Waterfront: Waterways Yarn

The Maribyrnong river and its tributaries connects many language groups of the Kulin nation, delineating boundaries, trade routes, songlines and formed a major meeting place for the Boonwurrung, Woiwurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung and Tanguarong people.

How has the Maribyrnong changed since colonisation? What can the built environment learn from millennia of Indigenous water management to help manage population growth, water quality and scarcity, as well as protecting the vital cultural habits and practices that define place and belonging for all Australians?

Join Indigenous elders, architects, urban planners and policy makers at the Footscray Community Arts Centre amphitheatre, to discuss how we will re-evaluate our approach to water in the face of huge climate upheaval.

Moderated by Jack Mitchell, Architect and founder of Black White and Bluespace. Guest speakers include:

• Arweet Carolyn Briggs: Boon Wurrung Senior Elder
• Melinda Kennedy: Wadawurrung woman – Masters by Research (Indigenous Knowledge Systems) Deakin University
• Dan Nyandga: Design Researcher MADA – Water Sensitive Urbanism

Presented by Open House Melbourne, Resistance Transmission and Black White and Bluespace, supported by Footscray Community Arts Centre for Waterfront – part of Melbourne Design Week 2020, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV. 

Photos: 1+2. Jack Mitchell, 3. Jacinta Keefe