Free entry for Reconciliation Week

This Reconciliation Week, East Gippsland Shire Council is offering residents an opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal culture, heritage and the history of the region’s Aboriginal people before and after white settlement.

Council is offering free entry to the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place in Bairnsdale during Reconciliation Week from May 27 to June 3.

One of the 11 sites that make up the Bataluk Cultural Trail, visitors to the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place can learn, understand and appreciate the history of the Gunai Kurnai people through guided or self-guided tours.

The Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place is named after one of the five clans of the Gunai Kurnai and is managed by Gippsland & East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative (GEGAC).

Mayor Cr Natalie O’Connell said council was pleased to partner with GEGAC on this initiative.

“East Gippsland has a vibrant community of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are very lucky to have a facility of the calibre of the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place in our municipality," Cr O’Connell said.

"Reconciliation Week is the perfect time to visit and explore this year’s theme: Grounded in Truth, Walk together with Courage.”

Visitors can learn more about Gunai Kurnai people’s connection to country through the displays which give an insight into the lives and beliefs of the traditional owners.

The Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place is an opportunity to learn about one of the richest and oldest continuing cultures in the world.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples have inhabited Australia since millennia; their cultures, laws, ceremonies and connection to the land is strong and enduring.

Displays at the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place include traditional hunting and fighting weapons, bark canoes, baskets, fishing spears, boomerangs and an exhibition of contemporary Gunai Kurnai art.

Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place, 37 Dalmahoy Street Bairnsdale, is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.