Photo: Roel1943---pauze

Australian popular film, television and media would often have you believe that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people only exist in the desert, remote communities or in what’s known as the ‘top end’. However, Aboriginal have lived, and continue to live, in all parts of Australia, including urban centres such as Sydney and Melbourne.

In fact, prior to British arrival in Australia in 1788, there  are believed to have been between 300 and 500 different Aboriginal ‘nations’ living on the continent. Much like Europeans, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are very different from each other, as are their cultures, languages, histories and heritage.

Melbourne is no exception. A high population of Aboriginal people live in and around Melbourne and the cultures associated with the different ‘mobs’ (tribal or language groups) from around Victoria are on display and can be experienced in many places. Aboriginal people from Melbourne (and Victoria and New South Wales in general) often refer to themselves as ‘Koories’ to distinguish themselves from the many other Aboriginal groups in Australia.

Here are some of the cultural centres in which you can learn about Aboriginal people from Victoria: