archaeological practices.

💡Scarred trees

Scarred trees are trees that have been marked or altered by human activity, often by indigenous peoples for various purposes. In the script, scarred trees are mentioned as evidence of Aboriginal occupation and are significant for their cultural and historical value.

💡Oral history

Oral history refers to the account of events or stories passed down through generations by word of mouth. The script emphasizes the importance of including oral history in cultural heritage reports, as it provides a unique perspective on the landscape and the Aboriginal people's connection to the land.

💡Material culture

Material culture encompasses the physical artifacts and objects created and used by a society, reflecting its cultural values and practices. The script discusses the oldest material culture in Australia, dating back 55,000 years, which is a testament to the rich and ancient history of the Aboriginal people.

💡Ethnographic evidence

Ethnographic evidence is information gathered through the study of people's customs, habits, and social structures. The script mentions that the trading routes and the wide distribution of artifacts found in the area are supported by ethnographic evidence, indicating the extent of cultural interactions among different Aboriginal groups.

💡Archaeological practices

Archaeological practices refer to the methods and techniques used in the field of archaeology to excavate, analyze, and interpret historical sites and artifacts. The script describes how the team, including trained archaeologists and field workers, apply these practices in their work to uncover and understand the cultural heritage of the area.

💡Cultural education

Cultural education involves teaching about the history, traditions, and values of different cultures. The script suggests that more education about Aboriginal culture and heritage could be done in schools to foster a greater understanding and respect for the indigenous history and its significance in Australia.

Highlights

Lake Hindmarsh, known as 'Guru' in traditional terms, is the largest freshwater lake in Victoria and holds significant cultural importance for local Aboriginal people.

The lake is part of a creation story that spans multiple language groups, illustrating its widespread cultural relevance.

The lake's formation is attributed to a kangaroo's grazing, creating a significant geographical feature according to Aboriginal lore.

Ethnographic evidence and archaeology show that the area was part of a trading route, extending to Lake Tyrrell.

Artifacts found in the region suggest extensive trade among Aboriginal groups, as items are not native to the immediate area.

Eric Cooper, a Horsham-based archaeologist and historian, discusses his work in cultural heritage management in western Victoria.

Field workers from the Brenda Gage Land Council, Ben Muir and Sandra Night, are trained in cultural heritage management and artifact identification.

Archaeologists are uncovering artifacts such as grinding stones and scrapers, which provide insight into Aboriginal tool-making and resource use.

The discovery of an inland flint scraper indicates the use of specific materials for tool-making and their trade among Aboriginal communities.

Oral history and the connection to the land are emphasized as crucial components of Aboriginal culture, alongside written records.

Frank Bolden, an archaeology student from Adelaide, shares his excitement about working with traditional owners and uncovering their history.

The importance of preserving and sharing Aboriginal heritage to educate future generations is highlighted by the community's passion for their history.

Excavations for an extension of the San Juan are underway to search for subsurface artifacts without disturbing the natural ground surface.

The presence of burials and the discovery of a groaning stone indicate the historical use of the area for ceremonial and practical purposes.

Scarred trees and scatter sites around the lake are potential areas for further archaeological investigation, indicating past Aboriginal occupation.

Environmental damage from trail bike riders and natural occurrences like fire threaten the preservation of these culturally significant sites.

The need for increased awareness and education about Aboriginal heritage, as well as the importance of protecting these sites, is emphasized.

The Victorian Archaeological Survey of 1979 was the last comprehensive study in the area, indicating a need for updated research.

Cultural heritage work is vital for fostering community pride and respect for the land, as well as educating younger generations about their history.

Scar trees, such as the one found on the banks of Outlet Creek, are unique historical markers that provide evidence of both stone and steel axe use.

Transcripts

late hi marsh or its traditional name

guru is really significant to the area

not only as the largest freshwater lake

in Victoria but also its significance in

this story the creation story for local

Aboriginal people and an even wider than

that because it is part of a story that

crosses several different language

groups and the lake was created by

kangaroo who stopped and grazed and

thereby creating the big open punch out

ad on the country and that's one thing I

love better and I sort of show our

future generations what you know what

was that he and where the Aboriginal

people lived and how they lived in that

so yeah like how much is actually part

of a trading route when she went all the

way up to Lake Tyrael and we know that

because of ethnographic evidence but

also through the archaeology that we

found for example the artifacts that we

find out in these places are not

necessarily from around there which then

shows that these groups traded widely

i'ma watch Bali you're the other person

I am a cultural heritage surveyor which

I come out and draw their surveys around

the rim Emily my name is Eric Cooper I'm

a Horsham based archaeologists and

historian and I have a business called

walkabout cultural heritage management

and my main source of work is

undertaking cultural heritage management

plants and a lot of that work is is from

the women in western Victoria so here

today we've got two representatives

field workers from Brenda gage and land

council we've got Ben Muir and Sandra

night and they're both on certificate

for in cultural heritage management

through Latrobe University and so

they're they're quite skilled at

identifying artifacts and I've also got

another archaeologist and he's just

graduating from Flinders University so

yeah they're basically all serving at

the moment but they're all highly

trained in artefact identification

and archaeological practices oh hi

everyone my name's Frank Bolden I'm from

Adelaide and I'm here helping with the

project out here on the edge of Lake

land Marsh and I study archaeology over

and I even work with yeah it's really

been exciting to be out here all week in

this beautiful environment working with

tradition alone and some such a nice

place well it feels fantastic mainly

because I'm working with people that

have the heritage here and seeing them

discover a bit more of the story of that

it's always nice to see to see members

of the community come out and be

passionate about discovering the history

and heritage and we can see Sandra and

been extremely passionate about their

heritage and through talking to them

this week I've seen that they love to

share it with the community and through

their courses and they're passing it on

through to their next generation -

that's fantastic to see so one of the

other really fantastic things about our

work is being out on country with

traditional owners and a lot of our

stuff is through written reports and

text books and things like that but oral

history there's still so much oral

history that's around and also learning

about their connection to country which

is quite different to ours and often the

way that they see the landscape and pick

up on little things that we walk over

even as trained archaeologists so that's

one of the really amazing things and

it's something that I always endeavour

to include in the reports it's very very

important to share those people's oral

history as well because that's what's

been handed down and through the

generations and it doesn't all just come

out of textbooks

yeah I love it you know it's my my

passion and my history and I love

working for my people and that's what

I've always wanted to do we're doing

excavations some test pits for an

extension of the San Juan and what we

were doing is looking for artifacts

subsurface so we dug down about 2.8

meters and that's the depth that was

down to the natural ground surface so we

were just making sure that any sand that

they did extract was not going to

interfere with anything such as large

artifacts catters show MIT in science

even burials burials are quite frequent

in that landscape out there too so far

out here we've been at like Hamas we

found a groaning stone which it and an

actual groaning stone which is actually

for making to use ochre or crush a bell

and I food or something you know back in

back in our days that's what our people

used to use was the grinding stone

that's inland Flint this one and this

has been brought in from we think the

Grampian so you can see that Flint there

this is like a scraper it was so what

days do was chip bits of like Flint off

a big rock sort of like this and what

they used to do but it was chip bits off

like that and use it and then little

bits of this will go often for a scraper

for a tool as well so would use that to

make our Spears or our boomerangs

or whatever tools we used to use for

lock it out and bushing that say that's

the inland Flint what we found out here

and not the one we've got here is a

flake bone which is this is one of the

probably the best we could find around

here at the time

yeah that this is another thing as well

so that's a very what what percent with

this with the ground in stone this is

like gold to us as well you know and

very important to us it was and you know

you can see as you can see where the

hitting points are where they used to

hit their actual stone flakes used to

come off from that and say that would be

your outside of you yeah rock it'll be

inside and that bit there be a scraper

as well so we use these a prayer

scrapers as well so and well I'm thing

that we've got as well is a Court courts

we used to trade from like prayer for

food and sources in that and that's it

courts flight there as well so that's a

another very important thing to wear our

culture as well and future generations

will find out and know what you know

these artifacts and that will will be in

our future years yeah thank you

I think as we know the sort of changes

that it's been through and to think

about the the ways that it's sustained

people and and were able to live out

here and then we see the changes today

and it just makes this a fascinating

area to to really the archaeology can

really reveal what people were doing at

you there was a large survey done across

Victoria called the Victorian

archaeological survey that was conducted

in 1979 that was the last time this area

and outlet Creek in Alberta was really a

surveyed well I think there's a lot of

opportunity around here we know of a lot

of sites around the lake bed and this is

a new sort of study area that we're

exploring here there's lots of scarred

trees and scatter sites where we can see

occupation so there's a high potential

for for finding things here too

there's even the need to go and inspect

them respect the condition of them are

they still there the trail bike riders

are creating a lot of damage which was

evident when we drove along the eastern

track off outlet Creek for example on

the banks the drive banks it's very

sandy you can see they've they've ridden

their bikes up and down and there's some

large trees that are just on those

embankments that will eventually fall in

and also natural occurrences like fire

and things like that but it really is

important to go out and document these

things around here is really significant

for our culture in that because you know

we say the scar trees we find the you

know the artifacts and all that we know

that they would our people lived out

here and you know use the tool tools and

all that and you know we know that it

was really you know a significant area

to our people it's just about protecting

those sites because they are rapidly

diminishing and yeah just creating

awareness about that the our purpose is

not to ever stop development or people's

activities it's just a really you know

and we find ways to work around that I

think it's so important to improve

knowledge about Native Title and

cultural heritage and also I think more

education could be done in schools

there's a lot of romanticism about

archaeology and that archaeologists

generally go over to Greece and places

like that and study ancient ancient what

is considered ancient archaeology

however we have evidence here in

Australia that we have some of the

oldest material culture in the world now

we can with great deal of surety say

that we have material dating back fifty

five thousand years which compared to

something that's 2,000 years old being

recovered in Rome is pretty amazing

so it's something definitely that's

underestimated and it's right just here

on our doorstep you know funding cuts

it's not allowed us to go out there and

and do that and I think there's lots of

potential to greater inform people about

that but also create pride with local

communities understanding that they do

live amongst places that have such

unique cultural and heritage values

environmental values and also you know

scientific so it's really really vital

that more work is done in this area

because it really is a way that we can

bring lots of people together and also

teaching younger education is about

respecting country and once you get out

there and explained to people what you

find and and how it was used

it sort of resonates a bit about the

importance of and makes people you know

think a little bit more about the way

that they treat country and their level

of respect for it

you go out and say to someone oh I've

been into a survey I saw when you're

being when you've been you know so we've

been at like on Marshall and I like

al-baqarah or somewhere or maybe even

the great Grandpa's we do a lot of

survey in the Grampians too so but AD

he's really drawing all that but it's

really important to our community

because we've got a capable live in

their community and if we don't well

it's just going to die and kids are

never going to see the way that we lived

back in

there isn't Dez I said and that's what

we need to do is keep our culture alive

in schools and in workforce as well so

you know that's that's really important

to us as well so yeah

so this is the scarred tree that we

found on the banks of outlet Creek just

towards the road that you come out of to

go to rainbow this one here is a scar

the size of it indicates that it was

possibly used the wood root was removed

to make a shield or something of that

kind and what we can see is some stone

axe marks up on the top right hand side

and this is really unique because

there's not that many scar trees now

that have stone axe marks so this tree

is really special it's also quite unique

as well because it also tells us that it

was used in European times the large

scar on the other side of the tree was

possibly removed to make that for a buck

hut and this has evidence of steel ax

marks down the bottom left corner so

this tree is really important it may

possibly contain two scars from two

different eras or it may just be the

presence of the use of a seal acts in

times when also that people were

utilizing stone axes so this tree in

particular it was unregistered just in

the process of registering it and it

will then be protected under the

Aboriginal Heritage Act

you