Koorie Heritage Trust

The Education & Training Unit at the Koorie Heritage Trust Inc offers a wide variety of programs designed & delivered by Indigenous cultural guides and Educators. Our programs are suitable for a broad range of educational & training needs. Programs are tailored to suit all levels of primary, secondary and tertiary students, community groups, tourists, and the corporate sector.
All our KHT education programs have been mapped against Victorian Essentials Learning Standards (VELS).

Teachers can obtain information regarding curriculum, learning outcomes and follow-up classroom activities from www.koorieheritagetrust.com

Or contact:

Education Unit Manager
Dean Stewart
(m) 0427077068
(e) dean@koorieheritagetrust.com

Introduction to Koorie Culture

Length: 1.45-2.00 hrs

This tour begins at the beautiful Flagstaff Gardens where you are met by your Koorie Heritage Trust guide. Here you will explore the gardens, unfolding the history of early Melbourne, and importantly learn of the Indigenous cultural significance of this particular site, located in the middle of the city. From the gardens you will taken back to the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre – an award winning organisation and Victoria’s premier Koori Keeping Place. At the Trust you will discover the richness and diversity of South-Eastern Indigenous culture through a showcase of art, artefacts, maps and cultural interpretation all designed to be informative, engaging and enlightening.

“Walkin’ Birrarung” - The Yarra’s Cultural tour

Length: 1.45-2.00hrs

This unique walk gives participants a sense of a small, but significant portion of the ancestral lands of the Kulin people. Walkin’ Birrarung is a journey back through time exploring the dramatic and irrevocable changes of both the people and the place.
An experience that evokes the memories of a vibrant natural, and cultural landscape.

A memory that now lies beneath our urban existence today.

The tour begins at Enterprize Park where you will follow the river upstream, through todays Southgate precinct, stopping to discover significant cultural sites and landmarks to both the local Kulin people and the European settlement of Melbourne.

The tour can conclude at Princes Bridge or Federation Square. A short walk, further on into Birrarung Marr and the new ‘Common Ground’ Aboriginal public art space is an optional but very worthwhile addition to the experience.

Meet the Trust

Length: 30-45 mins

A guided tour through the award winning Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre will give participants an extensive understanding of the diversity and richness of Indigenous people and the cultures of South-Eastern Australia.

Established in 1985 by Jim Berg JP, the late Ron Castan AM QC and Justice Ron Merkel the Koorie Heritage Trust is the premiere Koori Keeping Place in Victoria. Be guided through our eclectic exhibitions with an Indigenous cultural interpreter, see the artworks from our four galleries showcasing work from KHT’s own extensive collection, works ranging from our pre-contact past through to our contemporary Indigenous artists. Ask questions and discuss topics in an informal and friendly atmosphere. Discover the unique organisation that is the Koorie Heritage Trust Inc

Cross Cultural Training

The Koorie Heritage Trust Inc can tailor make a cross-cultural program to meet the needs of the participants and/or organisations. Content can include an historical overview of Aboriginal culture in Victoria, including a tour through the Trust’s interactive display, information in relation to past government policies and their effect on communities today, current information on Indigenous communities in Victoria, details of programs operating in communities, community organizations and the functions of a community organizations and communication and engaging with the Aboriginal community.

To discuss training options and costs contact the Education Unit Manager.

Elder Storytelling Workshop (New)

Larry Walsh, respected Elder from the local Melbourne Koorie community, joins the KHT education team.

A passionate and entertaining educator, Uncle Larry has dedicated his life to sharing culture through the tradition of storytelling.

For further information regarding content and costs please call the Education Manager.

Indigenous Cultural Full Day Program (New)

Come and be part of a specifically tailored FULL DAY Cultural experience!

Combining our two most successful Cultural Education Programs into a single day.

Collaborative Full Day Cultural Program

Linking two premier Melbourne’s cultural icons into one themed Cultural Day Program.

Collaborative FULL DAY PROGRAMS between

KHT and the Immigration Museum
KHT and the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
KHT and the NGV
KHT and Bunjilaka/Museum Victoria
KHT and the Rialto

* and more to come

Unlock the secrets of Melbourne’s ancient past with Aboriginal tours in the City

Womin je ka Aboriginal Cultural Tours

The Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre is excited to announce regular departure times for its Womin je ka Aboriginal Cultural Tours.

The tours showcase the 60,000 year-old heritage and culture of Melbourne that can only be discovered through Aboriginal eyes.

“WOMIN JE KA” means “Welcome”

The Womin je ka Aboriginal Cultural Tours have been developed for visitors to feel, touch, taste and experience the world’s oldest culture from past to present. It’s unique. It’s different to anywhere else in Australia. It’s ancient and contemporary.

Due to increasing demand from independent travellers, international visitors to Melbourne and local Melburnians, the tours will depart every Tuesday and Thursday and the first Sunday of each month with one person or more. All of the tours can also depart daily but booking is essential with at least 72 hours notice given. To book, call +61 3 8622 2600

All of the tours include a visit to the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre located in the heart of Melbourne, where visitors can discover an ancient culture that is still being practiced by Koorie people today through distinctive art, traditional craft, the passing on of knowledge through generations, dance, the making of artefacts and the shared connection to land and spiritual ancestors.

Contact Details:

Dean Stewart
Education Manager
(e) dean@kooriheritagetrust.com

Koorie Experience

Meet your Aboriginal Interpreter at the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre to begin this two-hour discovery tour. From the Cultural Centre, your Interpreter will take you across the road to the beautiful Flagstaff Gardens. Discover why these Gardens are a significant site for Koories and gain a better understanding of the connection Aboriginal people have to the land. In the Gardens, feel a “silent witness” – one of the last surviving River Red Gum trees in the area and discover its importance on many levels. An easy stroll to the top of Flagstaff Hill will provide visitors with a view and a story that stretches back 60,000 years. Rarely seen paintings of the Gardens will also give visitors a powerful insight into how Melbourne has changed over the past 200 years since European settlement. A short stroll back to the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre for a deeper journey into this fascinating culture. Learn why the culture and art is so unique. Touch traditional artefacts and wrap yourself in a possum skin cloak. By the end of this tour, we promise, you’ll be wanting more!

Aboriginal Melbourne: A Different View

Melbourne 360, Rialto Towers, 525 Collins

View Bunjil’s country from the air. Bunjil is the great creator for the local people. From the best view in town at the Melbourne 360 Observation Deck, your Aboriginal Interpreter will point out the many cultural sites that can only be discovered through Aboriginal eyes - share stories that will ignite your imagination and transport you back in time. Learn how many of the places are still used in similar ways centuries on. On the short stroll to the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre, your Interpreter will continue to unlock some of the secrets of the alleys and laneways of Melbourne. At the Cultural Centre, the cultural immersion will continue while you discover that there are 38 countries in Victoria, view amazing exhibitions, learn how traditional artefacts were used and hear stories of what life is like today for Aboriginal people. A special treat will be bush tucker tasting – see for yourself how soothing a cup of lemon myrtle tea can be! This journey into the world’s oldest living culture will leave a lasting impression.

Womin je ka River Walk

Womin je ka River Walk is an exciting new tour, which explores the impact of European colonisation on the culture and natural landscape of the place that we call Melbourne today. Meeting your Aboriginal Interpreter at Enterprize Park, take a journey back in time as you re-live the history of the Birrarung and the cultural connections of the Koorie people who have walked alongside the Birrarung for over 60,000 years and still do. This tour peels back the layers of contemporary, urban existence to see what has, and hasn’t, changed in the past few centuries. Your Interpreter will share never before seen paintings and sketches of how Aboriginal Melbourne has been transformed. As you follow the course of Melbourne’s major river, you will also learn the course of Melbourne’s history. You could walk the Yarra River a million times and never see what your Interpreter will show you! Learn how plants were used for food and medicines as you walk along Birrarung. At Fed Square, hop on the famous City Circle Tram with your Interpreter for the quick trip to the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre. Along the way, special places will be pointed out such as the beautiful traditional eel trap and Bunjil sculptures in the Docklands area. At the Cultural Centre, bush tucker tastings, amazing Koorie art exhibitions, traditional artefacts, a possum skin cloak and more stories will have you wishing that this 2.5 hour tour would never end as you’re immersed into this fascinating, ancient yet contemporary culture.

Contact Details:

Dean Stewart
Education Manager
(e): dean@kooriheritagetrust.com

Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre
295 King Street
Melbourne
Vic, Australia, 3000

www.koorieheritagetrust.com
T: +61 3 8622 2600
F: +61 3 9602 4333