14 Sept 2014 – Victoria: before & (just) after European colonisation

Posted on 2 September, 2014 by Connecting Country

On Sunday 14 September, Eliza Tree is giving a presentation entitled:

‘Australia Felix, or Indigenous Cultural Landscape, Jaara country, before the goldrush & William von Blandowski: Insights from an outsider’.

Eliza Tree is a well-known local artist and historian who has undertaken research on Victoria prior the Gold Rush with particular reference to Indigenous culture and Major Mitchell’s 1836 expedition. Details of the afternoon event which will take place in Harcourt can be found here. While most people have heard at least a little about Major Mitchell and his explorations, William von Blandowski is little known and his contributions under-appreciated. He was one of Victoria’s first scientists, and led an expedition in 1857 from Melbourne to the Murray River. A base camp, Mondellimin, was established at a site along the Murray River that is now known as Chaffey Landing. Here Blandowski and his assistant Gerard Krefft formed a fruitful partnership with local Aboriginal people. Based on respect and mutual curiosity, the relationship resulted in an unparalleled collection of mammals, birds and fishes.

Only recently rediscovered, the rich array of images and written accounts from Blandowski’s scientific encounter provide a unique picture of life in this region at a moment of profound social and environmental change.

The information above about William von Blandowski is from the Victoria Museum website and you can find more about him here and here. His illustrated encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia is available online.