Acknowledgement,
History and
Reconciliation

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work, the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. We recognise their continued connection to land, waters and community and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

A Brief History of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong People

The Mornington Peninsula is located on the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. They are the Traditional Custodians of the land that covers the coast from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson’s Promontory in the south-east, taking in the catchments of the Old Carrum swamp, Kooweerup swamp (the great swamp), Tarwin River and Westernport Bay, and including Mornington Peninsula, French and Phillip Islands.

The Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people have lived in this area for over 40,000 years. Before the great pyramids in Egypt had been built, the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people were here. They lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land for tens of thousands of years. People ate local animals, plants, fish and shellfish. They used boats, or canoes to frequent nearby islands. These canoes were made from bark and often were able to support a small fire in the middle for warmth and cooking fish.

They lived in small huts made from bark and wood from the trees. They made all of their tools from stone and wood. With these tools they caught all of the food they needed. Life depended on the seasonal availability of different plants and animals. The foreshores and creeks provided ideal places to fish and hunt for seafood and salt water plants. The creeks also provided drinking water, encouraged animals to the area and nourished other plants and trees, supplied ingredients for medicine and painting, materials for clothing and implements for activities such as hunting and aids for carrying babies. These were found locally or traded with neighbouring tribes.

They had a great respect for the land and all of the animals. The Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people are still here, looking after the land and their families. Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from all over Australia live on the Mornington Peninsula.
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Source: Mornington Peninsula Shire’s ‘A Brief History – Fact Sheet’

Our Reconcillation Action Plan

Many of the challenges of reconciliation lie with non-Indigenous Australia. Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate has a ‘Reflect’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) that is formally endorsed by Reconciliation Australia. Our ‘Reflect’ RAP marks the first formal step in our journey toward reconciliation. We wish to develop relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, to listen and learn, explore our vision for reconciliation and consider our sphere of influence. Through this process, we hope to develop skills and knowledge to enable us to take action.

As vignerons we are inherently connected to the land we manage. Through our viticultural and winemaking endeavours, we strive to express the unique characteristics of our vineyards, our region and the weather of the annual growing season. These complex interactions have parallels to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ connection to Country. We acknowledge that the activities of our business are an infinitesimally small part of a tradition of people managing land in our region over tens of thousands of years.

Click here to view our RAP.

Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart to achieve justice, recognition and respect for First Nations people.