Magic Lands Education Series
Exploring History, Culture, and Science of Victoria’s Country
Developed alongside the feature films Magic Lands – Purra and Buckley’s Chance, the Magic Lands Alliance (MLA) Educational Series offers an in-depth exploration of Victoria’s history, Indigenous culture, and the science of Country — bringing together story, research, and truth-telling.
Drawing from over 500 Harvard-referenced articles rooted in research across Victoria, Wadawurrung Country, and Australia (Vegter, 2025), the series unites history, science, and Indigenous culture of Country. It brings together geology, ecology, hydrology, oceanography, aquaculture, archaeology, agriculture, engineering, astronomy, linguistics, and Indigenous cultural sciences— uncovering the long story of how land, life, and identity have evolved across deep time into the present.
Delivered through an interactive online learning platform, the series has been developed in partnership with First Nations collaborators across the Wadawurrung, Kulin Nations, wider Victoria, Australia and Torres Strait Islands.. It invites learners to explore the interconnected relationships between people, animals, plants, Country, sky, and sea — before, during, and after colonisation.
MLA Educational Sections
Geology, Country, and Earth Systems — 10 Articles
Discover the ancient landforms, volcanoes, fossils, and earth processes that shaped Victoria’s Country and its living environments.Indigenous History and Natural Sciences — 19 Articles
Explore how traditional knowledge of land, water, and ecological cycles aligns with disciplines such as archaeology, hydrology, and sustainability.Indigenous Lores, Languages, and Cultural Ways — 60+ Articles
Examine the lores, languages, ceremonies, kinship systems, and cosmological beliefs of the Kulin Nations and Victorian First Peoples.Knowledge Systems, Engineering, and the Physics of Country — 80+ Articles
Investigate Indigenous innovations in aquaculture, astronomy, navigation, stone engineering, architecture, and sky lore — connecting ancient science with modern understanding.Native Animals, Plants, Medicines, and Foods — 85 Articles
Study Victoria’s diverse flora and fauna, including species’ ecological roles and cultural uses — from medicinal plants and native foods to totemic animals and environmental balance.Colonisation and Government: Victoria 1800s Onwards — 40+ Articles
Trace the social, political, and cultural impacts of colonisation, including missions, frontier conflict, early governance, and the resilience of Indigenous communities.Introduced and Endangered Species — 20 Articles
Investigate the ecological transformation of Country through introduced animals and plants, and the resulting threats to native biodiversity.Place Names, Towns, Characters, and Stories of History — 65 Articles
Uncover the stories, meanings, and histories behind Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri places, colonial towns, and early figures in Victoria’s development.Exploration and Research Studies — 15 Articles
Connect the film research and academic studies that inspired Magic Lands, exploring how evidence, oral history, and cultural memory combine to tell the story of Country.
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Examples of Articles
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Jurisprudence
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Indigenous Astrology and Cosmology
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Victorian Land Treaty
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Kangaroo History in Victoria
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Engineering by the First Peoples of Victoria
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Totems in Victorian Indigenous Communities
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Dragonflies in Victoria
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Tanderrum in Victoria
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Indigenous Mathematics in Victoria
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Gondwana
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The Ice Age
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The Bassian Plain
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IP and ICIP Explained
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Bull Roarer in Victoria
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Oceanography
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Rabbits History in Victoria
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Indigenous Languages of Victoria
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Earth Layers Underground
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Songlines and Music Instruments
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Ibis - Djarrook
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Blue Tongue Lizard of Victoria
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What you can learn?
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Ancient Dinosaurs
Bassian Plain – Tasmania
Cenozoic Era
Geology
Gondwana
Hydrology
Ice Age
Mesozoic Era
Miocene Era
Neogene Era
Oligocene Epoch
Paleogene Era
Pliocene Era
Precambrian Era
Quaternary Period
Volcanic Eruptions
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Agriculture
Aquaculture History
Archaeology
Astrology and Cosmology
Biodiversity and Aquaculture
Botany
Conservation Biology
Engineering
Fossils in Victoria
Geology of Victoria
Hydrology
Meteorology
Oceanography
Sociology
Sustainability
Wadawurrung Waterways
Water Systems
Water Wells – Use
Zoology
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Clans and Country
Community Group Structures
Elders – Lawmen and Lawwomen
Knowledge Systems
Kulin Nation History
Languages and Clans
Linguistics
Lore of the Land
Men’s Business
Men’s and Women’s Business
Moieties
Old People of Victoria
Songlines – Music
Tanderrum
Totems
Welcome to Country
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Birth Trees
Bunyip – Story
Burial Grounds
Ceremony
Children’s Stories – History
Clothing – Victorian Aboriginals
Dancing
Dreamtime Stories
Healers and Doctors
Ochre Painting
Possum Skin Cloaks
Purra Story
Seasons
Shape-Shifting
Star Stories
Stories of the Land – Victoria
Three Sisters Story
Trade Meets
Tribal Markings
Victorian Aboriginal Stories
Wadawurrung Stories – Land
Yowies
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Aboriginal Children’s Toys
Baskets
Boomerangs, Spears, and Woomeras
Bullroarer
Canoes
Clapsticks
Coolamon
Digging Sticks
Drums
Eel Traps
Fire Making
Huts
Marngrook
Rope and Nets
Smoke and Fire
Stone Country
Stone Tools
Stone Use – Aboriginal Culture
Tarnook (Water Carrier)
Waterways
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· Clouds
· Colours of Country
· Full Moons
· Ley Lines
· Lightning and Thunder
· Lime Caves
· Rainbows
· Skies
· Stars
· Sun
· Waterfalls
· Waters
· Wind
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Ants
Bats
Bees
Bettongs
Black and White Cockatoo
Crow – Waa
Crustaceans
Curlew
Dingoes
Dolphins
Dragonflies
Eagles – Hunting History
Echidna
Eels
Emu
Hawks
Indigenous Animals of Country
Kangaroos
Koala
Kookaburras
Lizards
Magpie
Moths
Native Birds of Victoria
Native Fish
Native Frogs
Native Insects
Native Parrots
Native Possums
Native Reptiles
Native Sea Creatures
Native Spiders
Owl – History
Pademelons
Pelicans
Penguins
Platypus
Rock Wallabies
Seals
Seagulls
Sharks in Victoria
Shellfish
Swans
Tasmanian Tiger
Turtles
Wallabies
Wedged-Tailed Eagle
Whales
Willy Wagtail
Wombat -
· Algae in Victoria
· Bearded Heath
· Bees and Honey
· Bird Faeces
· Cherry Ballart
· Cooking
· Fungi
· Grasses
· Grasses of Country
· Gum Trees
· Indigenous Vegetation History
· Kangaroo Apple
· Meats, Fish, and Cooking
· Mushrooms
· Nardoo
· Native Plants of Victoria
· Native Berries
· Native Flowers
· Native Foods on Country
· Native Leek
· Native Raspberries
· Native Vegetables
· Pig Face
· Plant Medicines
· Quandong
· Seaweed
· She-oak / Bull Oak
· Warrigal Cabbage
· Wattle Trees
· Yam Daisy
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Architecture and Materials Used in Early Victoria
Bell
Board of Protectors
Building Early Victoria
Colonisation – Word and Meaning
Colonial Courts
Colonial Geelong Make-up
Colonial Men in Port Phillip
Colonial Prisons
Coranderrk Mission
Crown Definition and Crown Land
Cummeragunja Mission
Early Economy of Victoria
Fire – History in Victoria
First Colonisers on Wadawurrung Country
First Colonisers – Victoria
Government Policy History on Aboriginal Victorian People
Gold Rush – History
Half Caste Act
Hanging Law
Journals
Leadership and Authority – Early Geelong
Leadership and Authority – Early Melbourne (1835–1900s)
Melbourne – History
Missions
Painting and Photography
Policing, Prisons, and Punishments (1835–1860)
Population – Early Victoria
Port Phillip Association
Sealing History
Shepherds and Colonial Victoria
Shepherds, Servants, and Stockmen
Ships – History
Silent War – Massacres, etc.
Smallpox History
Squatter Licences
Terra Nullius
Treaty
Wadawurrung Land Grab
Women of Early Port Phillip
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📜 INDIGENOUS HISTORY: 1800s ONWARDS
Aboriginal Protectorate
Botanical Gardens Mission
Framlingham and Western Indigenous Communities
Framlingham Mission
Indigenous Children
Indigenous Men of the Frontier
Indigenous Women
Lake Condah
Lake Tyers Mission
Native Police
Path to Treaty
RAP – History
Referendum – 1967
Resistance – Warfare
Self-Determination (1970–Present)
Stolen Generations
Trauma of Colonisation
Wadawurrung Survivors
Word – Aboriginal
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· Cats – History
· Cattle – History
· Dogs – History in Colonial Victoria
· Endangered Species – Plants
· Endangered Species – Animals and Plants
· Foxes – History
· Introduced Animals
· Mice and Rats – History
· Rabbits – History
· Sheep – History
· Victorian Flora and Fauna
· Weeds Introduced
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CHARACTERS
· Anne Drysdale and Caroline Newcomb
· Buckley
· Eliza Batman
· George Augustus Robinson
· Henty Brothers
· Hesse and Gellibrand
· Hume and Hovell
· John Batman and the Treaty
· Major Mitchell’s Expedition
· Purran Murnin
CITIES
· Ballarat – Gold and Governance
· Geelong – Djilang History
· Melbourne – Narrm
· Torquay – Coastal Settlement
· Warrnambool – Western Frontier
· Bendigo – Gold and Growth
STATE NAMINGS
· Naming of Tasmania
· Victoria Naming
· Victoria–Tasmania Shared Naming History
TOWNS
· Local Colonial Town Development
· Early Settlement Patterns
· Mission Townships and Colonial Mapping
· Victorian Coastal Settlements
· Port Phillip District History
WADAWURRUNG PLACE NAMES AND MEANINGS
· Anakie
· Bacchus Marsh
· Ball-wein – Bellarine Peninsula
· Ballan
· Ballarat
· Barwon River
· Breamlea
· Barwon–Barwon Coast
· Buninyong
· Djilang (Geelong)
· Djilang–Kardinia Meeting Place
· Kardinia – History
· Lake Connewarre
· Lake Modewarre
· Lara
· Lorne
· Moorabool River
· Mount Moriac
· Narrm – Melbourne
· Surf Coast – History
· Torquay
· Wadawurrung Meaning
· Wadawurrung Place Names
· Werribee
· You Yang and Wurdi Youang
WURUNDJERI PLACE NAMES
· Birrarung (Yarra River)
· Nairm (Port Phillip Bay)
· Corhanwarrabul (Dandenong Ranges)
· Kew – Kooyong
· Merri Creek and Darebin
· Plenty River
· Mount Macedon and Sunbury Region
· Wurundjeri Songlines – Northern Country
YARRA FALLS
· Yarra Falls History and Early Industry
· The Falls as a Meeting Place
· Wurundjeri Connection to the River
· Colonial Alterations and Bridge History
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Beneath Country
Frequencies and Energy of Country
Healing Country
Indigenous Philosophy
IP Explained – ICIP
Jurisprudence
Matriarchal – Patriarchal
Physics of Rhythm
Polymer Chemistry
Psychology
Racism – Human Rights
Truth
MLA Educational Series disclaimer
All material within the MLA Education Series is the intellectual property of Magic Lands Alliance (MLA) and is provided for educational and cultural learning purposes only. Commercial use is not permitted. Anyone wishing to use this information in business or media contexts must first consult and gain permission from the relevant local Indigenous Communities and Magic Lands Alliance.
This COURSE will be available in 2026, depending on funding.
Supporting the Magic Lands Alliance means contributing in:
Educational infrastructure – curriculum-ready Indigenous resources for schools and universities
Cultural preservation – authentic partnerships with First Nations communities
Sustainable storytelling – linking film, research, and education for global distribution
“From screen to classroom — truth-telling that teaches, heals, and connects.
Reach out for more information

