Wurundjeri Tribe Case Study

The acknowledged traditional land owners of my area are the Gurung-Willam-Balluk people of the Wurundjeri tribe of the Kulin nation. History tells us that the Indigenous people roamed our lands long before Captain Cook declared Australia to be ‘terra nullius’ and claimed the land for the British Crown in 1770. It has been documented that prior to the first fleets arrival in 1788 there were 260 Indigenous communities and over 500 different dialects. But with the arrival of the European settlers came more than just land wars. New diseases such as measles, chicken pox and small pox were introduced as well as livestock such as sheep and cows, which meant a new diet for the Indigenous people who had been living off native plants and animals. It introduced a new society that expected conformity, as well as incarceration, forced removal from land and murders. 1835 brought what is known as the Batman Treaty or the Dutigalla …show more content…
(Wikipedia, 2015) It is reported that John Batman met with Elders from the Wurundjeri tribe and despite him not being fluent in the Woi wurung language or the Elders in English, a treaty was signed with the exchange of gifts ranging from clothing some of flannel some of animal skin, weapons, knives, scissors, axes and the promise of an annual exchange, all so Batman could rent over 200,000 hectares of