Bunjil the eagle

Learn, listen and gather through Dreamtime

The Dreamtime stories of the Wurundjeri people live on through Murrundindi, an Aboriginal Elder with close ties to Healesville Sanctuary.

WORDS Hannah Sly PHOTOGRAPHY Jo Howell

There has been a longstanding connection between Traditional Owners, the Wurundjeri people, and Healesville Sanctuary. Part of the grounds of the Sanctuary were once Coranderrk Station, a former Aboriginal reservation.

Today, Wurundjeri Elder Murrundindi continues to tell the Dreaming stories of his people, sharing culture passed down to him by his mother, the last woman born on the Coranderrk Reserve.

“Dreamtime stories are traditionally told in the spoken word of the Woiwurrung language, so people can gather to listen, learn and laugh with one another,” explains Murrundindi.

In commemoration of NAIDOC Week – celebrated this year from 3–10 July – Murrundindi has generously shared an original creation story of his people.

NAIDOC Week

Held in the first week of July each year, NAIDOC Week is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their cultures, histories and achievements. This year’s theme is ‘Get up! Stand up! Show up!’, which encourages both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to continue pushing for systemic change. Many events take place across the country to amplify this message – to find out more

Click here

The story of Bunjil the eagle

The Wurundjeri people believe an ancestral Wedge-tailed Eagle called ‘Bunjil’ created the land.

Bunjil originated from a falling star, and as he fell from the sky, he blew air from his beak to create the earth we live on today.

He scratched in the soil with his talons, and the first trees and plants started to grow.

Bunjil then took off back into the sky, and as he was flying, he saw a small branch from the manna gum tree lying on the ground.

He swooped on the branch and shook it, creating his brother ‘Mindi’ the snake. Mindi became the law of the land, and together Mindi and Bunjil created all the animals, including the kangaroo, koala, Platypus and echidna.

The last animal to be created was ‘Pally-Yan’ the bat. Pally-Yan flew up

WURUNDJERI ELDER MURRUNDINDI

onto the manna gum tree, stuck his claw into the trunk and slid down to the ground. This caused bark to fall from the tree, creating the first man, known as ‘Kulin’.

After stripping the bark, Pally-Yan jumped onto a log floating down the Yarra River and he called on all the animals to come in. As he approached the waterfalls around Warrandyte, he noticed a sapling floating downstream which he stuffed into the bottom of the river. All of a sudden, the mud started to rise, creating a figure of a human, which the animals dragged up onto the bank of the river. Bunjil the eagle then blew air upon the figure, creating ‘Lubra’, the first woman. And so, Kulin and Lubra came together to live as man and wife. When Bunjil the eagle passed away, he was buried on the land where Healesville Sanctuary is today. Thousands of years later a sacred mountain rose from Bunjil’s resting place, so his spirit could return to the sky, and he became a star again. This star is called Dara. It comes out every year to travel across the sky and is most visible in early spring.

If you look closely behind the Australian Wildlife Health Centre at Healesville Sanctuary, you can still see the form of Bunjil’s wingspan in the curve of the mountains (Mt Riddell). ZN

HISTORY

is all around you

Manna gum scar tree at

Healesville Sanctuary: Nestled

on the Wurundjeri Walk, not far from the front entrance, lies an ancient scar tree. This piece of history is more than 250 years old and shows where the Traditional Owners harvested the bark to make a canoe.

River red gum scar tree at

Melbourne Zoo: Go through the front entrance, turn directly right and head past the meerkat exhibit. Above the Heads to Tails game, you will find a culturally significant scar tree. Its bark has also been harvested and used to make a canoe.

Werribee River: Werribee Open

Range Zoo flanks either side of the Werribee River, the traditional boundary between Wadawurrung and Bunurong Countries. The banks of the river have been a significant meeting place for people of the Eastern Kulin Nation for thousands of years. Visitors pass over the Werribee River during the Safari Tour experience and can walk to its eastern bank via the Zoo’s Australian Trail Wetland Walk.

LEARN & HEAR

To learn about the Aboriginal history connected to the land, visit Healesville Sanctuary on a Sunday to hear stories from Wurundjeri Elder Murrundindi. He also shares insights into this culture during the school holidays and on public holidays.