65
In explaining ‘The Seasonal Factor’, Thomson was able to demonstrate that the seasonal year of
the Wik Mungan and other groups was divided into specific and discrete numbers of climatic periods
(Thomson, 1949; Thomson, 1939). These could be mapped against typical settlement patterns, foods,
geographic focus, shelter types as well as domiciliary behaviour (Memmott, 2007). He concluded that
migration movements and settlement patterns followed food sources, and shelter types corresponded
to the seasons. In the selected case study area for this book that represents a more temperate climate
of the Great Ocean Road region of Victoria, the Aboriginal knowledge of the Wadawurrung is further
explored in the context of migration and settlement patterns in this chapter.
5.4 The Gadubanud and the Wadawurrung
Around 40,000 to 50,000 years before present (BP), most parts of the Australian continent had been
settled by the Aboriginal people (Frankel, 1991). This settlement included the southern parts of the
continent, including Victoria. The climatic changes during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (around
26,500 BP to 19,000 BP), and in the late Pleistocene and the warmer Holocene (12,000 BP to Present)
had an effect on the location, timing and reasons for Aboriginal people occupying different parts of
the land in Victoria (Marshall & MacCulloch, 2012). In the case study area of the Great Ocean Road
Region, the Gadubanud and Wadawurrung (Wathaurong) occupied both the coast and the hinterland
during the Holocene era, and the most prevalent artefact type of the small tool tradition of the last
4000 years was identified in this southern region of Victoria (Coutts, 1978; Frankel, 1991).
Observations of the Aboriginal people of Victoria began as early as 1802, and the recording of
ethno-historical texts increased after permanent European colonisation in 1835. The primary sources
of Aboriginal history in Victoria have been recorded by Clark (1990) with his reconstruction of the
Aboriginal traditional language boundaries in Victoria. The sources include journal entries and government correspondence produced by other explorers such as Matthew Flinders, as well as settlers and
missionaries, including G.A. Robinson (the Chief Aboriginal Protector), as well as records by William
Buckley (Marshall & MacCulloch, 2012).
The Gadubanud and the Wadawurrung resided, and still reside in the south-western regions of
Victoria. Today, they still respect the land, and understanding the benefits of the coastal zone, as well
as in an effort to protect the connection between human habitats and engagement with nature, they
have developed the Kooyang Sea Country Plan (Smyth, 2004). As part of the South-East Regional
Marine Plan (NOO, 2004), two Sea Country Plans initiated collaboration with coastal Indigenous
groups to provide an opportunity for Indigenous involvement in natural resource use and planning of
the coastal and marine environment, as well as supporting coastal Aboriginal cultural heritage conservation (Roös, 2014a, b, p. 668).
5.4.1 The Gadubanud People
The Gadubanud resided at various settlement nodes throughout the Otway region. Very few records
exist of the Gadubanud, but although they were rarely recorded beyond the Otway region, the
Gadubanud maintained complex relationships with other neighbouring Aboriginal groups, such as the
Gulidjan of the Lake Colac region and the Wadawurrung of the Port Phillip Bay region. Through
these relationships their history can be recorded (Mulvaney, 1961). Chief Protector Robinson first
recorded their presence in 1842 when he met three Gadubanud at the mouth of the Hopkins River near
Warrnambool, and received details of four clans that resided on the western edge of the Otway Ranges.
Clark indicated (Fig. 5.4) that a pattern of semi-nomadic movements of the Gadubanud linked the
5.4 The Gadubanud and the Wadawurrung
In explaining ‘The Seasonal Factor’, Thomson was able to demonstrate that the seasonal year of
the Wik Mungan and other groups was divided into specific and discrete numbers of climatic periods
(Thomson, 1949; Thomson, 1939). These could be mapped against typical settlement patterns, foods,
geographic focus, shelter types as well as domiciliary behaviour (Memmott, 2007). He concluded that
migration movements and settlement patterns followed food sources, and shelter types corresponded
to the seasons. In the selected case study area for this book that represents a more temperate climate
of the Great Ocean Road region of Victoria, the Aboriginal knowledge of the Wadawurrung is further
explored in the context of migration and settlement patterns in this chapter.
5.4 The Gadubanud and the Wadawurrung
Around 40,000 to 50,000 years before present (BP), most parts of the Australian continent had been
settled by the Aboriginal people (Frankel, 1991). This settlement included the southern parts of the
continent, including Victoria. The climatic changes during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (around
26,500 BP to 19,000 BP), and in the late Pleistocene and the warmer Holocene (12,000 BP to Present)
had an effect on the location, timing and reasons for Aboriginal people occupying different parts of
the land in Victoria (Marshall & MacCulloch, 2012). In the case study area of the Great Ocean Road
Region, the Gadubanud and Wadawurrung (Wathaurong) occupied both the coast and the hinterland
during the Holocene era, and the most prevalent artefact type of the small tool tradition of the last
4000 years was identified in this southern region of Victoria (Coutts, 1978; Frankel, 1991).
Observations of the Aboriginal people of Victoria began as early as 1802, and the recording of
ethno-historical texts increased after permanent European colonisation in 1835. The primary sources
of Aboriginal history in Victoria have been recorded by Clark (1990) with his reconstruction of the
Aboriginal traditional language boundaries in Victoria. The sources include journal entries and government correspondence produced by other explorers such as Matthew Flinders, as well as settlers and
missionaries, including G.A. Robinson (the Chief Aboriginal Protector), as well as records by William
Buckley (Marshall & MacCulloch, 2012).
The Gadubanud and the Wadawurrung resided, and still reside in the south-western regions of
Victoria. Today, they still respect the land, and understanding the benefits of the coastal zone, as well
as in an effort to protect the connection between human habitats and engagement with nature, they
have developed the Kooyang Sea Country Plan (Smyth, 2004). As part of the South-East Regional
Marine Plan (NOO, 2004), two Sea Country Plans initiated collaboration with coastal Indigenous
groups to provide an opportunity for Indigenous involvement in natural resource use and planning of
the coastal and marine environment, as well as supporting coastal Aboriginal cultural heritage conservation (Roös, 2014a, b, p. 668).
5.4.1 The Gadubanud People
The Gadubanud resided at various settlement nodes throughout the Otway region. Very few records
exist of the Gadubanud, but although they were rarely recorded beyond the Otway region, the
Gadubanud maintained complex relationships with other neighbouring Aboriginal groups, such as the
Gulidjan of the Lake Colac region and the Wadawurrung of the Port Phillip Bay region. Through
these relationships their history can be recorded (Mulvaney, 1961). Chief Protector Robinson first
recorded their presence in 1842 when he met three Gadubanud at the mouth of the Hopkins River near
Warrnambool, and received details of four clans that resided on the western edge of the Otway Ranges.
Clark indicated (Fig. 5.4) that a pattern of semi-nomadic movements of the Gadubanud linked the
5.4 The Gadubanud and the Wadawurrung