The Koorie Heritage Trust

The Koories are the indigenous Australians who live in New South Wales and Victoria. However, the term has been more popularly used by the indigenous Australians coming from the South East. The word is actually a term used in the 60s for the indigenous people to refer to themselves. The term Aborigine and Aboriginal were foreign to them, and they preferred to refer to themselves in their own tongue.

The Koorie Heritage Trust is located at 295 King St. in Melbourne, Victoria. It was set up to promote, preserve and protect the culture of Koories, but more importantly, it aims to bridge the gap between them and the non-Koories. The gap has been caused by the surge of European people who first came to Australia in which misconceptions about the natives were widely spread. Today, it is the Koorie Heritage Trust's job to bridge the gap and correctly inform everyone about the real identities of the Koorie.

Koorie Heritage Trust was established in 1985 by Justice Ron Merkel, Jim Berg, and the late Ron Castan AMQC. Previously housed in the Museum of Victoria, it is now situated in a brand new three-storey cultural center located in the heart of Melbourne. The place reflects the dynamic life of the Koorie. Despite the changing times, their lives, like ours, had taken a huge turn. But although several things have changed, their traditional ways are still intact which has been the main exhibit of the center.

Koorie Heritage Trust prides itself for being the only place in Australia which features the rich history and culture of these indigenous people with colorful tapestries hanged on the walls. As a tourist attraction, it educates its visitors with its facilities such as the Keeping Place and the library. The Keeping place is an art gallery which supplies an all authentic collection of indigenous art and craft. The library, on the other hand, preserves oral history and provides families with various historical services.

The Koorie Heritage Trust also houses a wide range of historical materials, artworks, artifacts, crafts, and photographs. It has four galleries and an exhibition center called the Permanent Exhibition. There are also performances, educational programs, workshops, artist exhibitions and cross-cultural trainings. Among the programs that are available are a program to assist the community to face their ancestral roots and a program to preserve the oral history of the Koorie. The Koorie Heritage Trust also has a retail shop which sells Koorie arts and crafts such as cards, books, CDs, videos, shirts, glass products, paintings, prints, ceramics, emu eggs, didgeridoos, clapsticks and boomerangs.

The Koorie Heritage Trust keeps itself alive through its motto: "Gnokan Danna Murra Kor-ki", which means "Give me your hand my friend". The Koorie Heritage Trust believes that with the means of promotion and education, it will help non-Koories to fully understand and appreciate the Koorie way of life and thus preserving what they have lost.

You can visit the Koorie Heritage Trust on Mondays thru Fridays at 10am to 4pm. Entrance fee is through a donation of a gold coin.